For-Credit Fall Graduate Course

Evaluation-based Program Planning and Implementation:

Using Evidence to Guide Design and Operations Decisions

17–28 October 2022

Madrid and Melilla, Spain

The University of Maryland School of Public Policy will offer an in-person, for-credit international graduate course where students will learn the tools of evaluation-based program planning and implementation. Classroom instruction will be provided by course instructors and guest faculty—complemented by consultations with officials of the Spanish Government, international organizations, and NGOs dealing with immigration issues.

Classes will be held at the Madrid campus of the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED) as well as other Madrid locations, with an optional field trip to the European Research Center on Minors and Migration in Melilla, Spain (subject to COVID rules).

The course is designed for mid-career professionals as well as doctoral, master’s level, and advanced undergraduate students studying social policy-related subjects such as economics, education, international development, political science/governance, public administration, public health, public policy, social welfare, sociology, and urban planning.

Although this course is part of the University of Maryland’s new “Certificate of Professional Studies in Program Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation,” it is open as a stand-alone course to any student who meets the eligibility requirements described below.

Faculty
The core faculty will be:

Douglas J. Besharov, University of Maryland, College Park (Program Director);
Douglas M. Call, University of Maryland, College Park; and
Sagrario Segado, Professor, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia.

The faculty will be augmented by a number of guest faculty who are luminaries in the fields of program planning, evaluation, and immigration, tentatively including:

Neil Gilbert, Professor, University of California, Berkeley;
Peter Kemp, Professor, University of Oxford;
David Myers, President and CEO, American Institutes for Research;
Martin Potucek, Professor, Charles University;
Anu Rangarajan, Senior Vice President and Director of Climate Change, Mathematica Policy Research;
David Seidenfeld, Senior Vice President, American Institutes for Research;
 

Course Summary
Governments, multinational organizations, NGOs, and funders need to make informed decisions about whether to establish, modify, or expand particular programs—and how to do so. This is often a complex process involving many interacting factors that are difficult to assess. And this, in turn, creates a demand for staff able to apply the tools of evaluation-based program planning and implementation.

The course seeks to advance the knowledge and careers of participants by helping them understand and apply those tools in real-world settings. Students will learn how to:

Formally assess the need to establish, modify, or expand a program (whether public or private);
Prepare a detailed program design using a logic model (informed by theory, research, and evaluation);
Estimate a program’s likely effectiveness, costs, and benefits;
Consider various modes of financing and delivery, including public/private partnerships and Social Impact Bonds;
Develop plans to assess the fidelity of implementation to the program’s original design, with the ability to make operational modifications, if needed, based on lessons learned after the program is initiated.

In addition to course instruction, the class will also visit relevant service programs and visit with senior officials of relevant Spanish government offices, international organizations, and NGOs in Madrid and, as an option, Melilla. As a heuristic framework, these will focus on migration issues.

A preliminary syllabus will be available on the course web page.

The course will culminate in the preparation of an analysis of a program (either proposed or existing) in a city, region, or country of the students’ choosing. The analysis can be either a formal needs assessment; a detailed program design using a logic model; an estimate of a program’s likely effectiveness, costs, and benefits of a program; a practical proposal for financing and delivery; a plan to assess the fidelity of implementation to the original design, with the provision for needed modifications; or another topic approved by the instructors.

Final papers will be due at the end of December.

Classes will be in English. In addition, simultaneous translation to Spanish will be available through (1) the Microsoft Translation app (available on both Android and Apple phones), (2) the subtitle feature on PowerPoint, or (3) a live translator. In addition, PowerPoint presentations will be available in Spanish beforehand.

Course Schedule and Facilities
Prior to the class meetings in Madrid, a preliminary online meeting will be held to discuss the course syllabus and other arrangements. In Madrid, the course will meet daily (tentatively 15:00–21:00) on weekdays from October 17 through October 25, 2022.

Present plans are for an additional field trip and meeting at the European Research Center on Minors and Migration in Melilla, Spain. (Students who opt out of this field trip will be assigned an alternate learning experience, either in Madrid or online.)

As mentioned above, final analyses will be due at the end of December, after students leave Madrid.

Eligibility
The course is open to mid-career professionals as well as doctoral, master’s level, and advanced undergraduate students studying social policy-related subjects such as economics, education, international development, political science/governance, public administration, public health, public policy, social welfare, sociology, and urban planning.

Although the course is part of the University of Maryland’s “Certificate of Policy Studies in Program Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation,” students who are not interested in completing the certificate may still enroll in this single course.

Students must be in good academic and judicial standing and must not have any registration blocks. The minimum GPA for this program is 3.0 (unless otherwise approved by the program director).

Course Credit 
Students will receive three credits from the University of Maryland upon successful completion of the course or six ECTs from UNED. Non-UMD and non-UNED students should confirm the transferability of credits with their home academic departments.

A non-credit version of the course will be offered (at a cost of 2,000 USD). More information can be found on the course web page.

Course Cost 
Standard program fee: 3,500 USD. The “early bird” fee (for students who apply before September 1, 2022) is 3,000 USD. (Both are fully refundable up to three weeks from commencement of the course)

Enrollment Fee: 75 USD (for non-UMD students only; non-refundable).

The program fee includes registration and administration, tuition, course related activities, and teaching services. Students are responsible for transportation (including to and from Madrid, to and from Melilla, if that option is selected) as well as lodging, meals, and other incidental expenses.

A non-credit version of the course will also be offered (at a cost of 2,000 USD). Participants will receive a “citation of participation.”

Application Deadline
Applications will be accepted through October 15, 2022; applications to receive the reduced “early bird” rate must be submitted by September 1, 2022.

Because space is limited, early application is encouraged. Students will be accepted on a rolling basis.

Application
Prospective students should contact Michael Horlick (mhorlick@umd.edu) of the University of Maryland School of Public Policy to apply for the course.

Accommodations
Students will be responsible for arranging their own accommodations in Madrid. In Melilla, there is a lodging center for students.

Additional Information
Further information regarding the course format, travel, and other course logistics will soon be available on the course web page: http://umdcipe.org/Program_Planning_Implementation.html