MSc Environmental Impact Assessment & Management / Course details

This course offers a critical reflection on methods and techniques of project/programme planning and management. It offers a critical guide to the selection and use of such methods and techniques in a social development context.

There will be a introductory lecture late in semester one at which students enrolled for the course will be introduced to the group project themes and invited to form project groups of four (approx.).

Work on the group projects begins from the start of the course so students for whom the course unit is optional are encouraged to decide whether they wish to take the course at the start of semester one to minimise disruption to the project groups.

The unit aims to help students develop critical project planning and management knowledge and skills needed to competently respond to development problem situations

To develop critical project planning and management knowledge as well as skills and attitudes needed to competently respond to development problem situations in an international context. Many of the skills are transferrable.

The unit is delivered through ten lectures/tutorials sessions that are highly interactive. These are run as weekly 3h sessions. For each session a lecture sets the theoretical context of the approach/method/tool that is under study. This is followed with a problem-based task for the tutorial activity in order to give students experience of how to apply the methods and techniques in a particular situation. The goals is for students to learn how to develop a planned intervention to a ‘real life’ problem situation.

• Knowledge of key project planning and management methods and techniques and how to select and use them in development contexts

• Critical understanding of the issues surrounding project interventions and choice of techniques

• Knowledge and understanding of the discourses and discursive practices in planning and managing development

• Develop critical, analytical, synthesis and problem-solving skills related to development interventions.

• Demonstrate critical analysis of project planning methods and their use in development interventions

• Apply knowledge of approaches, methods and techniques in wider development contexts

• Ability to structure a development problem situation and to plan a response based on e.g. logframes, theory of change and other alternatives

• To manage time, self and others, and work to tight deadlines.

• Team working skills especially: leadership skills; ability to organise self and others to accomplish tasks; sharing knowledge and managing differences

Formative feedback is provided each week during the tutorial sessions

Scott, C. (2023). The Project in International Development: Theory and Practice. Oxon: Routledge

Dale, R. (2004). Development Planning: Concepts and Tools for Planners, Managers and Facilitators. London: Zed Books

Krause, M. (2014). The Good Project: Humanitarian Relief NGOs and the Fragmentation of Reason. Chicago: University of Chicago Press

Course reading list in the library: https://www.readinglists.manchester.ac.uk/leganto/readinglist/lists?courseCode=I3028-MGDI-70992-1241-2SE-010647&primo=true&auth=CAS