The four-week Project Appraisal and Risk Management training program teaches financial, economic, stakeholder, and risk analysis and risk management through real and applied case studies, lectures, and group discussions. The workshop takes participants through a flexible appraisal framework designed to handle different types of projects, from infrastructure investments and social programs to commercial enterprises and utilities. It also covers a wide range of issues such as environmental impacts, risk management and poverty reduction. Leading experts in specialized areas are also invited to address participants. Additionally, participants have the opportunity to work with peers to complete a project in their own sector of interest.

Effective monitoring and evaluation of programs remains both a challenge and priority in developing and emerging economies. It is a key element for successful planning and implementation of development programs in sectors such as health, education, agriculture, rural and urban development, and municipal services. The online two-week program on Monitoring and Evaluation of Development Programs (M&EDP) helps participants learn the key steps and analytical tools to design and monitor programs and develop an analytical framework to evaluate their performance and outcomes.

Behavioral economics serves as a policy and program design framework that helps policymakers improve program effectiveness and achieve better outcomes. This online course offered professionals from Oxfam America the opportunity to learn about the latest findings in behavioral economics and focus on the tools needed to apply the framework to their own work. Working alongside Duke faculty and Oxfam peers, the participants applied their new knowledge and skills to a variety of projects during the course’s immersive and engaging group project component.

This 10-week online survey course provided participants with the foundational skills needed to design and implement robust programming in monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL). Designed in a sequential manner, the program helped participants understand the essential elements of MEL Frameworks and how monitoring, evaluation, and learning are interrelated concepts. Participants also learned about the concept of Theory of Change and how it can be used to create appropriate indicators and systems for measurement of programming implementation and impact, including exploring some of the main quantitative and qualitative methodologies for assessing impact. Participants also had the opportunity to practice course skills by applying them to Oxfam-focused group work that took place throughout the program.

In August 2021, DCID hosted an in-person training program for the US Army’s 96th Civil Affairs Battalion. This course on development and humanitarian principles and focused on tools for working in the Middle East. Participants learned about regional politics, institutions, and development assistance programs in the region, and experts in the field led in-depth discussions about civil conflict, armed non-state actors, and peace and stabilization interventions. To wrap up the program, DCID staff and faculty facilitated a day-long humanitarian crisis simulation and debrief. The Executive Education team is looking forward to hosting another in-person governance training program for the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion in Fall 2022.

DCID continues to deliver trainings through the Leadership Development Fellowship (LDF), a program organized with World Learning through the U.S.-Middle East Partnership Initiative of the U.S. State Department. The program provides early-and mid-career professionals from across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region with the opportunity to gain academic and practical experience in leadership training and leadership development, network with like-minded peers and professionals, and build on skills in conflict resolution, participatory governance, and communication. In 2018, DCID was named the academic partner for the program. The 2018 and 2019 cohorts were hosted in-person, but the 2021 cohort participated in the program virtually. DCID is looking forward to hosting the program in-person again in Fall 2022.