INTRODUCTION

The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been severe in sub-Saharan Africa, but so far countries are weathering the storm. In fact, according to the African Economic Outlook (2019) of the African Development Bank Africa, real GDP is estimated to contract by 2.0% in 2020, at the low end of the April 2020 forecast. 

This overall decline rate of 2% hides significant disparities between sub-regions and between countries. In the same sense, even within a single country, sectors are affected unevenly and sometimes even sectors such as information and communication technologies and digital trade have grown in some countries.
Thus, for a good economic recovery, it is important to make an in-depth impact analysis by area by country and by sector. 

Public Policy analysis relies heavily on data collected at discrete intervals along the policy cycle. That begins from the problem identification through evaluation. In this disruptive age, managers are required to upskill their professional skills in gaining the ability to identify issues and challenges. They should be able to analyse data and situations, make informed decision and evaluate the outcome of policy implementation. 

It is against this backdrop that the African Institute for Economic Development (IDEP) and National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN), Malaysia, are jointly organizing the second phase of the training programme on Evaluating Public Policy after the first one organized in 2019. With IDEP as development partner, this joint-programme is organized under the flagship programme of Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP)- a Government-to-Government Fellowship Programme by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia.

This time round, the one-week course will be delivered online with the Malaysia’s Perspective for the benefit of African officials.  Combined with policy analysis, the course includes policy analytics that also discusses emergent examples and Malaysia’s in-house mechanisms/toolkits to guide managers to an appropriate adoption of policy analytics for supporting policy making

This activity is in line with the establishment of the MTCP which aims at strengthening the South-South cooperation by its training programs on various development fields targeting developing countries nationals.

OBJECTIVE OF THE COURSE

The course aims at enabling participants to plan, evaluate and strategize on public-sector policies to boost economic growth rates, master the tools and tactics needed to get things done and move  organization forward. Participants will be able to formulate effective policies, through various methods of analysis using the in-house analysis toolkit to monitor and evaluate effectiveness of policies; introducing Malaysia’s public policy evaluation and monitoring methods in public sector policies and developments such as outcome-based evaluation, value management and high-impact project to provide a sustainable and resilient policy-making. In this regard, participants will be exposed to the experience of Malaysia in public policy implementation, monitoring and evaluation through some case studies. There will also be a comparison with African experiences in terms of policy evaluation. Thus, the course will encourage experiences sharing and learning of good practices.  

TARGET PARTICIPANTS

This course is designed for mid and high-level officials from the public sector who are involved in the design, implementation as well as monitoring and evaluation of development policies, programmes and projects. Officials involved in the monitoring of SDGs are also concerned and encouraged to apply.

SKILLS TO BE IMPARTED 

•    Gain an in-depth understanding on the mechanisms, tools, focus areas, challenges in developing and analyzing key areas in making decisions in public policy.
•    Comprehend the concepts and fundamentals in evaluating and monitoring public policy. 
•    have a practical knowledge in adopting the public policy analysis toolkit 
•    Be able to analyze or recommend solutions to public policy related issues and identify the criteria for determining the success of that strategy.
•    use data analytics to improve public policy
CONTENT 
The course will focus on the following:  

•    Public policy making and analysis in the context of Malaysia
•    Policy evaluation
•    Project monitoring and evaluation 
•    Evaluation of Public policies: Housing Policy, Urban Policy, Healthcare Policy, Foreign Direct Investment, National Water Services, Budgeting System…
•    Comparison with African experiences

MODE OF DELIVERY

•    Language: The course will be delivered in English ONLY. 
•    Duration: One (1) week.
•    Resource persons: The course will be delivered by a group of experts/trainers invited to lead the programme. These resource persons are top-level professionals with a first-hand knowledge and experience of public policy evaluation.
•    Number of participants: A total number of twenty (45) participants are admitted into this course.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

Acceptance to the Course 
Applicants to the course are expected to have, as a minimum, a bachelor’s degree preferably where courses related to statistics, planning, project management, monitoring and evaluation. In addition, two years of work experience will be required. Women candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. 

Until the registration deadline, participants are accepted to the course on a rolling basis and subject to availability of slots. 
Applications must be completed exclusively on IDEP online application platform at https://www.unidep.org/?apply

Certificate of Completion 
A Certificate of Completion will be issued by IDEP to all participants who successfully complete the course-related self-assessments presented for each module. 

Technical Requirements 
Access to internet is an essential condition for participation. The following specifications, as a minimum in terms of hardware and software, are required to take this e-Learning course, please consult your Network Administrator or Systems person to ensure that you have the following: 
•    Platform: Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT, ME, XP or superior; Mac OS 9 or Mac OS X; Linux 
•    Hardware: 64 MB of RAM, 1 GB of free disk space 
•    Software: 
o    Adobe Acrobat Reader
o    Adobe Flash Player
o    Microsoft Office (Windows or Mac) or Open Office
o    Browser: Google chrome, Firefox 36 or higher or Internet Explorer 7 or higher 
o    Zoom application (preferably desktop version, if not mobile devices version) (https://zoom.us › download)
•    Modem: 56 K 
•    Note that JavaScript, Cookies and Pop-ups must be enabled 

CONTACT INFORMATION 

IDEP E-Learning and Knowledge Management Division
Tel: +221 33 829 55 00
Fax: +221 33 822 29 64
Email: elearning@unidep.org 
•    IDEP and MTCP strongly encourage and support the participation of suitably qualified female officials in its capacity development and training programme.

•    Kindly note that only selected participants will be contacted