MDI-NH Course Descriptions

** Indicates Course Prerequisites. See full descriptions below.

Week Two Daily Schedule:
Monday through Friday 8:30 AM to Noon and 1:30 PM to 5:00 PM
Saturday 8 AM to Noon and 1:00 to 3:30 PM
Closing Session and Dinner 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM       

MICROFINANCE TRACK COURSES


Track Overview

For 2008 the MDI-NH will offer several of its most popular courses in a new schedule format with courses ranging from two to six full day sessions. The Microfinance track covers a broad spectrum of knowledge and skill areas, from theory and policy to financial, human resources and risk management and investment readiness strategies to topics which confront some of the more cutting edge  and hopeful trends emerging in the field today including Savings Led MF and Youth Entrepreneurship. Most courses are geared towards experienced practitioners (2-5 years minimum – see prerequisites) and our facilitators include some the leaders and sages of the global microfinance movement.

Week One Sunday June 8th to Saturday June 14th

A Financial Refresher
Sunday June 8th  (one day course)
10 AM to 4 PM
Facilitator: Kadry Furany
Prerequisites: None

Targeted participants: MFI’s Senior / Middle Management, Donors staff, and MFI’s support agencies with little or no accounting background and experience in the development of financial statements of MFI’s. The refresher will enable participates to understand basic accounting concepts, as well as contents and layout of financial statements (income statement, and balance sheet). The course is a preparatory stage for participants of the MFIs Financial Performance Analysis course and the MFIs Financial Management, Monitoring and Evaluation course in week two.

MFIs Financial Performance Analysis**
Tuesday June 10th to Saturday June 14th
8:30 AM to 5 PM
Facilitator: Kadry Furany
Prerequisites: Participants of the course should have basic understanding about the contents and layout of MFIs financial statements (income statement, balance sheet, in addition to the portfolio report) or are encouraged to attend the one day Financial Refresher course.

Targeted participants: MFI’s Senior / Middle Management, Donors staff, and MFI’s support agencies with little/no experience with development and analysis of financial statements of MFI’s. The purpose of the course is to teach participants how to assess and analyze the performance trends of Microfinance projects through the effective utilization of financial ratios. While participants should have a basic understanding of accounting and the interpretation of financial statements, the course will provide a basic overview of these concepts before entering into more complex types of analysis. The course is very rich with case studies, group exercises, and best / better practices that will help participants understand implications of decisions/directions of MFI’s. The course is designed to be very participatory using high standard adult education techniques and is consistently one of the highest rated and most popular of the MDC and MDI curriculum.

Current Issues in Microfinance and Microenterprise Development
Tuesday June 10th to Wednesday June 11th
8:30 AM to 5 PM
Facilitator: Malcolm Harper
Prerequisites: None

Modern' or 'new paradigm' micro-financial services are reaching perhaps as many as eighty million people worldwide. These services are being provided by specialized micro-finance institutions (MFIs), by existing banks which have added micro-finance to their product portfolio, and by non-governmental organization (NGOs) which offer micro-finance along with other services. Millions of previously un-banked households are being reached every year, and in India and Bangladesh between 20% and 50% of the target families have been covered. Multinational banks such as Citibank, HSBC, Deutsche Bank and ABN AMRO, along with many large local commercial banks and venture capital funds are involved in supporting and securitising MFI portfolios.
Leaders such as Senator Hillary Clinton and the Queen of Spain, as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation and others, are enthusiastic supporters of this movement. Globally 2005 was recognized and celebrated as the Year of Micro-credit. Euphoria is widespread; credit is deemed to be a human right, some say that micro-finance will eliminate poverty. Micro-finance has come of age.
Although micro finance is often touted as a cure for poverty in developing countries, there is little evidence to support this claim. In many countries market penetration is still low and several millions of the poorest people are still excluded. The time has come for some cautious reappraisal of micro-finance. There are a number of critical issues that merit examination. The intention of this course is not to throw out the baby with the bath water, but to look critically at what is happening, to fine-tune, perhaps to pause and reflect. This course will focus on providing participants with the knowledge and the skills critically to examine the major developments in micro-finance in the last decade.
Using participant-centered teaching methodologies and real life case studies, this course will be useful for participants who are looking for a wide-ranging introduction to micro-finance, for national and international policy makers and donors, and for people who work in the field and are looking for a broad overview of trends and alternative strategies. Some of the major questions that will be examined in this course are –
• Reaching the poorest of the poor - Does micro finance really help the poorest?
• Gender Empowerment - can loans to women lead to real employment creation and the evolution of a 'modern' economy? What does it mean to say that micro-finance leads to women's empowerment?
• Group intermediation: can groups realistically facilitate loans to traditional individualist entrepreneurs?
• Delivery methodologies: can the highly structured and disciplined Grameen approach really empower people?
• Livelihoods: is micro-finance essential for livelihood development? Can an MFI combine financial services with livelihood promotion services?
• Institutions: should NGOs try to be banks? Is micro-finance any more than a subset of banking, and should it not be done by existing licensed banks?
• Regulation: why should central banks bother with special regulations for MFIs? Should MFIs not hand over their portfolios to the existing regulated banks?

