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Project Cycle Management Trainers Guidelines

The PRODEV Project
Project n2009-1-FR1-LEO05-07400

03/12/10

Table of Contents
A. Introduction.................................................................................................................... 3

B. 1. 2.

Foreword ........................................................................................................................ 3 A summary for the teaching structure of subjects in project cycle management ........ 3 The functions of a community development worker .................................................... 5

C. 1.

The learning by doing model in project methodology ................................................... 6 General terms and conditions ........................................................................................ 6

2. Specifications and expectations of the target audience: community development workers ................................................................................................................................... 6 3. 4. learning project Coaching......................................................................................... 7 Training Plan Proposal .................................................................................................. 10

D.

Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 13

A. INTRODUCTION

IFAID Aquitaine is a non-profit organisation that was created in 1986 to train general community development workers engaged in developing countries. The organisation has progressively evolved to train intermediary level managers in local and international development professions. Today, professionalism among development actors has become a standard requirement. In this sense IFAID Aquitaine has developed a unique training system, which it has put into place over the past years: learning by doing (theoretical training paralleled with practical application) for learning project methodology. In the framework of the PRODEV1 project, this learning by doing system will be adapted and tested among 42 community development workers in 6 different countries: France, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Switzerland. Beforehand, IFAID Aquitaine will train the trainers from each of these countries. This manual is addressed to these trainers in order to guide them in the design and organisation of their programs. It will be translated into the languages of all the partner countries. The manual is organised in three parts. The first is a foreword on project cycle management, and the key skills of community development workers. The second part proposes a learning by doing plan for development agents. This plan will be adjusted during the trainers training organised by IFAID in order to establish a uniform model. Finally, the last section will deal with the training evaluation systems.

B. FOREWORD 1. A SUMMARY FOR THE TEACHING STRUCTURE OF SUBJECTS IN PROJECT CYCLE MANAGEMENT

The PRODEV Project (Project Management for Community Development Workers) has been funded by the Europe Education Training Agency, France in the framework of the LEONARDO TRANSFER OF INNOVATION program(project n2009-1-FR1-LEO05-07400), and by the Conseil Rgional dAquitaine. This publication reflects the views of the author only, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use, which may be made of the information contained therein.

The training system specific to users of project methodology is constructed on the basis of project cycle dynamics. Thus, we can identify one unit on project cycle, in general (U1) and 5 Units, which correspond to the 5 steps of the project cycle (from U2 to U6).

Project cycle (U1)

MONITORING AND EVALUATION (U6)

IDENTIFICATION (U2)

FUNDING (U5)

PROGRAMMING (U3)

OPERATIONAL PLANNING (U4)

U1: Project cycle management: This unit presents the project steps in a general manner. It constitutes the first step in the project cycle. We can consider that the community development worker is in the idea phase of the project. U2: Project identification: This step aims at determining which actions are realistic and sensible to put into place2. First, it involves gathering, processing and analysing information, and then putting forth and choosing one or more project hypotheses. U3: Project programming: This means defining a program of actions or activities, which will make it possible to reach specific objectives by using the Logical Framework method. U4: Operational planning: This involves scheduling concrete project activities, as well as the tasks related to managing the project. U5: Project Funding: This unit concerns finding financial support.

BEAUDOUX E. CROBRUGGHE G. DOUCHAMPS F. et al.. Cheminements dune action de dveloppement : de lidentification lvaluation. Lharmattan. 1992.

U6: Project monitoring/evaluation: These tools make it possible to identify and measure the results of the project.

Each unit requires particular skills. Project management training can be done using different methods. However, due to the technical nature of the subject, it is strongly recommended to illustrate theoretical teachings with simulation exercises covering the entire project cycle, or exercises specific to each step (assessment, organisational support, guidance in defining a strategy, etc.).

