Information for D&G Workshop Clients
Overview
The Capstone Workshop in Sustainable Development Practice (the D&G Workshop) enables SIPA to partner with a diverse range of organizations on innovative development projects and approaches.
Through the D&G Workshop, student teams add value to their clients’ current and future programs through focused desk reviews, country-level research and consultations, and practical recommendations. The D&G Workshop encourages multidisciplinary approaches to development challenges. Organized by SIPA’s Development and Governance (D&G) concentration, the D&G Workshop collaborates with other SIPA concentrations, and with other parts of Columbia University including its centers and regional institutes. The D&G Workshop also welcomes opportunities to collaborate with universities and student researchers in the country where the client is located.
D&G Workshop Clients and Projects
D&G Workshop clients include national and local governments, United Nations agencies, corporations, foundations, NGOs, social enterprises, and others. Past clients have found the workshop extremely valuable, and several have partnered with SIPA over a number of years. Previous D&G Workshop projects have included needs and sector assessments, program evaluations, strategies for expanding existing projects, development of mobile apps, dashboards, tools, case studies, mapping exercises, facilitation of workshops and conferences, and other activities.
Timeline
The D&G Workshop process begins over the summer (June–August), when possible project ideas are discussed with clients. By September, preliminary terms of reference are developed. In late October, teams of students are matched with projects based on their language proficiency, skill sets and interests. Supported by a faculty advisor, each student team starts work by early November on a draft work plan. Depending on the needs of the project and available budget, students can travel to carry out in-country consultations and data-gathering over Columbia's winter and spring holidays (in early January and in mid-March).
| June–August | Clients contact D&G Workshop Director Jenny McGill ([email protected]) to discuss project ideas and develop preliminary terms of reference (PTOR) for a project. |
| September |
PTORs are finalized. Each project is then matched with a faculty advisor. |
| October | Students are matched with projects based on their language proficiency, skill sets and interests. |
| November–March |
Based on initial client meetings and desk research, each student team prepares a draft work plan by early December. Following the work plan, the team then conducts further desk research, interviews and other data-gathering, and data analysis. (Most projects also involve country-level research and consultations, which can be carried out over Columbia's academic breaks in early January and/or in mid-March.) |
| April–May |
The student team prepares a report (or other deliverables) for the client’s review, and presents highlights of their work during a two-day hybrid workshop at SIPA. (On request, the team can make a more detailed presentation to the client at the client’s convenience.) |
Deliverables
Based on their desk and country-level research, each team prepares a report and recommendations (or other deliverables) for review by the client in April. The student teams present highlights of their final reports during a two-day hybrid workshop at SIPA at the end of April. For clients who cannot attend that workshop, other arrangements can be made to present the students’ findings and recommendations to the client and other stakeholders.
Cost-sharing
The only costs associated with the D&G Workshop are the costs of the students' travel, if relevant. SIPA provides a limited budget to cover some of these expenses, and clients are asked to share a portion of the costs.