What the programme did
MA Social Development Practice 2006-08
‘An innovative and groundbreaking programme’
Gary Craig, Professor of Social Justice, Hull University, UK
Do you ask these questions?
- How do I makes sense of, and develop appropriate responses to, the situations I am working in?
- How can I help groups/organisations/communities work through change to bring social benefit and renewal?
- What is my role, legitimacy and capacity to assist development processes?
- How can my organisation create a developmental culture?
- What concepts and approaches is my work based on?
- How do I work with risk and uncertainty?
The development school (tds) had revised its popular postgraduate practice based programme to help students explore how to bring about meaningful social change.
The programme was:
- Focused on your practice
- Connected practice with learning and policy
- Provided a forum for joint initiatives
- Created a platform for influencing others
The programme enabled students to gain greater capacity to think about, design and use developmental strategies and practices for social renewal.
Key features were:
- Validated by London Metropolitan University at certificate, diploma and masters levels
- Two year programme starting early 2006 with six 7-9 day residentials with interim assignments and online support from a personal tutor
- Core topics include development concepts and approaches, effective development practice, creating developmental cultures in organisations, professionalism and self in practice
- Highly interactive with strong focus on working on cases from practice
- Extensive reading and web-based learning support
- Based near Budapest Hungary and run in English
- Two parallel groups of 12 students with 4 internationally acclaimed tutors
- Fees ranged from €4000 – €15 000 excluding travel/accommodation (see scholarships below)
Targeted to: Those based in public or civil society organisations in Central and Eastern Europe whose role is to help groups (NGOs, communities, community groups, public institutions) develop their quality and relevance and best serve the needs of their communities. Primarily, these groups are likely to be ‘external’ to the organisation in which the individual is based but they could be branches, field offices, outreach services or members of a network related to the same organisation.
Supported by: Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Open Society Institute Roma Participation Program (4 full scholarships available), Open Society Foundation Slovakia (2 full scholarships available), VIA Foundation Czech Republic (2 full scholarships available), Rockefeller Brothers Fund (1 full scholarship).
“The Development School gave a thorough grounding to my work and understanding: new insights, an overview of different approaches, better reading of my environment, a range of tools and a sense of vocation.”
Cili Simonyi, BOCS Foundation, Hungary and tds graduate