Developing effective programs and successful proposals requires professionals to achieve a thorough understanding of the evidence base. Often, social and human development initiatives operate in isolation, with the lessons-learned confined to donor reports, episodic webinars, and academic publications. A systematic review is an applied research method that pulls together related individual outputs, and through structured synthesis and interpretation, advances the research base to inform decision-making for programs and proposals.

This is a project-based course (both individual and group projects) where you will learn how to interrogate the evidence base, how to conduct a systematic review, and how to use findings to inform proposal and program development. This course offers students an opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to the field.