Available courses

Food Losses Course

This training course aims to provide the participants with a series of sessions: (a)  better understand the key concepts, definitions, and state of the situation related to food losses; (b) illustrate how losses should be measured across the value chains and the best methodologies to use; (c) show how surveys can be implemented to carry out these measurements and to identify the sources and causes of food loss; and (d) provide empirical examples for a series of countries of the implementation of these methodologies.

Pro-WEAI Distance Learning Module 5: Interpreting and Presenting Pro-WEAI Results

This module is designed to help interpret the quantitative and qualitative findings of the project-Level Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (pro-WEAI). It builds on all four previous distance learning modules (Foundations, Survey Fieldwork, Qualitative Analysis, and Calculating the Index), but focuses on how to examine the data that has been collected and to interpret them in a project context. This module assumes that you have an understanding of the pro-WEAI structure and a familiarity with the pro-WEAI indicators and qualitative studies.


Pro-WEAI Distance Learning Module 4: Calculating the Index

Building on the pro-WEAI Foundations module, this module has two units about calculating pro-WEAI indicators, calculating the pro-WEAI score, and reading the tables and figures.

Pro-WEAI Distance Learning Module 3: Qualitative Analysis

Building on the pro-WEAI Foundations module, this module has four units about the qualitative pro-WEAI protocols. You will learn about why qualitative methods are included in pro-WEAI and how you may best use them for your project.

Pro-WEAI Distance Learning Module 2: Survey Fieldwork

Building on the pro-WEAI Foundations module, this module will equip participants with the knowledge and tools to understand every question and response option in each of the pro-WEAI survey modules, plan for enumerator training and pilot testing, successfully administer the pro-WEAI survey modules during data collection, and prepare for analyzing pro-WEAI data.

Module 1 du Cours en Ligne sur le Pro-WEAI : Notions de base du Pro-WEAI

L'indice d'autonomisation des femmes dans l'agriculture (WEAI), lancé en 2012 par l'institut international de recherche sur les politiques alimentaires (IFPRI), l'Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) et l'Initiative Feed the Future de l'Agence des États-Unis pour le développement international ( USAID), est le premier instrument complet et standardisé permettant de mesurer directement l'autonomisation et l'inclusion des femmes dans le secteur agricole. En réponse à la demande d'un instrument pour mesurer l'autonomisation des femmes dans des contextes spécifiques da un projet, le WEAI au niveau projet (ou pro-WEAI) a été développé. Le pro-WEAI propose des modules spécialisés pertinents au niveau projet ainsi que des modules optionnels adaptés aux programmes d'élevage, de nutrition et de santé et d'inclusion sur le marché. De plus, le pro-WEAI inclut des protocoles qualitatifs pour nuancer les résultats quantitatifs.

Nous avons développé ce cours en ligne pour former des chercheurs et des praticiens sur tous les aspects du pro-WEAI, de son fond à son application pratique dans un contexte de projet. Le cours complet est composé de six parties, commençant par la partie sur les notions de base, qui doit être terminée avant de s'inscrire à d'autres parties du cours.

Public cible:

Cette partie est conçue pour toute personne intéressée à comprendre les bases du pro-WEAI. Le public principal de cette comprend :

  • Personnel des ONG et des cabinets de conseil
  • Chercheurs dans les universités, les systèmes nationaux de recherche agricole (SNRA), les institutions du CGIAR et d'autres organisations internationales
  • Bailleurs de fonds et partenaires au développement
  • Personnel du gouvernement et des agences des Nations Unies
  • Acteurs du développement

Objectifs d'apprentissage

Après avoir réussi cette partie, les apprenants devraient être capables de :

·         Discuter des fondements conceptuels du pro-WEAI, y compris le concept d'autonomisation des femmes et le cadre Reach, Benefit, Empower.

  • Décrire les éléments clés du pro-WEAI, y compris les domaines et les indicateurs, et comment le pro-WEAI est construit
  • Comprendre comment les protocoles qualitatifs peuvent être utilisés de concert avec l'outil quantitatif.
  • Interpréter les résultats quantitatifs du pro-WEAI à l'aide de tableaux et de graphiques standard
  • Diagnostiquer, à l'aide du pro-WEAI, les principaux domaines de désautonomisation et comment ils peuvent être affectés par les interventions du projet

 

Notez que cette partie met l'accent sur les fondamentaux et ne couvre pas les détails sur la façon de mettre en œuvre les enquêtes quantitatives ou les protocoles qualitatifs, ou comment calculer l'indice. Ces sujets seront abordés dans les partie ultérieures du cours. Nous recommandons à toute personne qui mettra en œuvre le pro-WEAI de suivre également ces parties.


