Program development introduction

This exercise attempts to simulate a real work environment in which you have to collaborate with your colleagues, process information effectively, and be persuasive in front of an audience. Last but certainly not least, your final project is designed to link the class to your concrete interests MA thesis, internship, passion project. These submissions to Moodle should cover three areas: a the most important point that you take away from the readings assigned that week; b a one-sentence critique to an argument; c one question to guide class discussion.

Some projects may be collaborative. Please consult with the instructor to obtain approval for the topic as well as for co-authored work. At the end of the semester, the final score is converted to a letter grade according to the CEU grading scale, as follows:. Additional information concerning grading procedures and specifications for turning in the assignments is also included in the CEU School of Public Policy Student Manual.

Skip to main content. Home Introduction to Development Introduction to Development. Master of Arts in Public Policy. Master of Public Administration. Master of Arts in International Public Affairs. Course Level:. Course Open to:. Academic Year:. Host Unit:. Department of Public Policy. Cristina Corduneanu-Huci. US Credits:. ECTS Credits:. Course Code:. Course Description:. The outputs are the units of service, e.

Outcomes are the impacts on the customers internal or external who are receiving the products, e. Each program should be strongly associated with the organization's overall mission. That is, the organization's executive leaders should work from the mission to identify several overall, major goals that must be reached and that, in total, reach the mission.

If an idea for a program comes up at some time other than during strategic planning, executive leaders must ask themselves if the program is really appropriate for the organization. Depending on the nature of the organization, strategic planning typically includes review of the organization's vision, mission, values, overall strategic issues and strategic goals each of which, in some organizations, becomes a program and strategies to reach the goals strategies to reach the goals often are the roadmap for how the program meets its own goals.

Because the program planning must be tied to the nature of the organization's mission, the program planning should be closely tied with the organization strategic planning as well. Typically, at a point right after the strategic planning process has identified strategic goals and issues, a team of planners can draft a framework for how goals can be met.

This framework is often the roadmap for a new program. For more information about strategic planning, see Strategic Planning.

Note that programs should not be ongoing means to fix problems in the organization -- otherwise, they become just that: ongoing, costly means to fix problems in the workplace.

A major responsibility of a board is to set strategic direction for the corporation. The corporation's board should be highly involved in authorizing and guiding initial direction for programs.

Therefore, boards should be involved in strategic planning of programs. Admittedly, many experienced chief executives might argue that they actually drive the board to conduct strategic planning. Many experienced chief executives, consultants, and other practitioners believe that ultimately, it's the working relationship of the board and chief executive that determines the success of a corporation. The chief executive, key planners, relevant middle managers and major customers internal or external should be involved in program planning.

Often, initial plans for a program are suggested to the chief executive and middle managers. Program planning is often initiated as part of the organization's overall strategic planning process and so is conducted by the strategic planning team, which should be comprised of the board in corporations , the chief executive, employee and key customers internal or external , as much as possible.

One can embark on a wonderful program planning process with all the right parts, but if key customers internal or external aren't involved to provide perspectives from the program user's point of view, the organization may build a beautiful ladder -- but on the wrong roof.

Involve customers internal or external in initial ideas about a program, discuss your perceived unmet need among those customers internal or external , ask how they would like the need to be met. You might run a final draft of your program plan past a couple of key customers internal or external.

Note that this involvement of customers internal or external is a critical aspect of the marketing process. For more about marketing, see Marketing research, pricing, competitor analysis, etc. If the organization involves the right people, and if everyone participates wholeheartedly and reflects on their experiences, then the organization will develop the "perfect" plan.

The organization remains the only real "expert" on their own planning. Outside consultants and facilitators can be brought in, but each planning decision is ultimately up to the organization members. The "perfect" program plan will meet the nature and needs of the organization.

Your plan doesn't have to be perfect and, like any plan, it isn't a rule, rather it's a set of guidelines that serve as reference for the future. You can change your plans -- just know why and be able to explain e.

This planning effort is almost always more than personnel want to undertake, but is almost always less than they fear. The following guidelines will help ensure the program planning process points in the right direction and will help ensure the resulting program is run effectively and efficiently. For more information about planning, see General Planning Process.

Outcomes are often confused with program outputs or units of services, e. Many people mistakenly believe that marketing is selling a product or idea -- selling is only part of marketing. Sound marketing includes researching a market to identify its needs or to assess if an idea you already have is really needed by that market.

Basically, you're verifying there's a group of customers internal or external who are interested in, or even better, really need your planned product. Marketing also includes working with customers internal or external to identify how they prefer to have the product delivered. For more information about marketing, see Marketing research, pricing, competitor analysis, etc.

So often, in the excitement of the birth of a new program, we ignore precious resources that already exist. The new program is but part of an overall organization, an overall system.

Pay particular attention to how the new program will coordinate with other programs in the organization. What inputs are needed from other managers and other programs? What ongoing feedback is needed among members of the new program and other programs? How can the new program benefit other programs?

Successful collaboration brings two or more organizations together to work in synergy, in an effort that is "more than the sum of its parts. In working together, there's an economy of scale, or sharing of resources, that lowers costs and focuses more resources on serving customers. These planned indicators will help you establish whether the program is successful or not, and will help you avoid doing a program for the sake of a program.

Programs are usually defined with very explicit deliverables. If you struggle with identifying key indicators of success, then imagine the program operating in a highly successful manner at some time in the future. Then describe what features of the program indicate that the program is successful. Getting the program off on the right foot includes not falling over your own feet because you were looking far off into the distance.

Many strategic plans are usually three years in scope, with particular planning focus on the first year of the three years. Follow this format for the program planning as well. Don't worry about exhaustive detail even in the first year of the plan. Plans are guidelines, not rules. Plans can be changed -- but understand why you changed them. Consider planning a short-term "pilot" program.

The pilot will be a sort of mini-program that will reflect many of the aspects of a full-blown program. However, planning and operations regarding the pilot will include numerous reviews and assessments from which to learn from experiences around the pilot program.

This learning will go into planning for the full-blown program. Note that investors are often highly cooperative in supporting pilots as an approach to research or verify the organization's proposed plans. Program reviews are regular examinations of the program's activities to assess how well the program is doing. A program review team should probably include the chief executive, the head of the new program and one or two other program directors, particularly those from programs that closely coordinate with the new program.

Examine if the program seems to be following the original plan. If it's not, the deviation is not as important as understanding why and assessing if the deviation was necessary.

Take a look at the key indicators as noted in the plan. What is the progress toward the key indicators?