Development Diplomacy: An Introduction to Development Cooperation for Diplomats


Description and Objectives

Development cooperation is an important sector of international relations, particularly in North-South relations. Diplomats play an increasing role in negotiations concerning the over 100 billion US dollars spent yearly by donor countries and multilateral agencies. Moreover, development influences most other diplomatic agendas, starting from traditional issues such as security, and ranging to newer topics like the environment, trade, health and migration. Unfortunately, diplomatic training rarely includes an introduction to and training in development cooperation, thus hampering the capability of diplomats for successful negotiations in that field.

This course presents basic knowledge, strategies, processes, techniques and tools aimed at facilitating development cooperation between two or more countries and/or institutions. It addresses various mechanisms of development cooperation on the national, regional and global levels. The course looks at development issues from the perspectives of both donor and recipient countries. Theory and analysis are supported with examples and illustrations from the professional experience of the course authors.

This course aims to:

  • sensitise participants to the importance of development cooperation in today's international relations;
  • familiarise participants with the main concepts, issues, dilemmas and operational aspects of development cooperation;
  • enable participants from developing and developed countries to better understand the context of their partners' backgrounds and positions in issues related to development cooperation;
  • equip participants with methods and tools enabling them to contibute usefully and efficiently to development cooperation activities. 

 

Course Outline

  1. Introduction: rationale for the course; goals and structure; definitions and basic concepts (poverty alleviation, participation etc.); presentation and interpretation of important figures of bilateral, multilateral and private cooperation.
  2. Kinds, Forms and Instruments of Development Cooperation: definitions and characteristics of humanitarian aid, development aid and economic measures, including the interplay among them; analysis of the main methods for each of these forms.
  3. Multilateral Development Cooperation and Diplomacy: main characteristics of multilateral development cooperation; multilateral actors and stakeholders; the roles of multilateral development institutions at country, regional, and global levels; governance of multilateral development institutions; donor and recipient country perspectives; recent trends and challenges.
  4. A View from Developing Countries: reasons that recipient countries strive for and accept development cooperation support; importance of support for the development of the country; positive and negative consequences of development cooperation; expectations for improvements.
  5. The Donor Perspective: reasons of official and private donors to realise development programmes; the role of “self-interest” and corresponding figures; expectations of donors concerning the commitment of recipients and effective transfer of funds.
  6. Millennium Development Goals: evolution of developing thinking since its inception; MDGs as the basis of current development policy; analysis of the main goals and their relevance for development; mechanisms of implementation and analysis of mid-term results.
  7. The Role of Diplomats in International Development Cooperation - Tasks and Tools: the specific tasks of a diplomat in development cooperation activities; introduction to some simple tools to assess development cooperation projects and evaluate implementation; reflections on possible dilemmas between traditional diplomatic tasks and those of development cooperation activities.
  8. Overview and Outlook: new trends and analysis of different approaches; differences in perspectives between donor and recipient countries; reasons for failures and successes; main current problems and outlook.

 

Who Should Apply

  • Practicing diplomats, civil servants, and others who work in international relations who want to refresh or expand their knowledge under the guidance of experienced practitioners and academics;
  • Post-graduate students of diplomacy or international relations wishing to study topics not offered through their university programmes or diplomatic academies and to gain deeper insight through interaction with practicing diplomats;
  • Post-graduate students or practitioners in other fields seeking an entry point into the world of diplomacy;
  • Journalists, staff of international and non-governmental organisations, translators, business people and others who interact with diplomats and wish to improve their understanding of diplomacy-related topics.

 

Structure and Methodology

This course is conducted entirely online over a period of 10 weeks. Reading materials and tools for online interaction are provided through an online classroom. Each week, participants read the provided lecture text, adding questions, comments and references in the form of hypertext entries. Lecturers and other participants read and respond to these entries, creating interaction based on the lecture text. During the week, participants complete additional online activities (for example, further discussion via blogs or forums, quizzes, group tasks, simulations or short assignments). At the end of the week, participants and lecturers meet online in a chat room to discuss the week’s topic. To complete the course successfully, participants must write several essay assignments. Courses are based on a collaborative approach to learning, involving a high level of interaction.

 

Lecturer(s)

Dr Andri Bisaz
Development Diplomacy

Dr Andri Bisaz holds a PhD in Geography and Geology from Berne University, Switzerland. After some years in private industry, he served from 1973 to 2004 in the Swiss Foreign Ministry, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). After heading the Swiss Development Coordination Office for Central Africa in Yaoundé/Cameroon, he was in charge of the West Africa Division at SDC and later of the Division for North Africa and the Middle East. He is author of different publications on development cooperation and the environment and has lectured, for the last five years, on diplomacy and development cooperation in Switzerland and Malta.

 

Ms Utchay Okoli
Development Diplomacy

Ms Utchay Okoli is a native of Nigeria. She holds a BSc in Botany (University of Benin-Nigeria), a Master in Contemporary Diplomacy (University of Malta) and an MSc in Disaster Management and Sustainable Development (University of Northumbria, UK). Her dissertation was a policy study on the MDG3 and the strategies implemented by the Nigerian government and other development organisations to address the socio-economic vulnerability of the Nigerian woman. Since 2003, her focus has been capacity building in the development sector with particular emphasis on the development and implementation of policies that effectively address socio-economic hazards. Her work underscores the importance of people’s empowerment as a vital development asset, especially for emerging economies constantly grappling with scarce resources and severe capacity constraints. Utchay has also worked as a lead facilitator for a non-governmental organisation in Nigeria.

 

Mr François Rohner
Development Diplomacy

Mr François Rohner holds a MBA in economics from the Institute of Management, University of St Gallen, Switzerland. He served in the early 70s as economic advisor for regional cooperation in Rwanda and joined SDC in 1975. After heading the SDC coordination office for Eastern Africa in Nairobi, Kenya between 1975 and 1981, he was till 2006 in charge of SDCs Division of Multilateral Affairs. He has chaired numerous international working groups within the UN system (particularly on UN reform in development cooperation) and the OECD.

 

Prerequisites

Applicants must have:

  • an undergraduate university degree; OR three years work experience and appropriate professional qualifications in diplomacy or international relations;
  • sufficient ability in English language to undertake postgraduate level studies (including reading academic texts, discussing complex concepts with other course participants, and submitting written essay assignments of up to 2500 words in length);
  • unrestricted access to the Internet using Firefox or Internet Explorer web browsers (please contact us for more details if you are in doubt about your level of access).

 

Fees

Course fees depend on whether you wish to obtain university credit for the course:

  • 755 euros (University of Malta Accredited Course)
  • 575 euros (Diplo Certificate Course)

Applicants must pay full fees upon official acceptance into the course. The fee includes:

  • University of Malta application fee (for University of Malta Accredited Courses only);
  • full tuition;
  • course orientation pack where applicable (optional readings);
  • access to all course materials online, via Diplo’s online classroom;
  • access, via the Internet, to the University of Malta e-journal collection (University of Malta Accredited Courses only);
  • personal interaction via the online classroom with course lecturers, staff and other participants;
  • online technical support;
  • for Diplo Certificate Courses, postgraduate level certificate issued by DiploFoundation on successful completion of course requirements (interaction and participation, all assignments).

 

Financial Assistance

Discounts are available for more than one participant from the same institution. A limited number of partial scholarships are available for diplomats from developing countries. To apply for a scholarship please include your CV or resume, and a letter outlining your interest in the course and financial need, with your application package.

 

How to Apply

A number of routes for application are available, depending on the needs of the applicant: