90616 - ANALISI DI PROGETTI NELLA COOPERAZIONE INTERNAZIONALE

Learning outcomes

The laboratorio provides students with knowledge and skills to analyse model international cooperation projects based on different perspectives: economic, human development, decentralized cooperation, by considering the following elements, among others: reasons for choosing one particular methodology and relative evaluation challenges; analysis of best international practices; definition of evaluation and project impact measurement models.

Course contents

The lab analyses models of international development cooperation. Starting from how different international organisations conceptualise their approach to development, the lab examines relevant opportunities and challenges, highlighting the role of research in the formulation of specific practices and strategies.

The first part of the laboratory focuses on the analysis of the following approaches to international cooperation:

· From humanitarianism to human development;

· Bilateral cooperation;

· Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and decentralised cooperation;

· The United Nations system;

· Conditionality and development: the International Financial Institutions;

· Public-Private Partnership models.

In the second part of the lab students will be asked to analyse and discuss specific case studies starting, based on the approaches identified in the first part of the course. Analysis aims to contextualise specific approaches to international cooperation by highlighting relevant research themes, methodologies, and research questions. For example, organisations that may be used as case studies include: the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), the Department for International Development (DFID), the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Bank, CARE, Oxfam, Save the Children, Mastercard Foundation, Melinda & Bill Gates Foundation. Specific modalities will be defined at the beginning of the lab based on the number of students enrolled.

Readings/Bibliography

de Haan, A. (2009), How the aid industry works an introduction to international development. Sterling, VA: Kumarian Press.

Laws, S. (2013), Research for development: A practical guide. London: SAGE.

Damoah, C.M., K. Asamoah (2020), ‘Public–private partnerships for improved service delivery: the case of Intercity STC Coaches in Ghana’, Development in Practice.

Fejerskov, A.M. (2015), ‘From Unconventional to Ordinary? The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Homogenizing Effects of International Development Cooperation’, Journal of International Development 27(7): 1098-1112.

Gore, C. (2013), ‘Introduction. The New Development Cooperation Landscape: Actors, Approaches, Architecture’, Journal of International Development 25: 769-786.

Kloster, M.O. (2020), ‘From complexity to simplicity–how chasing success stories affects gendered NGO practices’, Development in Practice 30(4): 437-447.

Lewis, D. (2019), “Individuals, organizations and public action: trajectories of the ‘non-governmental’ in development studies”, in U. Kothari (ed.) A Radical History of Development Studies. London: Zed Books, pp. 200-221.

Mikkelsen, B. (2005) (ed.), Methods for development work and research: a new guide for practitioners. New Delhi: Thousand Oaks; London: Sage.

Scott-Smith, T. (2014), ‘How projects rise and fall: the lifecycle of a dietary modernisation scheme’, Development in Practice, 24 (7): 785-796.

Uvin, P. (2007), ‘From the right to development to the rights-based approach: how ‘human rights’ entered development’, Development in Practice 17(4-5): 597-606.

Zimmermann, F., K. Smith (2011), ‘More Actors, More Money, More Ideas for International Development Co‐operation’, Journal of International Development 23(5): 722-738.

Teaching methods

Lectures, group work, and student presentations.

Assessment methods

Oral exam.

Attendance to the course is mandatory. Students are required to attend at least 80% of lectures, meaning 4 out of 20 hours, or 2 lectures.

Teaching tools

Lecture slides, readings, documents and websites concerning international development cooperation.

Office hours

See the website of Davide Chinigò