You will develop: advanced knowledge and understanding of the influence and use of methods and practices for assessing needs, monitoring progress, and assessing the outcomes and effectiveness of development policies, programmes and processes; advanced critical understanding of the use of indicators and metrics in the context of development policy and planning; understanding of the approaches and methods used to construct some of the major indices and rankings employed by international development agencies as well as a capacity to critique and engage with, contemporary debates on their uses and limitations; advanced understanding of the uses and limitations of a variety of methods of needs assessment, monitoring, review and evaluation; and lesson-learning; understanding of the uses and limitations of a variety of methods of monitoring and evaluation of development policies, programmes and projects, and processes.
Outline Syllabus
Introduction to key terminology.
Exploring debates surrounding the use of indicators, metrics and assessement methods in policy and planning.
Exploring major indices and rankings including the UNDP's human development index and gender equality index, the World Bank's Country Policy and Institutional Assessment scores, sustainability appraisal and the use of targets and metrics in the SDGs.
Methods and Skills surrounding needs assessments (including participatory appraisal methods); monitoring, review and evaluation methods and systems; and lesson learning mechanisms.
Examining international, national and institutional debates over the politics of evidence and 'Effectiveness' and 'Value for Money' in development planning.
Skills surrounding monitoring and evaluation including the use of randomized controlled trials as opposed to small-scale pilots.