RUG: Management in Humanitarian Action

This course addresses the management of humanitarian organizations, the main other actors involved, and the opportunities and dilemmas for humanitarian action and rebuilding. It also discusses the main critiques of humanitarian management and possible alternatives.
 
This course is designed to help students think through the main managerial and organizational issues in humanitarian affairs. Understanding these issues provides the participating students with an insight in the broader context of humanitarian action. The overall aim is to help students obtain the professional skills and insights for working in complex/chronic humanitarian/political crises. Further objectives of the course are to acquaint students with the basics of organization and management theory and project management, and to understand and be able to develop projects within the field of humanitarian action and HA organizations.

Project cycle management.
Log frame analysis.
Project cycle, smart indicators and measurement and evaluating projects.
Intercultural management.

Learning outcomes of the NOHA network for Management in HA:
 
- Understanding of the different aspects of general management, including program management, in Humanitarian Action
- Knowledge of the international humanitarian system and of different actors and stakeholders involved
- Capacity to identify the key issues in humanitarian action planning
- Understanding the importance of long term perspective and local participation in humanitarian interventions within the broader context of international cooperation
- Be able to assess humanitarian programmes / projects
- Capacity to work in a team

The assessment for this course will be carried out using the method of portfolio assessment. During the course each individual student builds up his or her own portfolio of various documents and other outputs that collectively demonstrate the required knowledge and competencies. At the end of the course your individual portfolio will include a variety of gradable sources that might have been individually produced, or together with fellow students. Collectively this constitutes the final individual grade for the course.

The goal of the portfolio is to build up an archive of evidence to demonstrate an acquired (learned) competence. The competence for the course Management in Humanitarian Action is to understand and to be able to engage in project work in humanitarian action organizations. In order to (further) develop this competence, attention is given to formulating project proposals, evaluating projects, acquiring knowledge about project management, communicating to others within and outside projects, and to be self-aware and reflective about yourself as a project worker.

The completed portfolio at the end of the course will include the following (percentages refer to the constitution of the final grade):
- 25% Analysis of Management questions in a specific field of Humanitarian aid (Individual assignment)
- 45% Project proposal (group assignment)
- 25% Evaluation of a project in Humanitarian Action (group assignment)
- 5% Reflection report (individual assignment)

As part of the portfolio, each student also needs to write an individual reflection report on the portfolio. This individual reflection report provides every student to reflect upon the acquired competences and to explain and account for what has been learned.