For persons likely to be involved in designing, managing, and evaluating projects of international agricultural (or rural, community, and educational) development to learn the processes by which such projects originate, successful procedures used in developing contracts with sponsors to undertake projects, techniques critical to managing projects successfully, and ways of monitoring the progress of such development projects.

COURSE OUTLINE:

Unit 1.	Reviewing Approaches Used in Projects Aimed at Developing Agriculture in Different Countries     [3 hrs.]
	a.	Defining terms and understanding terminology commonly associated with development projects and programs
	b.	Changes in the nature of bilateral and multilateral projects in agricultural development since World War II
	c.	Types of projects in agricultural development commonly undertaken today
Unit 2.	Learning How Projects for Agricultural Development Originate     [3 hrs.]
	a.	Sources of agricultural development projects
	b.	Ways by which needs are identified by host governments and/or sponsors
	c.	Approaches used by sponsoring agencies to establish agricultural development projects
	d.	Criteria to be met by contracting agency before technical assistance is accepted by sponsor of development project
Unit 3.	Responding to Requests for Development Assistance     [3 hrs.]
	a.	Sources of agricultural development projects
	b.	Preparing a proposal for agricultural development
		1)	Examining criteria for evaluating proposals
		2)	Distinguishing between sponsor needs and host country needs
		3)	Identifying division of project's managerial responsibilities to be addressed in proposal
		4)	Determining and projecting contractor's institutional advantages in a proposal
		5)	Constructing, packaging, and delivering proposals
		6)	Reviewing proposals and awarding contracts
Unit 4.	Contracting with Sponsors      [6 hrs.]
	a.	Considering different types of project funding (i.e., grants, sector loans, and other types)
	b.	Selecting personnel (short term and long term)
	c.	Arranging benefits for contract personnel
	d.	Specifying criteria for evaluating performance in contracts
Unit 5.	Minimizing Chances of Substandard Performance in Institutional Contracts     [5 hrs.]
	a.	Establishing specific objectives for projects as they relate to provisions of contracts
	b.	Organizing the contract by projects
	c.	Pre-determining measurements of progress to be used
	d.	Predicting points of stress
	e.	Establishing lines of administrative communications
Unit 6.	Serving as Project Leader      [15 hrs.]
	a.	Working as the contract administrator or chief of party
		1)	Major responsibilities
		2)	Establishing and managing field office operations
		3)	Communicating with home office and sponsors
	b.	Working as the project leader within a contract
		1)	Working with counterparts
		2)	Identifying appropriate technologies for transfer
		3)	Selecting and working with different audiences
		4)	Measuring project progress
	c.	Establishing the project management team and dividing duties among its members
	d.	Financing, budgeting, inventorying, and processing equipment and material
	e.	Identifying techniques for increasing effectiveness and productivity of projects
	f.	Managing conflicts within the project
Unit 7.	Preparing Reports and Records      [4 hrs.]
	a.	Constructing required reports
	b.	Keeping track of field office operations
	c.	Establishing internal technical reporting procedures
Unit 8.	Defining the Role of the Home Office in Contract Programs     [2 hrs.]
	a.	Role and responsibilities of the home office coordinator
	b.	Roles of other administrators in home institution
	c.	Securing and maintaining interest of the home institution in the project(s)
Unit 9.	Undertaking Contract and Project Reviews      [4 hrs.]
	a.	Program reviews
	b.	Personnel reviews
	c.	Fiscal reviews and audits
	d.	Procedures for evaluating individual projects

COURSE TEXT:

None, but a variety of "handout" materials will be used.

COURSE EXPECTANCIES:

1.	(5%)	Critique the quality of a "social soundness analysis" document prepared as part of the justification of a project proposal.
2.	(10%)	Analyze, critique, and outline suggested revisions wherever necessary to improve a proposal for a development project that was actually submitted to a development agency for funding.
3.	(10%)	Develop procedures for accomplishing selected tasks as outlined in 645-7-5, "Guides for the Project Manager in the Field," e.g., #1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, and 14. If the class is small in size, these may be individual assignments to complete and share with the rest of the people in the class.
4.	(10%)	Complete exercises similar to activities actually faced by project managers. Examples might be (1) developing the budget categories for an actual development project with the rationale for those categories, or (2) deciding upon criteria to be used in hiring personnel for a specific development project, or (3) deciding what to do how you would defend your decisions in working with project personnel when particular situations arise.
5.	(10%)	After examining a case study of an on-going development project, developing a listing of and rationale for questions that need to be asked and for which information needs to be gathered in arriving at an overall evaluation of the effectiveness of that project. You will be able to use 645-10-1 as a guide.
6.	(15%)	Analyze and make recommendations for resolving problems and situations actually faced by project managers and chiefs of parties in different kinds of development projects in different countries. Some of these will be individual assignments and others will be small group exercises done in class.
7.	(15%)	Participate thoughtfully and actively in class discussions. Read materials assigned from the bibliography, 645-0-3. Make reports to the class from such readings as requested.
8.	(25%)	Take final examination on May 7, 2001 at 5:00 p.m. Part of the examination will be placing you in a situation as chief of party for a development project and giving you several problems to solve. You will be expected to provide a defensible rationale for the ways in which you propose resolving those problems.

WHEN OFFERED:

Spring semesters from 5-8 PM.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Call Dr. James E. Christiansen

Room 107-D, Scoates Hall

Phone: (409) 862-3002

E-Mail: J-Christiansen@tamu.edu

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