Planning and Designing International Development Projects PG (8770.4)

The unit aims to introduce students to processes and techniques used in planning and designing activities in international development projects and will consider various aspects of planning, risk Management, and monitoring and evaluating in the project cycle. The unit will deal with project planning as the core activity of development and examine the key stages: project identification and assessment, consultations with stakeholders, planning, design, implementation and management. The unit will analyse development agency guides as case studies to examine the procedures and guidelines employed and link the role of feasibility studies, problem tree analysis, the log-frame approach, and participatory approaches, with quality assurance measures. The unit will examine the perspective of the commercial consulting sector to cater for the needs of future development professionals.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the project cycle, emphasising the planning and design activities;
2. Demonstrate an understanding of various approaches to project planning and design and understand the strengths and weaknesses of the different approaches;
3. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the role of participatory techniques in project planning and design;
4. Demonstrate an understanding of theoretical perspectives and debates to practice and policy issues;
5. Recognise the diversity in the theoretical perspectives, that leads to alternative and competing possibilities for analysis and action; and
6. Demonstrate the skills required to articulate and present critique appropriate for studies at post-graduate level.

Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively
1. UC graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload
1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
1. UC graduates are professional - use creativity, critical thinking, analysis and research skills to solve theoretical and real-world problems
2. UC graduates are global citizens - communicate effectively in diverse cultural and social settings
2. UC graduates are global citizens - think globally about issues in their profession
2. UC graduates are global citizens - understand issues in their profession from the perspective of other cultures
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development

Prerequisites

None

Corequisites

None.

Incompatible units

None

Equivalent units

None

Assumed knowledge

Familiarity with basic concepts in International Development.