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What to expect?

By taking this course, you can expect to gain a strategic Understanding of emerging priorities, problems and solutions for international development. You will access the essential concepts and tools for enhancing sustainable development and poverty alleviation

  • Access course videos with accompanying notes and handouts

  • Access to the essential tools and training for enhancing the effectiveness of development projects and programs

  • Apply course concepts to your work using the development effectiveness toolkit

  • Gain a strategic Understanding of emerging priorities, problems and solutions for international development.

  • Get a Certificate of Completion after finishing the course

Watch Intro Video

Video

Course curriculum

  • 1
    Welcome to the course!
  • 2
    Chapter #1 Emerging Priorities in International Development
    • Defining and Applying Development Effectiveness: Getting the concepts, indicators, and partnerships right.
    • Understanding the changing landscape in international development: Increasing pressure, policy shifts, and a new focus from MDGs to SDGs
    • Tracking the evolution of development effectiveness (from 2000 to present): A summary of Key Global Development Commitments
  • 3
    Chapter #2 Future Projections for International Development and Poverty Alleviation
    • How do the poverty trends look? Development progress to date and regional disparities.
    • Can we reach the 2030 SDG targets? Identifying challenges and opportunities (Hunger, Child Mortality, and Public Health) .
    • Where next for development effectiveness? Ongoing monitoring and opportunities for global partnerships
  • 4
    Chapter #3 Failures and Problems with Poverty Alleviation Efforts
    • Aid and its critics: examining the aid-development correlation, aid and local markets, aid approaches, and some success stories
    • Why does poverty persist? Understanding the role of poverty traps
    • Lessons from previous shortcomings in development interventions: A look at some case studies.
    • Test your learning (toolkit section 3)
  • 5
    Chapter #4 The Role of Evaluation in Measuring Progress of Development Interventions
    • Has the increase in monitoring and evaluation been effective? The need for good data, the right questions and better alignment.
    • Best practices in development evaluation: Applying key evaluation criteria and quality standards.
    • Quantitative methods: An overview of quisi-experimental and experimental methods in development evaluation
    • Conducting evaluation in an evolving development context: A look at Randomized Trials, PDIA, Complexity Theory , and Learning approaches
  • 6
    Chapter #5 Collaboration and Partnerships for Effective Development Corporation
    • Identifying local solutions for local problems: Content versus Context, Avoiding Top Down Approaches, Opportunities and Challenges in Endogenous Development and Indigenous Knowledge Systems
    • Opportunities and Challenges with participatory approaches in development: The role of Participatory Action Research
    • Development Finance: Key Partners, Aid Fragmentation, Dynamics in North-South and South-South Partnerships, and Future Aid Flows
  • 7
    Chapter #6 Timeliness and Practical Considerations for Effective Design and Delivery of Development Programs
    • Baby steps…not big ideas: The Power of Small targeted Interventions, Feasibility versus Desirability, Re-thinking the Planning Process
    • Conducting Feasibility Assessments: Key elements, Case Study, and Application.
    • Project Management Tools and Concepts: Overview of Key Principles, Success Criteria, Risk Areas, and the Role of Communication and Leadership
  • 8
    Chapter #7 The Role of Innovation and Productivity in Transforming International Development
    • Investing in innovation and change: Emerging Development Innovation Initiatives and Key Concepts on Innovation
    • The role of training and capacity building: Training for Development, Designing Effective Training, and Criteria for Evaluating Impacts of Training
    • Change management in international development: The Role of Change Management, and Application of Key Principles
  • 9
    Chapter #8 Vision and Strategic Planning to foster Organizational Resilience in Development Work
    • Remaining Authentic: Avoiding Isomorphic Mimicry
    • Strategic Planning and Goal setting: Key Components of Strategic Planning, Formulating Theories of Change, Goal Setting, and Refining Strategic Plans
    • Building Organizational Resilience: Definitions, Core Drivers, and Strategies for Building Organizational Resilience
  • 10
    Chapter #9 Improving Efficiency and Profitability of Development Programs
  • 11
    Chapter #10 New Paradigms in the Changing Landscape of International Development
    • Emerging Social Paradigms, and a proposed Results Based Paradigm
    • The Cash Transfers Paradigm: cash transfers and temptation goods, labor market (dis)incentives, intra-household bargaining, and cost effectiveness relative to other interventions
    • Harnessing The Data Revolution: Big data, satellite imagery, metadata and poverty targeting
  • 12
    Chapter #11 Using Evidence to Influence Development Policy
    • Moving from Evidence to Action: Evidence based or evidence informed? Strategies for influencing policy.
    • Why the low uptake of research outputs? : Common challenges. How timely is published evidence?
    • Strategies for Influencing development policy: Using evidence to influence policy, linking evidence to the audience.
  • 13
    Chapter #12 Development Solutions that are Pertinent and Relevant for Local Contexts
    • Selling Solutions vs Solving Problems: Problem formulation and testing.
    • Tools for Problem Identification: Problem solving steps, problem definition process.
    • Context Analysis: External validity, unintended consequences, guidelines for context analysis
  • 14
    Chapter #13 Sustainability Principles for Permanence in Development Impacts
  • 15
    Next steps
    • Congrats! Here's what's next...
    • Before you go...

Access expert tools and training on development effectiveness

Enroll now and gain access to the essential tools and training for enhancing the effectiveness of development work.
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Access expert tools and training on development effectiveness

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Gain access to the essential tools and training for enhancing development effectiveness

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Instructor(s)

  • Patrick Ndlovu

    Lead Consultant

    Patrick Ndlovu

    Patrick has extensive experience in research, evaluation, and leadership development. He has worked with international research institutions, academia, government and non-governmental organizations in various international development projects. He has vast experience in research, teaching, training and has been part of multi-stakeholder project partnerships funded by International Development Agencies such as the Department of International Development (DFID); Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Bank, International Development Research Council (IDRC) and various Non-Governmental Organizations. He has contributed research and evaluation expertise in projects of several countries, including Canada, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, and India. Patrick has led the design and administration of large research projects, including complex longitudinal surveys, as well as training of research teams and field officers doing evaluation work. He has published in internationally recognized academic journals on topics such as social cash transfers and intra-household resource allocation, gender and household food security, technical efficiency and agricultural technology adoption, and effectiveness of aid programs. In addition to his research and evaluation work, Patrick has taught University undergraduate courses in econometrics, linear modelling, and quantitative methods, at the University of Alberta, in Canada. Patrick is passionate about doing work that gets utilized to foster long lasting development impacts. He has expertise in using research and analysis to provide expert advice to decision makers. Patrick provides expertise at the government level as a Senior Economist in Alberta, Canada. Patrick leverages his unique background to develop and deliver tools and training that are both reliable and relevant. Given the dynamics and challenges in development work and constraints in project and funding requirements, Patrick delivers training on strategic leadership and organizational resilience, to help development practitioners gain strategic influence and resilience. Patrick’s academic background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Zimbabwe and a Masters degree in Resource Economics from the University of Alberta, Canada. He is currently studying towards a PhD in Applied Economics. Patrick is the recipient of the Outstanding Masters Thesis Award (honorable mention) from the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society. Patrick also has additional training in project management, policy analysis, system of national accounts, gender based analysis, and information and privacy protection. To get in touch with Patrick, you can email him at [email protected]

FAQ

  • When does the course start and finish?

    The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.

  • How long do I have access to the course?

    How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.

  • What if I am unhappy with the course?

    We would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us in the first 30 days and we will give you a full refund.