ABOUT US

This speciality focuses on building scholars through the core knowledge and practical areas in project and program management. The curriculum will build on the previous education of the scholars to deepen their understanding of the various layers of project and programs management especially in a multi-complex and multi-cultural setting with a view to driving intended outputs and outcomes at any level. Scholars will be exposed to practical and hands-on opportunities in and out of the classroom to foster their understanding of the various thematic areas in the development sector - Health, Nutrition, Agriculture, Livelihood, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Education, Financial Services for the Poor etc. The individual fieldwork and practicum will further expose scholars to real life intervention programming and foster networking with leading development sector practitioners.

This speciality focuses on building the capacity of scholars to rigorously use evidence-based research and program data to continuously monitor, evaluate and re-align program implementation. Scholars will learn the art of research and data management in diverse scenarios and settings, with a view to moulding them for the challenges of a career in MERL. Modules will include Data Collection & Survey Management, Data Cleaning and Analysis, Statistical Inference and Insight, Use of Statistical and Non Statistical Tools (Tableau, R, SAS, ArcGIS etc), Data Visualization and Presentation, Program Frameworking and Logical Frameworking etc. MERL Scholars will leverage the outcome of this program for a robust career in data science within and outside the development landscape as a result of the multi-sectoral application of the skillset to be acquired from this fellowship.

This speciality focuses on building the competence of scholars on financial and human capital management of large-scale, and multifaceted implementation programs. The need to equip finance and human capital professionals for the effective and efficient management of resources (Finance and Human) cannot be over-emphasized in order to achieve Value For Money (VFM). Evidence-based reviews have pointed out that most donors are excited about the program management strategies of grantee organizations but often have issues with the financial and human capital management of their funded programs. This calls for rigorous training and mentoring of finance and human capital professionals who will go on to work with the ethics of their profession in mind while maintaining a strong knowledge of the application of the underlying principles of their work. The training and mentoring needs of Finance and Human Capital Administrators will be the central focus of this speciality, the curriculum will definitely bring the best out of the scholars and launch them into a successful career in development.

This speciality will focus on building the competence of scholars on Operations and Logistics Management of Development programs. The scholars will be exposed to various aspects of this speciality so as to ground them in the art of seamlessly running the operations of projects in close collaboration with internal and external stakeholders. The curriculum designed for this speciality is carefully crafted to expose the scholars to the various aspect of operations and logistics management within the development landscape - Purchasing & Procurement Management, Travels & Fleet Management, Facility Management, Material Handling & Inventory Management, Service Agreement Management, Contracting & Suppliers Management etc. These key aspects of operations and logistics management will be handled by seasoned experts with long standing experience in development management.

This speciality seeks to equip scholars with the knowledge to understand, interpret and apply contracting terminologies and clauses irrespective of the contracting mechanism - Contracts, Grants, Co-operative Agreement etc. Scholars need not have a legal background to apply for this speciality but it is definitely an added advantage especially when applying for Grants and Contract roles within the development space. Scholars will be exposed to the contracting rules of leading donor organizations such as United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Department for International Development (USAID), Department for International Development (DFID), World Bank, UN System, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), Australian Aid amongst other.