2. THE FUNCTIONS OF A COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WORKER

Community Development Workers (CDW) are people working to achieve the further development of a region or community, in the public or private sectors. For a variety of different reasons the number of CDWs in Europe has increased within the last decades and many CDWs have never been trained in project management. However their role requires them to design and implement projects in their daily professional life. The PRODEV training module on project cycle management aims at strengthening the skills required for the following functions and activities:

FUNCTION 1: DESIGNING THE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT Carry out an assessment Design a project Carry out financial planning

FUNCTION 2: PROJECT MANAGEMENT Monitor a project Manage the finances Evaluate the project
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C. THE LEARNING BY DOING MODEL IN PROJECT METHODOLOGY 1. GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The method used for PRODEV training follows the learning by doing principle. By dealing with a concrete case, learners are able to fully acquire the targeted skills. It involves stimulating the opportunities to learn from ones experiences by acting in function of what one learns during theoretical courses. The ACTION segment may concern one or more steps of the project cycle. The terms and conditions of the PRODEV project stipulate that the theoretical portion of the project cycle management training will be 75 hours. Parallel to this, each community development worker will choose a project that they manage in the framework of their job. This project will be the learning support, which will be individually coached by a trainer for up to 12.5 hours per learner. The objective is to allow community development workers to experiment with their knowledge on their own projects. For example, projects may be coached in: Assessment making; Project design; Setting up a monitoring/evaluation system.

2. SPECIFICATIONS AND EXPECTATIONS OF THE TARGET AUDIENCE: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WORKERS

The community development workers, targeted by the PRODEV project, work for local authorities or non-profit organisations. Numerous community development workers have had initial training specialised in a given sector (health, social work, agriculture, etc.), and most of them have steered projects without having first been trained in project methodology. Community development workers in local authorities: Due to the trend toward decentralisation, local authorities are becoming more and more skilled, and are giving community development workers new functions with more responsibility in terms of project management. As examples, they may carry out the functions of: Contracting authority (funding agency), requiring knowledge of processes and procedures specific to project cycle management. Project manager, in charge of carrying out a project. Evaluator (Assessments, intermediary evaluations, impact studies, etc.)
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Community development workers in non-profit organisations: Increasingly, non-profit organisations must deal with restrictive funding and management structures that require solid knowledge in matters of building a project. For this, community development workers in these organisations must develop their skills, particularly concerning identification, project programming, fundraising, and setting up monitoring and evaluation systems. It seems interesting to mix these two sectors for the training proposed in the framework of the PRODEV project. On the one hand, this mixture will make it possible to establish a real exchange of ideas on each ones practices in project methodology. On the other hand, the participants will be able to collectively construct a reference list of common terminology and jargon. The selection of learners may be made based on the following criteria: Community development workers assigned to positions in structures such as: A local authority, or a public establishment for intercommunity cooperation ; A non-profit organisation.

Their educational backgrounds: A minimum of 3 years finished post-secondary education or an equivalent experience; Little or no training in project management.

Their current functions and declared needs: Recently made responsible for the management of one or more projects in their establishment; The need to reinforce specific skills in one or more areas: identification, programming, planning, fundraising, or monitoring/evaluation;

Each learner should have his/her own project before the starting of the training program. Lets call this project learning project. Each learner will be coached individually on his/her learning project. These projects constitute a teaching aid. Even if the learners are coached individually, they will also exchange information with each other about the progression of their projects. In this way, the more diverse their projects are, the richer the training will be.

3. LEARNING PROJECT COACHING

The coaching will last 12.5 hours by learner. Its objectives depend on the phase in which the learning project is situated and its nature. For example, it may concern: an assessment of a given problematic, proposing a direction, a feasibility study, designing a project, its evaluation, etc. This coaching requires thorough knowledge on the part of the trainer/coach of each learners project. For this purpose, each learner will describe his/her project at the beginning of the training module (oral presentation). We would suggest letting them doing this presentation without giving them any format. At the end of the training program, the trainer will ask them to fill a form about their learning project. These forms will contain the following information: An administrative identity card of the structure submitting the application (Name, address, human resources, number of members, etc.); A presentation of the learning project through project methodology tools (Objectives, activities, planning, budget, etc.).