Supervising, Managing, & Developing Staff of MFIs
Tuesday June 10th to Wednesday June 11th
8:30 AM to 5 PM
Facilitator: Peter Greer
Prerequisites: None
 
This course concentrates on managerial challenges, with an emphasis on microfinance institutions. It is designed for practitioners who want to more effectively manage their staff. Specific topics will include: performance monitoring, recruitment, staffing and structure, motivation and compensation strategies (including incentive schemes), policy and procedure manuals, staff development, and training plans.

Investment Readiness for MFIs**
Thursday June 12th to Saturday and June 14th
8:30 AM to 5 PM
Facilitator: William Harrington
Prerequisites: Participants should have at least 3-5 years experience as a senior manager of a Microfinance Institution

A hands-on course intended to enable senior managers of MFIs to gain the confidence and skills to successfully attract private capital.  The course begins with a critical appraisal of the participating MFIs from the point of view of the equity investor.  Business plans are developed and/or refined.  The characteristics of specific investors are identified.  Case studies are employed to surround the participants with the details of negotiated transactions. 

Institutional and Operational Risk Management for Microfinance Institutions
Thursday June 12th to Saturday and June 14th
8:30 AM to 5 PM
Facilitator: Michael Spingler
Prerequisites: None

Today’s MFIs operate in an environment where both the nature and potential consequences of risk are on the rise.  Risk management examines various areas such as planning, competition, expansion and growth, product and service delivery and accounting, financial and information systems to prepare for and control internal and external risks to operate and compete effectively and efficiently.  

The course is designed to provide the participant with an overall understanding of risk management strategy and how it is an integral part of the overall business plan of an MFI.  It will identify major institutional and operational risks faced by an MFI and provide useful insights on how to mitigate these threats to the institution by discussing the development and implementation of appropriate strategies, processes and controls and monitoring and evaluation tools.

Week Two Monday June 16th to Saturday June 20th

MFIs Financial Management, Monitoring and Evaluation**
Monday June 19th to Saturday June 20th
8:30 AM to 5 PM
Facilitators: Kadry Furany and Hugh Allen
Prerequisites: 1) at least 3 years of solid practical experience in microfinance, 2) a solid understanding of accounting issues and financial analysis, 3) basic familiarity with computer spreadsheets. Taking the "Financial reporting, performance analysis and monitoring "course offered in Week 2 is highly recommended. Competency in these Prerequisites areas is essential to fully understand the materials presented in this course.

The Financial management course will use a case-study approach to cover a series of key issues related to the establishment and profitability of MFIs.  This will provide participants with the opportunity to devise their own solutions to the problems. The issues on which the course will focus are:
• The trade-off between reaching the poor and sustainability
• Limits to outreach: how far can an MFI go and how different methodologies are key to the outcome
• The strategic use of different sources of funds
• Managing hyperinflation
Using the FRAME tools and integrated into the coursework on ratio analysis, the case studies will show how MFIs can develop strategies that enable them to reach profitability, while grappling with challenges that are common to newly established and growing institutions. The first two case studies will illustrate how an MFI designs its products and methodology to reach its target clientele, with a special emphasis on how to serve the poorest of the economically active, while striving for profitability.  The cases will also show how changes in methodological approaches can have a significant impact on the financial viability of the MFI, as markets evolve and relationships between different types of financial service programmes create effective synergies. 

