Experiential Learning: The Evaluation Course (API 6339)

How can we know whether a policy or a program works? Who wants to know and why? And what happens with this knowledge?

​This course investigates these questions. Students will learn about the basic methodological principles of evaluating policies or programs, dissect a range of evaluations, get insights of what is typically happening with this type of knowledge, and learn how to collect, analyze and synthesize evidence which is useful for policy makers. 

The course is  an exercise in experiential learning. The main objective is to produce real insights on real questions for real policy makers. Much of this class feels like an applied research project, with ample room for independent scholarly work.

​Every year I team up with a partner/client and investigate a real-life problem which is of interest to our partner. Throughout the course we interact with our partners. Our "deliverables" (reports, policy papers, presentations.) are then be presented to the partner.

In recent years, we have worked with Global Affairs Canada and with the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development on topics such as: Aid to rural vietnam; support for women in rural Vietnam; aid for cooperatives and SME in Vietnam; the Canadian Feminist International Development Assistance Policy (FIAP), esp, programs for reducing violence against women, programs for increasing enrollment of girls, and programs for economic growth for women and girls; international aid to Afghanistan.

You can find a sample syllabus for the course here. 

Sample reports produced in API 6339

Testimonials
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Partners
The cooperation with your graduate seminar was very useful for our department. I would recommend this kind of collaboration to other colleagues. 
  • Thomas Feidieker, Division 312: Afghanistan, Pakistan

Collaborating with Dr. Zuercher’s graduate students to contribute to a corporate international assistance country evaluation was a very positive experience. The students produced five literature review reports to inform the evaluation. These reports were of good quality and very useful for the evaluation.
  • Annie Xu, Evaluation Manager for Global Affairs Canada, PRA-PRA Intl. Assistance evaluation

I can attest that our partnership was a valuable one - it has served as a model for other partnerships with other institutions/groups. 
  • Isabelle Mercier, Deputy Director, Development Evaluation 

The collaboration resulted in several contracts with high performing and talented students to work on a literature review and document review as lines of evidence to help inform the evaluation of International Assistance in a developing country in Asia.   The quality, timeliness  and amount of work and evaluation products produced by the students was impressive.   I would highly recommend this type of collaborative experience to my government colleagues.  It is an excellent opportunity to connect government and academia and to build on each other’s strengths.  
  • Donna Anderson, Deputy Director. International Assistance Evaluation Division (PRA)


Students 
The evaluation class at GSPIA was by far one of the best and most challenging experiences of the program. I am able, and still do, to practice and put to use the set of skills I learned in class in my current job. I highly recommend this class to any student at GSPIA as it is one that will teach them skills that they will most certainly take with them into their careers in public and international policy." 
  • Razan Masad, Electoral Programme Analyst at UNDP Bureau for Arab States 


Mon cours d’évaluation de politiques publiques avec le professeur Christoph Zuercher est mon meilleur souvenir du programme. Dans ce cours, nous apprenons réellement à devenir des chercheurs, à évaluer les sources d’informations et la qualité des articles que nous lisons. Personnellement, je pense que ce cours devait être enseigné pendant toute une année et devait être offert aux étudiants avant qu’ils ne commencent à rédiger leur travail de recherche final. La charge de travail du cours est énorme, mais le résultat est tellement gratifiant que tout le travail exigé vaut largement le détour.  C’est le meilleur cours que j’ai suivi dans tout mon parcours universitaire. Nous y avons non seulement acquis des connaissances théoriques sur la recherche systématique et l’évaluation de programmes et politiques publiques, mais nous avons également développé une expertise pratique sur le programme mondial sur les femmes, la paix et la sécurité. Nous avons appris à différencier les apports, bénéfices et inconvénients des interventions basées sur l’approche instrumentale comparés à celles basées sur les droits humains. Notre capacité à travailler en équipe a également été aiguisée puisque le plus grand projet du cours était un projet d’équipe. En somme, je garde un bon souvenir du professeur, de la bibliothécaire et des six autres étudiants qui ont suivi ce cours avec moi : une équipe multiculturelle formée de professionnels (les) issus (es) de divers horizons, mais riches d’une belle humanité partagée.  
  • Léonne  Valentin, Policy Analyst at Natural Resources Canada

This  course was one of the most interesting, engaging, and valuable courses that I had the privilege of participating in at GSPIA. It offered practical experience and transferable skills that I since have been able to utilize in the work place, including the ability to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of social programs to support desired outcomes and ensure the appropriate allocation of resources for my organization.
  • Reem Saraya, Policy Analyst 

Professor Zuercher’s class provided practical experience that helped me learn more than in traditionally formatted classes. The class impressed hiring managers and helped me qualify for positions within the federal government.
  • Michael Swenson, graduated in September 2019

The Evaluation Course was one of the most hands-on experiences I had at GSPIA. Working on a real-life problem for a client meant I deepened my theoretical, analytical, and professional skills simultaneously. 
  • Rowand Laird,  Regional Economic Advisor - Strategy, Innovation, and Policy Sector (Pacific Region) - Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada 

This is a very organized course. It effectively transfers knowledge to the students about the necessities for conducting good program evaluation and systematic review, ex. the criteria to evaluate whether a program meets its goals, qualitative and quantitative methods for program evaluation, the purpose of the systematic review, etc
  • Mengrou Wang
The evaluation course was in the top three courses I had that had the most practical experience associated and where I obtained transferable skills I still use in my current position in the federal government..  I used this project as examples during my initial job interviews and employers were impressed/happy to hear students are obtaining this knowledge and relevant skills. 
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  • Andrew Coon
One of the best courses I took while at uO. We came away from that course with a toolset that is readily applicable in almost any situation. Without overdoing it, I'd say my experience of the course was kind of like reading Daniel Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow: it teaches you how to think logically using available evidence while checking your priors and doing your best to limit your biases. 
  • Michael Zanette

The course offered the necessary theoretical foundation to not only evaluate, but apply a practical ‘real-life’ application of evidence-based research to emerging contemporary issues in public policy. This class was immensely rewarding, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in strengthening their independent research skills.
  • Sheila Mandegar, a former student at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs

It exposed me to a high profile policy file and introduced me to GAC officials that I otherwise would never have met. The most important take-away from the course for me was the presentation we gave for management from various divisions on our findings. It was an opportunity to interact with policy makers and gain experience in the art of briefing government officials. 
  • Jessica Becker