In keeping with its aim of facilitating expertise and building capacity in Qatar and beyond, the College of Public Policy (CPP) at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) recently collaborated with the University of Maryland (UMD)’s School of Public Policy to deliver a joint executive course on program evaluation. It is one of the first program evaluation courses offered in Qatar, and also the first executive course by CPP and its program on Social Policy and Evaluation Research (PROSPER).

“Program Evaluation: Determining What Works” combined the expertise of the two educational institutions to help practitioners and policy managers navigate an increasingly evaluation-oriented world and become more effective leaders and managers. Government officials from Qatar’s Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Islamic Affairs, and the University of Calgary in Qatar were among the course participants. 

Dr. Douglas J. Besharov, professor at UMD’s School of Public Policy, Dr. Anis Ben Brik, associate professor at CPP and founding director of PROSPER, as well as top experts from the American Institutes for Research and Mathematica Policy Research, shared their vast collective experience in designing and implementing evaluations of economic, health, and education programs. The highly specialized course was tailored to fit participants’ interests with case studies from the Middle East region, focusing on topics such as logic models, process and developmental evaluation, randomized control trials, quasi-experimental methods, and performance evaluation. 

The course was delivered online from June 28-30, and each participant received a joint certificate of completion from HBKU and UMD. The three-day executive course is the first joint project between CPP and UMD following the signing of a five-year Memorandum of Understanding. 

UMD’s Dr. Besharov commented: “This course is the latest example of how the combined efforts of HBKU and the University of Maryland have enriched the offerings of both schools to the benefit of both our communities. We look forward to continued cooperation in this and other areas.” 

“Sound evaluations are critical for effective program delivery and governance, enabling informed judgments and continuous improvements in program design and planning to help attain development goals,” Dr. Ben Brik, CPP, added. “The resoundingly positive response to our first joint course with the University of Maryland affirms that there is a demand for such world-class training opportunities and this is in keeping with CPP’s intent to build the skills needed to contribute to sound policy making in Qatar, the region, and the globe.”

For more information on the work of the College of Public Policy, please visit cpp.hbku.edu.qa.