Unit Law and international cooperation projects
- Course
- International relations
- Study-unit Code
- A003197
- Curriculum
- Cooperazione internazionale e state building
- Teacher
- Lyda Favali
- Teachers
-
- Lyda Favali
- Hours
- 45 ore - Lyda Favali
- CFU
- 6
- Course Regulation
- Coorte 2022
- Offered
- 2022/23
- Learning activities
- Affine/integrativa
- Area
- Attività formative affini o integrative
- Academic discipline
- IUS/02
- Type of study-unit
- Opzionale (Optional)
- Type of learning activities
- Attività formativa monodisciplinare
- Language of instruction
- English
- Contents
- This course is an introduction to the theory and practice of law and development and international cooperation.
It consists of two parts.
The first part is theoretical. It focuses on understanding the origin and the core concepts of “law and development.” It analyzes the main actors of development cooperation at international, regional, national, and subnational levels, as well as the articulated range of its sources at each level.
The second part of the course is practice-oriented. It focuses on the tools for the formulation and implementation of development projects. Students will familiarize with the EU terminology and its technical documentation through several real case studies. Students will learn what Project cycle management (PCM) is and how to navigate its distinct phases. In the last weeks of the course each student will elaborate under the supervision of the professor two key project documents (the logical framework and the action plan) based on the terms of reference (ToR) of a real project published on the EU website. Students will then present the final version of their logframes and action plans in class to their peers. - Reference texts
- Students non attending classes: Patrick Develtere, Huib Huyse, Jan van Ongevalle, International Development Cooperation Today - A Radical Shift Towards a Global Paradigm, Leuven University Press, 2021
Students attending lessons: theoretical and practical materials will be distributed in class. - Educational objectives
- This course represents the main opportunity in the two-year period to learn the basics and fundamental concepts of law & development and project design. It provides an overview of the key players in international cooperation at the global, regional, and national levels and elaborates on their mutual relationships. The course also summarizes the main instruments of international cooperation, with particular reference to those of the European Union. Finally, the course focuses on learning the bases of project design, by teaching students how to concretely draft some key documents.
The main knowledge acquired will be:
Knowledge of the fundamental aspects of law and development;
Knowledge of the main actors of development cooperation at the global, regional and national levels;
Knowledge of the main instruments of international cooperation, particularly those of the European Union;
Practical knowledge of the bases of project design achieved by drafting key project documents.
The main skills (ie the ability to apply the knowledge acquired) will be:
Ability to identify and describe the fundamental aspects of law & development;
Ability to identify and describe the main actors of development cooperation at the global, regional and national levels;
Ability to identify and describe the main instruments of international cooperation and in particular those of the European Union;
Ability to concretely elaborate the core documents of a project of international cooperation. - Prerequisites
- There are no prerequisites. As the course is held in English, knowledge of English at least at an intermediate level is required in order to follow and actively participate in the lectures. This applies to both attending and non-attending students.
- Teaching methods
- Combination of frontal lectures and coaching. The first part of the course is based on frontal lecturing, with the support of audio-visual materials. Students are encouraged to read in advance the teaching materials, to be able to engage in active discussion in class. The second part of the course is based on coaching. Students will develop the core documents of the project cycle (logframe and action plan) by themselves with the active support of their teacher. In this phase, internet will often be used, to familiarize the students with the pages of the European Union website containing the calls for proposals of the corresponding projects. Through a series of successive refinements (iterative method), students will prepare a final draft of their documents and will discuss it in class with their peers.
- Other information
- We strongly encourage active classroom participation and suggest students to read in advance the course materials, so that they are prepared to participate in the classroom discussions. During and at the end of each lesson, participants are encouraged to ask questions and clarifications. Students can also contact her via e-mail or mobile phone for additional clarifications and explanations.
- Learning verification modality
- Students’ assessment consists of an intermediate practical exercise and a final oral examination. The final grade is 30% based on the first and 70% on the latter.
The intermediate practical exercise is based on drafting the project documents called Logical Framework and Work Plan in line with the Terms of Reference of a real EU project. The evaluation is based on the quality of the project documents drafted by the student and on the ability to present these documents in class in a clear and effective way.
The final oral examination is based on the subjects covered by the course curriculum and on the recommended course materials. The exam aims at assessing the students’ level of knowledge and understanding, as well as their synthesis skills. It also aims at assessing the students’ method, property of language and communication skills in conveying the knowledge acquired. The duration of the exam is on a case-by-case basis, depending on how the examination is progressing. The examination usually begins with a question on a topic chosen by the student to put him/her at ease.
If the student wishes to take the exam a year ahead as per university curriculum schedule, we recommend that the student attends all lectures and takes the exam at the first session at the end of the lectures. - Extended program
- This course focuses on the role played by the main international development agencies in the development of the aid receiving countries. Non-lawyers will familiarize with legal concepts and materials, as well as with the key concepts of legal development.
The first part of the course will address the following topics:
- The origin and meaning of “development assistance” and its main indicators.
- The aid receivers: fragile states, least developed countries, emerging economies
- The main development actors: a) the UN system, its organizations and specialized agencies; b) the international financial institutions (IMF e WB); c) the EU, the High Representative and the European External Action Service (EEAS); d) OSCE, DAC and the Working Party on Aid effectiveness; e) state actors: the Italian development cooperation and its 2014 reform; f) an overview of the (international and national) NGOs system.
- . The second part of the course is highly practical and focuses on project design. We elaborate upon the instruments of external action of the European Union as well as on the programs and their implementation. We explain the relationship between decision-making and the operational level, from the publication of the calls for proposals on the EU dedicated website until the final evaluation of various projects.
- We explain in detail the methodology known as PCM / Project Cycle Management and teach students how to use it. A number of concrete examples of project documents pertaining to the distinct phases of the PCM will be shown in class, and the students will learn how to independently draft two of them (the logical framework and the action plan