KDI School of Public Policy and Management offered ‘Polices for Development’: The OECD Development Center at Work course during the Pre-Fall Session, from August 24^th to September 4^th, 2015.  Course instructors for each unit included: Ms. Alexa Tiemann (Multi-Dimensional Country Reviews), Mr. David Khoudour (Migration and Skills) and Mr. Alexandre Kolev (Social Cohesion). Approximately 22 students, including 3 Japanese participants from Campus Asia Summer Program attended the course which was delivered on a daily basis in room S201. The purpose of the course was to present the work of the OECD Development Centre in the field of Public Policies for Development using evidence-based research conducted by the Centre in the form of Annual Reports, Country Studies, Policy Briefs and Working Papers.

In general, the course covered the performance of emerging or developing countries in the changing world economy and their new challenges to ensure sustainable and inclusive growth. The course focused on emerging development issues, as highlighted in the Centre’s recent editions of its flagship reports and the tools which the Development Centre employs. The lectures also served as a medium for the presentation of evidence and new findings on current issues concerning development policies. Those include: (1) the link between migration and development, (2) policies on social cohesion and impact evaluation, and (3) the importance of institutions.

Throughout the course, the students delivered group presentations. Each group was assigned a country and asked to conduct a concise well-being analysis. The presentations covered outcomes for various indicators and dimensions, described the situation of the country, and developed recommendations for priority areas for policy action.

In summary, this course was a good opportunity for participants to increase their knowledge based on the OECD Development Centre’s work as it pertains to the field of Public Policies for Development.

By Kilton Jose Luis Lauter Portugal (2014 MDP, Mozambique)