Key Issues in Micro Finance Policy
Monday June 16th to Tuesday June 17th
8:30 AM to 5 PM
Facilitator: Michael Swack
Prerequisites: None

This course examines the key policy issues faced by microfinance institutions and practitioners in developing countries. Topics include financial markets, the influence of competition, regulation and supervision, credit enhancements and subsidies, and securitization and secondary markets. The course will make extensive use of case studies and will encourage participants to relate the issues to current policy issues in their countries.

MED Strategies Promoting Youth Entrepreneurship
Wednesday June 18th to Thursday June 19th
8:30 AM to 5 PM
Facilitator: Fiona Macaulay
Prerequisites: None

Acquire an understanding of current market development theory and best practice: subsector selection, value chain analysis, support market assessment (including ‘BDS’) and intervention design. Participants will learn how to identify the constraints that impede the participation of microentrepreneurs in profitable value chains, select sustainable solutions and service providers, and design appropriate interventions that strengthen markets. Teaching tools will include case studies, exercises, interactive lectures and small group work.

Perspectives On the Savings Led Revolution
Friday June 20th to Saturday June 21st
8:30 AM to 5 PM Friday and 8 AM to 3:30 PM Saturday
Facilitator: Jeffrey Ashe
Prerequisites: None

Microfinance is a development success story with 93,000,000 borrowers worldwide, but what of the hundreds of millions who are too poor and too distant to ever be reached by MFIs. This course focuses on a burgeoning alternative microfinance model that shows how to reach those left out at scale and low cost. Instead loans delivered through increasingly sophisticated MFIs this “savings led” highly decentralized model takes the opposite tack. Thousands of informal saving and lending groups are trained to operate on their own with expansion driven by group leaders training new groups. Groups mobilize their own savings and lend it at interest with interest building the group’s loan fund instead paid to an external lender.
The course will focus on Oxfam America's “Saving for Change” savings led experience in Mali, Senegal and Cambodia that the instructor designed and directs supplemented by case studies on similar initiatives he has written from Nepal (Pact), India (CRS) and Zimbabwe (CARE). The course provides participants the nuts and bolts skills they need to launch similar initiatives starting with an in depth understanding of how ROSCAS – tontines, susus, merry go rounds, etc. – operate and how savings led programs build on these traditions with simple training  delivered by generalist NGOs.  Students will be provided copies of the Saving for Change operational manuals, training protocols, MIS system and evaluation framework. 

PRO-POOR ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT (PPED) TRACK COURSES

Track Overview
Pro-Poor Enterprise Development Program (PPED) is a two-week track consisting of three modules that prepares participants for all stages of PPED projects from basic concepts through research and market assessment, design and planning, and implementation. The track courses are suitable for managers, donors and practitioners who are involved in value chain, BDS or market development programs that target poor producers and entrepreneurs. The course introduces participants to basic principles and concepts of PPED including value chain and subsector analysis, support services, and market linkages. Tools and techniques for PPED projects are also offered, from market assessment through project design and implementation. Participants learn how to identify opportunities and overcome constraints that hinder microentrepreneurs and smallholder farmers from being profitably involved in market activities. The course also enhances skills and knowledge in the design and development of well-functioning value chains which lead to “win-win” long-term relationships.  It is taught by experienced practitioners with track records both in designing and implementing PPED projects, as well as in teaching and facilitating workshops in Africa, Latin America and around the globe.

Week One Sunday June 8th to Saturday June 14th
 
Module One: Pro Poor Enterprise Development Principles And Practices - Foundational Concepts and Practices for Pro-Poor Value Chain Analysis and Market Development Programs
Tuesday June 10th to Saturday June 14th
8:30 AM to 5 PM (Includes Thursday Field Trip)
Facilitator: Linda Jones
Prerequisites: None
 
This course will provide an overview of current market development theory and best practice: subsector selection, value chain analysis, support market assessment (including ‘BDS’ – Business Development Services) and intervention design.  Participants will learn how to use market assessment tools to collect information and be introduced to the analysis and use of this information in program design. A two-day fieldtrip will provide practical experience and facilitate the learning of classroom teachings. Teaching tools will include case studies, exercises, interactive lectures and small group work. A variety of learning methods – instruction, observation, practice – will be utilized to provide hands-on experience and develop capacity in data collection, consolidation and analysis.
Learning Objectives
• Introduce participants to the basic principles of pro poor market development
• Familiarize participants with subsector and value chain analysis and selection
• Provide a practical grounding in information gathering approaches and tools, and their specific application to market development / value chain program design
• Offer a hands-on opportunity for understanding and application of introductory learning
• Expose participants to solutions and interventions that have been used in a range of contexts to overcome constraints in market development / value chain programs

