The MSc/Postgraduate Diploma in Development Administration and Planning (DAP) at the Bartlett's Development Planning Unit (DPU), part of University College London, is designed to equip participants with the analytical, methodological and practical expertise needed to make a positive contribution to development in countries with which they are actively involved.
In particular, it helps students to acquire a range of tools for the formulation of appropriate responses to a diverse range of problems, including those relating to productive capacity, inter-sectoral integration, economic and social diversification and self-sufficiency. The course examines strategies for better export performance and efficiency in production, combined with policies relating to questions of distribution and, in particular, the reduction of poverty and inequality.
In recent decades the world has witnessed a much faster pace of economic growth, social advancement and expansion in international trade than at any previous time in history. The efforts of governments, private investors and rural and urban communities have been decisive in sustaining this development drive. Yet gaps remain between rich and poor nations, as well as between regions and people within the same country. In many cases, disparities between rich and poor are growing. So while some countries and individuals have made significant advances in an increasingly globalised world, others have fallen further behind.
Development remains a crucial challenge for governments and organisations the world over. For developing countries this means making the best use of their human, natural and cultural resources. For the people and governments of developed nations as well as for international organisations this generates a responsibility to seek frameworks for more equitable and sustainable forms of development. Critical awareness and expertise is crucial in achieving these goals. Of particular importance is the ability to understand and analyse situations and processes that impede or facilitate the development process and to formulate appropriate policies for meeting development goals.
By critically examining the theory and practice of development administration at the international, national and regional levels in a variety of contexts, the course seeks to provide participants with an understanding of the processes generating social change and with the skills and abilities to respond to such change. The course retains the DPU's long-standing preoccupation with planning for and with action. Its approach is critical, analytical and comparative.
The programme includes an overseas field trip, conducted in a developing country. This gives students the opportunity to study both the practical concerns of development, and the cultural, administrative and institutional context in which decisions are made.
