Course Title: Assessing Progress in Developing Countries

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Assessing Progress in Developing Countries

Credit Points: 12.00

Terms

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
HUSO2080	City Campus	Postgraduate	330H Social Science & Planning	Distance / Correspondence or Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2006
HUSO2080	City Campus	Postgraduate	365H Global, Urban and Social Studies	Distance / Correspondence or Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2007, Sem 1 2008
HUSO2080	City Campus	Postgraduate	365H Global, Urban and Social Studies	Face-to-Face or Internet	Sem 1 2009

Course Coordinator: Prof. Ravi K. Roy

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 3440

Course Coordinator Email: Ravi.Roy@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: 8.6.38

Course Coordinator Availability: by appointment

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

None

Course Description

This course examines the World Bank Institute’s agenda on knowledge sharing and learning from cross-country experiences in improving public governance and social outcomes in the developing counties. The course examines the analytical literature on local governance, traces its historical evolution, and examines various models and approaches of local governance systems across ten developing countries. The purpose of this is to compare and contrast local organisational structures and finance systems in order to gain an improved understanding of how to strengthen local governance and help facilitate  better social outcomes for their citizens. This course follows the framework outlined in the main text that outlines institutional mechanisms that empowers citzens to demand accountability results from their governments.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

At the conclusion of this course it is envisaged that you will have:

1. Gain an improved understanding of how strengthen local governance

2. A more comprehensive set of comparative set of analytical tools for assessing social, political, and economic outcomes of development projects and strategies

3. Developed skills in relating theoretical perspectives and debates to practice and policy issues and dilemmas

4. Developed the capacity to recognise the ways in which diverse theoretical perspectives lead to alternative and competing possibilities for analysis and action;

5. Developed skills in the preparation of critical oral and written argument appropriate for studies at post-graduate level.

1. Developed a critical understanding of key debates about the use and validity of various accaontability measures used in assessing progress  in the developing countries

2. Developed a critical understanding of the links between various definitions of, and approaches to, development and the design and interpretation of indicators

3. Developed a critical understanding of the ways in which the World bank agenda is building accountability practices into project design

4. Developed an understanding of how to select, apply and interpret development indicators

5. Recognize the strengths and weaknesses of these indicators

Overview of Learning Activities

You will be able to engage in a variety of lectures and smaller classes.

Overview of Learning Resources

You will be able to use a prescribed text.

Overview of Assessment

You will be able to prepare assessment tasks with a total word length or equivalent of 4,000-5,000 words.