Additionally, it is necessary to set up a monitoring/evaluation system of the project in an interactive mode. The indicators will concern the progression of the project thanks to the usage of one or more of the tools taught during the training sessions. The coaching mode will occur in the form of individual interviews. The object of each work session (between 3 and 4 hours) will be at the specific request of the participant according to the individual needs of that project. This request will be accompanied by all of the documents showing the projects state of progress. Experience shows that most project holders have problems with: Identifying the real needs of the targeted populations in the framework of a solid assessment. Too often, project holders remain fenced in by their emotional approach. Thus, they have great difficulty in expanding their analysis of the context, and redirecting their action strategies towards more adequate solutions to the problems connected to the realities of the field. The formulation of coherent and pertinent action strategies (links between the objectives, results and activities). In this sense, the Logical Framework tool may be a good method, although it is very rigid and unfamiliar to most community development workers Establishing a budget: We still see unrealistic budgets in view of the identified actions too often. Moreover, it has been shown that the approach to budgeting is a very technical discipline that is often poorly mastered by project holders (unbalanced budgets, improperly amortized expenses, poorly integrated estimations of goods and services). These observations based on IFAIDs experiences in matters of coaching, direct the following training plan and particularly the customised coaching. Nevertheless, the theme of each coaching session may be defined according to the expectations of each participant.
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4. TRAINING PLAN PROPOSAL

Each participant will establish links between their experience and the instruction. Each learning project will serve as a personalised learning aid that will evolve over the course of the training sessions. Length of the training program : 75 hours of training 12.5 hours by learner : individual coaching

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T raining P lan P R O DE V P rojec t

S c hedule Unit Nature P edag og ic al O bjec tives T rainers P os ition P edag og ic al method T rainer func tion Approx Duration (hours ) T eac hing aids C omments T he questionnaires mus t be filled by each leraner before the beginning of the program T o collect information about the trainees level, their expectations , and their learning projects T o know better about the trainees working environment, profiles, learning projects T o evaluate participants level concerning project cycle O bserver E valuator management T o identify the topics of s upport/guidance and coaching priorities Introducing partners involved within P R O D E V T raining introduction : T opics and a breaf ses sion concerning project cycle management approach

R equirement

E nquiry

E x ante ques tionnaire

Day 1

Introduction : P reliminary phas e

Individual coaching

D is cuss ion Q uestionnary

T echnician + g uide

2,0

H eavy coaching s es s ion is needed in E x ante ques tionnaire, learning project order to know better trainees presentation excpectations about the cours e and the P roject analys is (S W O T or other method), coaching T o expos e the P R O D E V packag e to the participants and to introduce the s take holders involved in the project (local and european partners ) T o implement an activity to make the participants "relax" T o as k the trainees to prepare a pres entation of their organisation and learning projects

D irector

P res entation

Mas ter

1,0

P R O D E V dis semination s upports (flyer, web site, etc.) R ound table (pres entation of their backgrounds and expectations ), ice braking activity L earning project pres entations , communication materials of the learners projects F eedback from the teacher us ing follow up project forms P ower point presentation and debate

G etting to know the participants each other / ice braking Activity L eader Day 2 Introduction : P reliminary phas e T raining Introducing each learning project T o enhance and focus on the added value of the training and develop the pers onal motivation O bserver

R ound table/ice breaker G uide

1,0

P res entation by the trainees

Adviser

3,0

P ropos ition of an agenda

D irector/Activity L eader/Neg ociator

P res entation

G uide

2,0

S hould be done as much as pos s ible through a participatory approach

T o learn the s pecificities of the project mode in community development projects Day 3 U1: P roject C ycle T raining T o unders tand the factors of success and failure in the projects by stres sing the methods for situation analysis , and the place and role of the local actors . T o mas ter the procedures for identification and prioritizing problems T o know as ses sment procedures , particularly those using a participatory approach T o us e a s ystemic approach to analys e a territory T o know how to implement a stakeholders analys is T o know how to implement an ass ess ment (data collecting, and analys es). T o know how to define s olutions s cenari and to elaborate the project framework T o mas ter the L ogical F ramework method T o be able to organis e with coherence thes objectives , activities and res ults T o know the evaluation criteria

P res entation / Mind map Mas ter D irector / Activity leader D ebates D irector D irector / Activity leader D irector D irector C oach P res entation D emons tration + role playing D emons tration D emons tration C ase s tudy G uide Mas ter T echnician + g uide Mas ter Mas ter G uide

4,0

Documentary video, P owerpoint presentations L earners tes timonies, publications about C ommunity Development P ower point presentation P ower point presentation and cas e study P ower point presentation and cas e study P ower point presentation and cas e study Documentary res ources , data analyses

