Courses objectives
To understand the specifics of project-led action, that are commonly undertaken in developing countries for rural development and management of local planning and natural resources.
The course must allow both:
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understanding and learning about the main stages in the development of a project
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using a critical perspective regarding project-led action, and the issues and implications of this type of intervention.
Course contents
The course alternates lectures and practical work groups, in a logical progression ranging from understanding "project" logic and its use, especially in a "southern" context.
Lectures and practical work are mainly based upon actual cases selected for their relevance and analytical interest.
The course will be based mainly on the European Union's methodologies and terminologies, but will draw on examples to illustrate other methodologies.
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Lecture 1: Introduction to the project cycle:
- Definition of the project cycle and its different phases
- The place of the project in public development aid and its implications
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Lecture 2: The formulation of a project - from the identification of a problem to the elaboration of the project
- Pre-study and identification of a “problem”
- The formulation of the project: feasibility study, analysis of the situation and the positioning of stakeholders
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Practical work 1: Using actual project documents, identification of the “problem” to be solved by the project and the key figures involved. Highlight and discuss the methods applied by the project to identify stakeholders and their interests, as well as the theoretical / paradigmatic frameworks which the project (+/-explicitly) hangs upon in the identification of the “problem”
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Lecture 3: The formulation of the "logical framework" of the project: moving from the identification of the problem to the assignment of global, specific objectives and the formulation of a programme of actions/operations
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Practical work 2: Reconstruct the "logical framework" of the project and propose a critical analysis of its coherence and relevance with regard to the problem
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Lecture 4: Project Monitoring and Evaluation
- The basics of project evaluation: relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, efficacy
- Potential discussion, using English terminology, on the outputs of the outcomes
- The development of evaluation indicators: to show that project monitoring process and evaluation are taken into account immediately after formulation and conception of its logical framework. Discuss the importance of "simplicity" of the indicators to ensure their mobilisation for an evaluation
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Practical work 3: Formulate an evaluative framework for the project and discuss the methods and tools needed to qualify evaluation indicators.
Teaching and learning methods
The course is divided into four ½ days of lectures and three ½ days of practical work. Practical works are carried out by groups of three or four students and give rise, at the end of the module, to a collective report (one per groups) which serves as the basis for evaluation.
Course evaluation
Students must submit the results of the work undertaken on a particular project during the 3 practical works of the week, from understanding its formulation to the proposal of a basic evaluation framework.
Target skills
- Knowledge:
- The project cycle and its insertion into the intervention logic of public development aid
- Differences between "methodologies" according to funding agencies and institutions
- Skills:
- Formulate and analyse a project’ logical framework
- Formulate and implement a project evaluation.
Course Coordinator(s)
Dr. FEGER Clément
Lecturer in ecological accountability and environmental management
clement.feger @ agroparistech.frr
Lecturer in ecological accountability and environmental management
clement.feger @ agroparistech.frr
