BM224 Project Planning and Management

The course focuses on the theory and practice of project planning and management. It is designed for undergraduate students from the Faculty of Social and Gender Transformative Sciences and other disciplines as it adopts a multidisciplinary approach. Governments, civil society organisations, and the private sector respond to the needs of citizens through formulating and implementing developmental projects. Project management is an essential pragmatic tool in the universal implementation and successful completion of any intervention. Nevertheless, developmental projects have a long history of failure. Accordingly, social and gender transformative sciences students ought to appreciate the basic tenets of project planning and management. Amongst the issues covered in the course include planning contexts and stakeholder analysis, baseline survey designs, project planning and management techniques, and risk management. Empirical contemporary case studies drawn from both developed and developing economies will also be covered. The rationale is to inculcate practical skills; enhance critical thinking; develop an analytical mind and stimulate debate that surround the management of development projects.

Students who successfully complete this course will have theoretical and practical knowledge pertaining to the implementation of projects and the strategies for enhancing success. Graduates from the Faculty of Social and Gender Transformative Sciences could be absorbed in the public, private, or civil society sectors, where the implementation of projects is essential for the delivery of basic infrastructure and other services. Graduates could also start their businesses and this course imparts the skills that enable one to appraise business ideas so that the most feasible is selected. The graduates could also provide consultancy services to those wanting to start business or income generating projects.