T o start the unit with a warm up exercise T o stres s the differences between top down and bottom up approaches None None None None None

3,0 4,0 2,0 2,0 2,0 4,0

Days 4 & 5

U2: P roject Identification

T raining

D irector Activity leader Activity leader

P res entation

Mas ter

4,0 6,0 4,0 C as e s tudy and power point presentations

None None None

Days 6 & 7

U3: P roject P rog ramming

T raining

P res entation/S imulation G uide D emons tration (on quality) G uide

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T raining P lan P R O DE V P rojec t

S c hedule Unit S upport in the mechanis m of project identification and project prog ramming (U2 and U3) Nature P edag og ic al O bjec tives T o us e the as s es s ment tools for the learning project Individual coaching T o s upport the as s es s ment of the learning project T o update or review the learning project L F A T o know how to des ig n the action plan throug h G antt and P E R T method T o know how to des ig n the budget T o take into account trans vers al functions (manag ement) into the action plan T o know how to des ig n a funding plan Day 10 U5 : P roject funding T raining T o be able to adapt the action plan to the application form cons traints T o s ettle and lead a partners hip S upport to carry out the operational planning and the project funding (U4 and U5) T o s upport the des ign of the action plan and the budget of the learning project Individual coaching T o s upport the partners hip in the learning project C oach S upport/one on one coaching Advis er 3,5 C oncept of C ommunication and project networking Mas ter Director Day 12 U6 : Monitoring and E valuation T raining T o know how to des ig n the criterias T o know how to s et up a monitoring chart T o know how to as s es s the impacts T o s upport the des ign of the as s es s ment/monitoring chart of the learning project T o identify monitoring indicators and evaluation criteria for the learning project T o retarget the learning project according to new opportunities and res ults T o s hare the evolution of each learning project Day 14 F ollow up : T raining S upport C los ing s es s ion T raining T o as s es s the learning outcomes Activity L eader O bs erver G uide 5,0 Q ues tionnaire ex pos t None Activity leader C oach Demons tration C as e s tudy bas ed on the trainees projects P res entation T echnician G uide G uide 4,0 5,0 2,0 P owerpoint pres entation P res entation of s everal tools C as e s tudy coming from ex pos t / ex ante as s es s ment tools Analys is of project monitoring /evaluation tools None None None None None 3,0 P owerpoint pres entation None Trainers P os ition P edag og ic al method T rainer func tion Duration (in hours ) 2,0 C oach O ne on one coaching Advis er 2,0 P ublications about ass ess ment methods G uidelines to carry out L F A Director Director Activity leader Director and Activity leader Activity L eader Activity L eader P res entation P res entation Demons tration P res entation Demons tration Dis cus s ion T echnician T echnician G uide T echnician G uide Advis er / obs erver 2,5 2,5 2,0 3,0 3,0 1,0 P ower point pres entation P ower point pres entation C as e s tudy P ower point pres entation None None None None None None Teac hing aids C omments P ublications about ass ess ment methods None

Day 8

Day 09

U4: O perational planning

T raining

P res entation and analys e of an action plan and its adaptation to s everal application None forms L earners tes timonies about partners hips P roject log ical frame work and funding s trateg y None

None

Day 11

T o as s imilate the as s es s ment mechanis m

None

Day 13

S upport to monitoring and evaluation (U6)

Individual coaching

C oach

O ne on one coaching

G uide

3,0

D is cus s ion bas ed on the monitoring res ults None None None

75,0 12,5

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D. CONCLUSION

The objective of this manual is to share some methodological approaches in order to put together a learning by doing module concerning project cycle management. This module is designed for community development workers coming from the countries represented by the PRODEV project partners. The training plan presented here is based on two determining factors: - The list of key skills for project coordinators put together by IFAID, as the essential basis for addressing the question of what to teach? . This makes it possible to organize the training in function of the skills acquired and to be acquired by each learner. - A training method alternating theoretical instruction, practical exercises and a customised coaching system in project methodology. This training plan will evolve following a workshop between the trainers of the partner countries. Additionally, the results of these experiences will be collected and communicated at a European level.

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