Structure :

·         Module 1: Comprendre l'autonomisation et le cadre «Reach, Benefit, Empower» [approx. 45 min]

·         Module 2: Méthodologie du Pro-WEAI  [approx. 1 heure]

·         Module 3: Interprétation du pro-WEAI [approx. 1 heure]

·         Quiz final [approx. 45min]

 

Étant donné que le module est autodirigé, il n'y a pas de dates d'échéance fixes pour le suivre, mais nous encourageons les apprenants à viser à terminer cette partie dans un délai d'un mois. Après avoir réussi cette partie et réussi le quiz final, les apprenants recevront un certificat d'achèvement, qui est une condition préalable aux parties pro-WEAI suivantes.




Pro-WEAI Distance Learning Module 1: Pro-WEAI Foundations

The Pro-WEAI Foundations Module addresses the importance of measuring women’s empowerment within project-specific contexts.


 It draws on qualitative methods to enhance understanding of women’s empowerment in specific social and cultural contexts and includes optional modules tailored to livestock and/or nutrition and health programs. This material presented is an initial step towards developing an e-learning course. The set of three video lessons include Lesson One - Using the project-level Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (pro-WEAI) for agricultural development projects, Lesson Two - The Pro-WEAI Tool, and Lesson Three - Lessons in Qualitative Methods. 


Impact Evaluation

Properly evaluating an intervention or program is critical to quantify its effects, determine intended and unintended outcomes and make any necessary corrections. While an adequate monitoring of a program permits to assess if the objectives of a program are being met through a continuous monitoring of different indicators of interest, a proper impact evaluation permits to assess if the observed changes are due to the intervention while controlling for other potential factors. This is key when there are plans to expand the program or replicate it in other contexts.

The objective of this course is to explain thoroughly the different stages and aspects in implementing a project evaluation, from including a counterfactual or control group in the evaluation design to selecting the most appropriate method based on the nature of the program, the outcomes of interest and the data that can be collected.

The course is divided into 6 topics: Introduction, Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Methods, Randomized Controlled Trials, Difference in Difference Analysis, Propensity Score Matching and Regression Discontinuity Design. A case study of the evaluation of the National Program to reduce stunting in Guatemala (Pacto del Hambre Cero) is provided at the end.


Advanced general equilibrium models

The third course further enriches the simple general equilibrium model presented in the second course. A public administration is introduced: it collects taxes and sets up subsidies and transfers. Then households' saving is introduced, which changes the macroeconomic equilibrium condition. Then business investment is introduced, which constitutes a new demand for goods and services, modifies the equilibrium condition of the goods market, and further modifies the macroeconomic equilibrium condition. Finally, relations with the rest of the world are introduced with exports and imports. This constitutes a new demand and a new supply of goods and services; it modifies the equilibrium condition of the goods market, and it further modifies the macroeconomic equilibrium condition. Finally, this course has allowed us to progressively build a general equilibrium model that is fairly representative of the models used in economic research.

General equilibrium models - an introduction

In a first step, the course presents the general principles of general equilibrium models, and in particular Walras's law: if there is equilibrium on n-1 markets, there is equilibrium on the nth market. Then this type of model is illustrated using a simple model with 8 equations and 8 unknown variables. Walras' law is illustrated with this small model, showing that if 7 equations are respected, then the 8th equation is necessarily respected. In a second step, the principles of construction of social accounting matrices are explained: this type of matrix records all the economic transactions and transfers made between the agents and institutions of an economy during one year; it is a square matrix where the sum of the cells of each row is equal to the sum of the cells of the corresponding column.... The Social Accounting Matrix of the previous model is presented. In a third step, the model is enriched with three goods, which allows us to enrich the production block with intermediate consumption, but also the demand block with a utility function.


Partial Equilibrium Models

Economists are increasingly called upon to design ex-ante evaluation models on the impact of economic reforms and shocks on the economic environment. This course is an introduction to partial equilibrium modeling. Students will learn the principles of partial equilibrium, the structure and the different issues of a GAMS program.

The first model is simple with only 6 equations and 6 unknowns, and it describes a national market with imports in a small country. Successive developments build upon the first model by introducing elaborated functional forms, the hypothesis of large country, substitute or complementary goods in consumption, value chains, and a world market. At the end of this course, students will be able to carry out simple but rich programs of ex-ante evaluation of the impact of economic reforms.



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