Career Development
MDF offers a package of courses most of which can be attended separately, yet at the same time these courses are
interrelated and build upon each other. A number of our training courses are designed specifically for a particular
group of clients: managers, desk officers and advisers. Other courses serve all these careers across the
board.
Managers
The trajectory for project or programme managers starts with the Management Tools and Skills course for young professionals
(MTS). This course focuses on essential management tools and cross-cultural teamwork. The project and programme
management courses (PM and PMC) contain all subjects related to phases of project
life, from analysis to evaluation, as well as personal management skills like conflict management and negotiating.
Specific courses for managers include Financial
Management and International Human
Resource Management.
The Beyond Management Series consists of a serie of four courses and is specifically designed for experienced
managers and development practitioners. You may choose from a variety of management related topics, to identify the
ones best suited to your individual needs and interest. Subjects include: Leadership for Development, Networking in Development, Knowledge Creation for Development and the Human Factor in Development. Topics: quality and
performance management, managing change, strategic thinking and strategy development, leading learning organisations,
power, politics and ethics.
Desk Officers or Portfolio Managers
For desk officers or portfolio managers responsible for managing a number of projects or programmes and working at international, national or regional offices, there are several courses in the field of project cycle management. A comprehensive course covering all the phases of the project cycle for desk officers is , Project Cycle Management Course. Courses offered on specific phases are: Planning and Budgeting (PCM/PLAN), Appraisal (PCM/APP), Monitoring (PCM/MON) and Evaluation (PCM/EVA). Moreover there is a four-day course dealing with perhaps the most complex element of PCM; the development of good and realistic indicators for monitoring purposes (PCM/IND). Managing International Partnership (MIP) is a newly designed course leading to improved relations with your partners overseas.
Organisation Advisers
The learning trajectory for organisation advisers starts with the Institutional Development and Organisational Strengthening course (ID/OS), followed by the Organisational Development for Advisers & Consultants Course (ODAC). After these courses and having gained additional experience in practice, the adviser may want to professionalise his or her advisory competencies further and become an internationally recognised adviser. For this purpose, we have designed an innovative trail called International Advisory Trail (IAT). The sequence is from learning how to use various tools and methods, through learning how to organise the change processes and then mastering all important advisory competencies. The International Advisory Course (IAC) combines the two basic courses (ID/OS and ODAC) and the assessment of your competencies as part of the trail (IAT).