Week Two Monday June 16th to Saturday June 21st

Module Two: Designing and Planning PPED Programs -Tools and Techniques For The Design and Planning of Innovative Programs with Sustainable Results**
Monday June 16 to Wednesday June 18 
8:30 AM to 5 PM
Facilitator: Alexandra Snelgrove
Prerequisite:  Week One or permission of instructor. 

 Building on the basic concepts, market research and value chain analysis skills acquired in the prerequisite course, participants will develop capacity in the design and planning of innovative PPED programs with sustainable results. Participants will become familiar with a range of concepts, strategies, and presentation tools.

This will include:
• Learning a methodology for comprehensive problem analysis and problem trees
• Utilizing problem analysis to create a logical framework analysis (LFA) 
• Developing program activities and workplans 
• Selecting appropriate and achievable indicators at the output, outcome, and impact level
• Understanding results-based program design
• Mainstreaming cross-cutting themes
• Teaching methods will include: case study analysis, team and individual problem solving, brainstorming sessions, exercises Takeaway guides and toolkits will facilitate application in the field.
Learning Objectives:
• Deepen participant’s exposure to solutions and interventions that have been used in a range of contexts to overcome constraints in market development programs
• Equip participants with methods for turning identified constraints into viable solutions
• Build skills in designing interventions that can achieve desired solutions and outcomes
• Gain confidence and practice in the design of innovative program interventions 
• Develop participants’ capacity to incorporate cross-cutting themes into programs including HIV/AIDS, gender and M&E

Module Three: Implementation Strategies for PPED Programs - Programming Approaches, Value Chain Models and Implementation Methodologies**
Thursday June 19 to Saturday June 21
8:30 AM to 5 PM Thursday and Friday and 8 AM to 3:30 PM Saturday
Prerequisite:  Week One or permission of instructor. 
Facilitator - Alejandro Escobar
Prerequisite:  Week One or permission of instructor. 

During this course, participants will be taken through market development structures and strategies that promote viable value chains with specific reference to producer group’s formation, management and their subsequent linkage to lead firms both local or export. The course will demonstrate that effective market development strategies are critical for generating both economic growth and poverty reduction. Specific topics to be covered include: Core philosophy for  market development initiatives; Determination of competitive strategies that integrates smallholder producers within sustainable value chains; Identification of key players to provide market support services to enable producers to upgrade; Development of “win-win” commercial and mutual relationships along the supply chain and its implications on long-term competitiveness; and Defining different exit strategy options to ensure long-term sustainability. Teaching tools include case studies, group exercises, plenary discussion and lectures.
Learning Objectives:
Enhance skills and knowledge in the design and development of well-functioning value chains which lead to “win-win” long-term relationships
Enable participants to analyze and understand the role of different stakeholders within value chains, and to overcome bottlenecks and other barriers
Build participants’ capacity to evaluate the performance of the market development program especially its long-term sustainability after the program has ended

COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TRACK COURSES

Week One Sunday June 8th to Saturday June 14th

Community Economic Development Approaches to HIV/AIDS
Tuesday June 10th to Wednesday June 11th
8:30 AM to 5 PM
Facilitator: Monica Onyango
Prerequisites: None

The AIDS epidemic touches all aspects and levels of society. The disease affects individuals of all ages including those in the most productive age groups, thereby disrupting livelihoods.  Individuals, families and communities need to be prepared to  cope with the effects of HIV/AIDS epidemic in their lives in sustainable ways.
 
This course introduces students to the economic, social, and political impact of HIV/AIDS on the health of families, communities, and society. Techniques for working with communities to identify culturally appropriate responses to HIV/AIDS are presented. Using examples from developing countries, community-based approaches will be explored and analyzed. Lectures, case studies, in-class exercises and videos will be used to facilitate learning.

COURSE OBJECTIVES
 
General objective:
The main aim of this course is to introduce HIV/AIDS disease and its impacts on individuals, families and communities. Participants will explore practical strategies of community economic development to mitigate the consequences of the disease.
 
