Programme design

theIDLgroup has contributed to numerous design processes, supporting the design of effective and innovative projects, programmes, policies and strategies for donor agencies, governments, and other development organisations.

Design may be a one-off event such as a specific design mission, or an ongoing process with several stages leading to the evolution of thoughts and ideas which culminate in a final agreed design.  Design inputs can be made at various points during the planning cycle, not just during the formal design stage. 

These include:

• scoping/identification – the consideration of options for intervention and identification of the best way forwards
• design – including pre-appraisal/appraisal, where the overall plan is outlined and specific elements of the plan are put into place
• strategic planning – which often equates to a design process where the question ‘what are we trying to achieve?’ is followed by the question ‘how are we going to achieve it?’
• operational planning – the interpretation of the design (or strategic plan) into something that can actually be implemented in practice. This often requires implementers to go beyond or adapt the original design documents to achieve workable solutions or adapt to changes in circumstances
• review – the output of periodic reviews of projects, programmes, policies and strategies, which often results in a need to amend the original design to adapt to new knowledge or changes in the environment.

Design not only applies to donor-funded projects and programmes, but is also a key part of wider government programmes, government policy and strategy, donor strategy, and the policy, plans and strategy of other organisations. Design processes we have been involved in include:

Project and programme design:

• phase II of Mozambique’s Agriculture Sector Programme (PROAGRI)
• phase II of Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme, a programme providing social protection to 8.29 million chronically food insecure people
• support to Agriculture Sector Harmonisation in Ghana, bringing together multi-donor sector budget support within a common policy and institutional framework
• chars programme in Bangladesh, which aimed to support 8 million vulnerable households
• basic Services Fund for South Sudan aimed at moving from a relief based to a developmental approach.

Organisational plans and strategies:

National policy and strategy design processes:

Donor strategy design processes: