“I am very excited about the new ‘follow up support’ element of this course. It has been developed in direct response to feedback from course participants. The feeling has come through very strongly that on-going contact with me, the course director, once they had returned to their organisations could really help participants to reflect on their two weeks of training, enable them to apply what they have learnt and start to embed it into their work.”

Penny Plowman

Aim

To build knowledge about gender and gender analysis for development practice and organisational change.

Target audience

The course is designed for development practitioners seeking to build gender knowledge and practice skills for gender equity. It is aimed at improving practice in gender analysis for programme delivery and building leadership for enabling organisational cultures. The course attracts programme staff and managers in development agencies and government departments/ministries; women’s rights officers; gender focal points; members of gender intervention teams, often known as ‘office gender teams’ or ‘women’s rights teams’.

Methodology

Two week course in Norwich at UEA: 

The two-week course uses participatory methodology and action learning to explore the theory and practice of change and gender as an organisational value.

• The course content is informed by Gender and Development and Rights Based Approaches. The course introduces participants to the core concepts of gender analysis and applies these to each stage of the project cycle. Topics include problem and context analysis; planning; access and control; voice and accountability; gender disaggregated data; measuring change (quantitative and qualitative indicators); monitoring and evaluation; leadership.

• Exercises in individual reflection and group work enable participants to examine their own practice. Participants are encouraged to use a Personal Learning Journal.

• Participants learn about strategies and competencies for improving practice and building an enabling internal organisational structure and culture.

• During the two weeks participants develop their own case studies which are shared at the end of the course. The process of building the case studies throughout the course facilitates learning and knowledge building and gives participants an opportunity to test learning.

• Action planning: At the end of the course participants develop action plans which provide the basis for the distance learning and follow up support element of the course.

• The course provides handouts and other reading materials. The participatory methodology facilitates the generation of documentation relevant to the group and individual contexts.

Follow up support:

• The course offers participants support through distance learning. After attending the two-week course at UEA, participants will receive 4 hours support on return to their organisation. This to be taken up within 4 months of the end of the two-week course. Distance learning will be provided through email and telephone (skype). The content will be shaped by the needs of the participant and is likely to include guidance and support for implementing action plans and the review of practice as the plans are implemented.

• The follow up support is vital for continuing the process of building gender knowledge for practical application and essential for personal reflection as part of the action learning model. 

Knowledge of gender, women’s rights and empowerment concepts; practice in applying theory to work context; understanding of why organisational structure, function and practice are essential for equity; practice and familiarity with action learning; knowledge of leadership and change strategies for advancing gender equity within development organisations.

Course Director

Dr Penelope J. Plowman is  is an experienced international gender and development practitioner who specialises in organisational analysis. Dr Plowman, Honorary Research Fellow at International Development UEA, runs gender short courses at UEA for development practitioners and teaches on a short course for MA students called ‘implementing organisational change: practical skills and techniques for gender specialists’. She provides capacity building support through mentoring, process work and action learning in development organisations. Her doctoral research focused on gender and organisational change, for which she conducted an ethnographic organisational case study. She has many years experience working in Africa and more recently has enjoyed working in India. She divides her time between the UK and South Africa. Her current portfolio includes teaching at the University of Johannesburg, Development Studies; building DFID’s gender knowledge and practice skills in South Africa and Mozambique; briefing and training on the Qualitative Diary Method for organisational research. See Dr Plowman’s website for more information: http://eastanglia.academia.edu/PennyPlowman

How to Apply

International Development UEA is a charitable company that has pioneered research, training and consultancy in International Development since 1967.

International Development UEA manages both the UK-based and international project activities of the University of East Anglia's School of International Development, as well as work undertaken in partnership with other Schools. The company works with a wide range of clients, including national and international development agencies, governments, NGOs, international research centres and private clients. Since 2001, we have worked with an estimated 600 different partner organisations and in any year we have 100 or more live projects underway.