85511 - Workshop on Monitoring and Evaluation of Development Cooperation Projects

Academic Year 2022/2023

  • Moduli: Bernardo Venturi (Modulo 1) Bernardo Venturi (Modulo 2)
  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures (Modulo 1) Traditional lectures (Modulo 2)
  • Campus: Ravenna
  • Corso: Second cycle degree programme (LM) in International Cooperation on Human Rights and Intercultural Heritage (cod. 9237)

Learning outcomes

The workshop will introduce how monitoring and evaluation (M&E) – also known as Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) – works theoretically and practically. The workshop will move from models underpinning the MEL system and its conceptualisation to the operationalisation by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development - Development Assistance Committee (OECD-DAC) and other international organisations. It will analyse the main steps and practicalities of a MEL process, from the M&E design to the final evaluation. Ethical issues, conflict sensitivity and the recent debate on decolonising M&E will also be critically analysed and discussed. At the end of the workshop, students will be equipped with basic knowledge of the M&E systems. They will also have an understanding of how M&E is implemented by the main international organisations (World Bank, European Union, United Nations, etc.) and non-governmental organisations in different sectors (humanitarian, development and peacebuilding).

Course contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL): what is and how it works
  3. OECD-DAC principles for evaluation
  4. MEL and change: Theory of Change and other approaches
  5. MEL good practices
  6. Determine the purpose, context and practicalities
  7. How NGOs and international organisations use MEL
  8. Baselines, mid-term evaluations and final evaluations
  9. Desk review and field work
  10. Conflict Analysis
  11. Monitoring and evaluation in conflict-affected areas
  12. Decolonising MEL: utopia or the way forward?

Readings/Bibliography

Materials will be distributed in class and the detailed bibliography will be uploaded here in September 2022.

Teaching methods

Students and instructor will embark on a collaborative learning experience. Knowledge is continuously gained through personal and environmental experiences. Students will be invited to reflect on and apply their own experiences and knowledge, to use analytical tools to conceptualize the experience and to gain new skills and insights.

The instructor will present theory along with practical case studies from his field experience and from other contexts. The course foresees working groups, small groups and individual exercises, learning games and other work and experiential activities. The instructor will share handouts during the workshop. Students’ participation and preparedness are crucial to ensuring a successful learning experience.

Assessment methods

Attendance, class participation, indivdual work on assignments, class working groups and presentations.

 

Teaching tools

Class working groups, presentations, short documentary movies, simulations, indivdual readings and tasks, etc.

Students with a form of disability or specific learning disabilities (DSA) who are requesting academic adjustments or compensatory tools are invited to communicate their needs to the teaching staff in order to properly address them and agree on the appropriate measures with the competent bodies.

Office hours

See the website of Bernardo Venturi

SDGs

Gender equality Peace, justice and strong institutions

This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.