Development Practice

Objectives:

The main objective is to introduce students to the Development Practice arena first and foremost as a field of practice, but also as a research subject and as the object of critical scholarship. The course builds on the students¿ prior knowledge of development scholarship generally (the first semester), and an introductory course in Development at the master's level is a prerequisite.

Content:

The main themes are (1) introduction to project cycle management, including preparing, planning, programming, implementing and monitoring and evaluating. (2) Integration of intersectionality and rights-based approaches in projects and programs. (3) Coordination systems at global, regional, national and local levels, including development/humanitarian/peace organizations. (4) Programme and project impact focusing on accountability, risk and resource perspectives, empowerment and participatory approaches.

On completion of this course the student will be able to

Knowledge

• Appraise the project cycle in a humanitarian or development organisation or service provider and evaluate in the form of

- Needs assessment and analysis of resources,

- Strategic planning,

- Implementation and monitoring,

- Operational peer-review and evaluation.

• Knowledge about international, national and local organizational work and how they operate/practice.

Skills

• Create effective solutions to real-life challenges experienced by humanitarian and development organisations or service providers.
• Develop and conduct a project at various levels, for example design a log frame, a theory of change, or identify indicators.
• Effectively integrate development approaches to policies and programmes such as capacity-building, intersectionality and human-rights based approaches.

Competence

• Apply components of policy in practice at different levels (from organisation to national to global).
• Analyse the complex network of co-ordination systems and actors at different levels.
• Critically reflect on development and humanitarian issues and how they are applied in practice across time and space.

The emphasis on specific topics may vary from semester to semester.