This class meets April 6 through May 4.
This course introduces students to international development non-governmental organization (INGO) data-driven project/program design and key aspects of grant writing. The course will focus on: 1) Research for poverty analysis and program design; 2) Poverty mapping and situation analysis; 3) Projects versus Programs, using a systems perspective in program design; and 4) Designing a program hierarchy by determining program goals, objectives, and activities.
The class will be experiential and hands-on. Students will select a focus country to be approved by the instructor. They will then conduct secondary research to develop a poverty map/profile of the country to determine geographically where the highest rates of poverty are located. Students will then focus on this geographic area of the country and conduct the research to determine the key problems people face in this poverty pocket (e.g., malnutrition, disease, livelihood insecurity, etc.), who are most affected, and the causes of poverty. Based on the problems (and opportunities) uncovered, the student will design a program to address these problems and reverse these trends. Project/program design will be driven by the data. Students will not be allowed to come to class with a preconceived project/program to work on for their class project, instead programs/projects will be developed that respond to the specific needs of the context and target groups. While the development process will be critiqued as part of this class, based on past and present field issues, policies and procedures, this is not a development theory class. There are other classes where you can receive an excellent theoretical perspective and orientation. This class focuses on “how to.”
Students will have 3 writing assignments and a final class presentation. The final class presentation will be an overview of problems related to the country selected and the program you designed to address the problems. The required reading for this class is related to the research you must conduct to obtain the information to develop your national poverty profile, determine poverty pockets, and understand the causes of poverty in this particular area. This is an intensive research process and thus an intensive reading load, which depends on the country or area selected. Considerable optional readings will be provided to further clarify class lectures and to add to your development library (program design manuals and other INGO training materials not easy to obtain); however, due to the intensity of the research load, these readings are optional.