F1GD 5845 - Crafting the gameplan: Strategic Planning in International Organizations

***UPDATED for 2025/26***

As Antoine de Saint Exupéry once said, “A goal without a plan is just a wish”. Strategic planning – a structured process to collectively define objectives and determine the journey needed to reach them – is a critical skill in any organization, large or small. This course will investigate the principles and practice of effective strategic planning in international organizations These run the spectrum from defining goals to understanding the context, formulating a strategy, implementing that strategy through results-based management and ensuring effective communication and participation in its roll-out. The course will give students a grounding in some of the theories of effective strategic planning but it will be mostly practical, giving students direct experience of developing their own strategic plan and learning about how organizations work.

Learning Outcomes

1. Students will understand and be able to apply a range of strategic planning tools and techniques

2. Students will be familiar with some core concepts around strategic planning, and some of the debates around its effectiveness.

3. Students will have developed useful knowledge of international organizations and how they set about trying to deliver their objectives.

4. Students will have practical experience of developing their own problem analysis, strategic plan, theory of change, and implementation strategy.

Professional Skills

1. Strategic planning approaches

2. Research, analysis and critical thinking

3. Oral and written communication skills (through oral presentations, debates, active participation and written assignments)

4. Working effectively in a team (through group presentations and case study)

Oliver BROWN

Séminaire

English

- In Class Presence: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester

- Reading and Preparation for Class: 4-6 hours a week / 48-72 hours a semester

- Research and Preparation for Group Work: 4-6 hours a week / 48-72 hours a semester

- Research and Writing for Individual Assessment: 2 hours a week / 24 hours a semester

None

Spring 2025-2026

The evaluation of students' performance will be based on four types of assessments: p> - group work throughout the duration of the course (to work collectively on a full, realistic strategic plan) (45%)p> - 8-10 minute oral presentations (each student will give at least (and maybe more than) one presentation throughout the course on behalf of their group) (15%)p> - a short policy brief/ strategy note produced individually between sessions 9 and 12 (30%)p> - active class participation (10%). p>

Feedback will be provided throughout the class for the group work and individual presentations. General feedback on the strategy note and class participation will be provided by email a few weeks after the end of class. Students should feel free to ask for additional feedback, if and when needed.