Specific Objectives;
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
# Describe Human Immunodeficiency Virus(HIV)  and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS): signs and symptoms, treatment and preventive measures; 
# Discuss the global magnitude of HIV/AIDS epidemic;
# Analyze the impacts of HIV/AIDS on individuals families and communities;
# Explore community economic development approaches which can mitigate the effects of HIV/AIDS among  individuals, families and communities;
# Design approaches which can be applied at the community level for sustainable livelihoods among those affected by HIV/AIDS.

Microfinance and Enterprise Development in Emergency Environments
Thursday June 12th to Saturday June 14th
8:30 AM to 5 PM
Facilitator: Timothy Nourse
Prerequisites: None

Over the past twenty years, conflict in the developing world has changed in number and nature, rising in frequency and shifting from wars between states to long-term internal conflicts.  At the same time, population pressures and/or poor governance have exacerbated the effects of natural disasters in many developing countries.  As the prevalence of these emergency situations has increased, so has their effect on microfinance and enterprise development programs.  Successful microfinance institutions have had to react to civil strife or natural disasters in their country and new microfinance institutions have been called upon to provide services in post-conflict or post disaster environments as part of reconstruction efforts.  Similarly, enterprise development programs that traditionally began years after an emergency are starting earlier and earlier, as donors and practitioners try to accelerate recovery and economic development efforts.
This course in Microfinance and Enterprise Development in Emergency Environments will examine both the challenges and opportunities posed by emergency and post-emergency environments on microenterprise development activities.   Students will review the characteristics of emergency environments and discuss how microfinance institutions or enterprise development programs can work in situations of insecurity, civil strife and disaster.  Afterwards, focus will turn to post-conflict or post-disaster reconstruction and how different initiatives can be implemented to respond to the difficulties of poor infrastructure, weak markets, insecurity and low human resource capacity, while taking advantage of the opportunities presented by failed systems to forge more effective environments for financial service provision and business development.  Finally, the course will examine how microenterprise development programs should interact with different actors in emergency environments, including government, donors, MFIs and other relief agencies.

Week Two Monday June 16th to Saturday June 20th

Development of Cooperatives
Monday June 16th to Tuesday June 17th
8:30 AM to 5 PM
Facilitator: Christina Clamp
Prerequisites: None

A cooperative is a flexible model for creating community-owned institutions. This course covers the start-up of a cooperative, membership issues, legal issues, tax and security issues, cooperative management systems and the educational components of cooperative development. Students review various types of cooperatives, including worker, consumer, credit and housing cooperatives.

Development as a Tool of Conflict Resolution
Wednesday  June 16th  to Saturday June 21st
8:30 AM to 5 PM Wednesday to Friday and 8 AM to 3:30 PM Saturday
Facilitator - Chris Mburu
Prerequisite:  None

This course looks at the underlying causes of conflict and the processes by which conflict escalates. Students examine effective methods for resolving conflict. Case studies are used to examine how cooperation through the implementation of CED efforts is working effectively.

Gender Issues in Community Economic Development
Wednesday  June 16th  to Saturday June 21st
8:30 AM to 5 PM Wednesday to Friday and 8 AM to 3:30 PM Saturday
Facilitators:
Martin O'Reilly and Catherine Rielly

-The organization of decision-making, the division of labor, and resource control by gender are important elements of any community-based development initiative. This seminar will examine the importance of gender in development policies and projects that affect local communities in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.  Students will explore how gender analysis can improve the outcome of all community economic development activities. 
 
The course begins with an overview of Women in Development (WID), Gender and Development (GAD), and household models: the neo-classical model, as well as alternative approaches, such as cooperative conflict and bargaining models.  Students will learn techniques of gender analysis for project and policy design, implementation, and monitoring and apply them to specific case studies.  Small group simulations of project planning in health, agriculture and other sectors will provide students with an opportunity to practice these techniques.    Other course topics include:
•              Overview of WID and GAD
•              Gender-Disaggregated Statistics and Indicators.
•              Gender Analysis Framework:  Project Design and Implementation
•              Gender and Refugees
•              Gender and Health, with special attention to HIV/AIDS
•              Gender-based Violence
•              Gender, Poverty and the Economy

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