OL 440 ONLINE CERTIFICATE
Integrated CBA, DRR, & Rural Development
An Online Certificate Module of 4 Courses
In our online courses participants are actually designing development projects—real projects within communities.
Courses Online are offered every two months. Current offering dates are in the column to the side.
To enroll, simply click on the course links below.
A Module of 8 Courses
A Certificate program of online field courses integrating community-based adaptation to climate change, disaster risk reduction, and rural development.
These courses begin by introducing basic climate change concepts, participatory disaster preparedness, and mainstreaming them with rural development—and develop as participants identify local community vulnerabilities, identify risks and hazards, investigate appropriate solutions, design participatory M&E plans, develop full projects, launch and manage them.
Online course participants are using our courses to develop real, on-the-ground projects with real communities—both individually and through North/South student partnerships. People from 153 different countries and 500 organizations have used CSDi online courses to develop sustainable projects impacting over 400,000 community members by empowering them to change their lives.
To earn a Certificate in Integrated CBA, DRR and Rural Development, you must complete four required, sequential foundation courses (Certificate 340), then select four elective courses of your choice for a total of eight courses. Each course is two months long and this Certificate can be completed within a 12 month period. With a wide variety of electives, you are able to tailor the Certificate program to meet your needs and interests.
This Certificate program is designed for current and aspiring humanitarian and development professionals who plan to work in relief and development, or who already work in this field and want to advance their careers. These courses give experienced practitioners a fresh perspective and provide persons hoping for a career change the training they need for a successful transition on the job market.
The Certificate program will provide you with the skills, tools, and methods to meet today’s challenges and to take on such positions as program director, project coordinator, climate officer, CBA consultant, DRR consultant, funder, and field implementer—with community-based organizations, with governmental and with nongovernmental organizations. You will benefit from access to development experts, a broad range of resources and—the valuable Certificate once the program is completed.
The courses use the flexibility of online delivery to help you learn through case studies, field assignments with communities, and group discussions with fellow students—providing a complete learning environment. You will share experiences with fellow participants working in the field. These are online courses that have a local, in-country field component.
Students with a DRR focus have participated in our courses developing humanitarian projects involving: potable water, health facilities, primary schooling, health & hygiene, sanitation, gender, security, food aid, food security, adult literacy, vocational training, income generation, home gardens, agriculture and animal husbandry—in—Afghanistan, China, Darfur, Ethiopia, Haiti, Iraq, Kenya, Mongolia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, South Sudan, Turkey and Uganda.
Students with a CBA or traditional rural development focus have utilized project activities addressing over 270 different types of challenges.
STEP 1. Enroll in the first course of this series: OL 341.
| 341 Community Based Adaptation 1: Gain an insight into contemporary methods of developing community based, sustainable, impact-oriented projects. Gain practical field tools and develop a range of skills: facilitating participatory needs assessments and DRR assessments, designing projects, and evidence-based activities. Develop a real project in real time. |
| 342 Community Based Adaptation: Embed impact into your adaptation project design with a powerful set of management tools. Log frames, detailed budgets, timelines, compelling fact sheets, M&E plans, outcomes and impact. These tools will communicate to donors and stakeholders exactly what you are trying to accomplish and can be used for effective management of the project once funded. |
| 343 Community Based Adaptation 3: The Community Focus. What does climate change adaptation mean at the community level? What practical tools are available today for communities to use in adaptation and in DRR? Conduct a baseline survey including climate vulnerability, risk assessment, an adaptation capacity analysis, and gain an understanding of local knowledge of a changing climate and of coping strategies. For practitioners who wish to begin working now at the community level to successfully adapt to the challenges that face us. |
| 344 Community Based Adaptation 4: Sustainable Implementation. How do you launch and implement a community based adaptation/DRR project? The importance of community engagement and project co-management. Developing skill sets for your community to use in the adaptation process. Learning tools: monitoring & evaluation. Community empowerment during project hand-over. Sustainability, follow-up & mentoring |
Elective Courses. Enroll in four of these elective courses.
After successful completion of the four prerequisite courses above (Certificate 340), you will be invited to enroll in elective courses.
OL 303. Food Security, Nutrition, and Home Gardens 1
OL 304. Food Security, Nutrition and Home Gardens 2
OL 332. Water Conservation and Management.
OL 333. Climate Smart Agricultural Practices for your CBA project.
OL 345. Community Based Disaster Risk Assessment, Reduction and Preparedness
Expanded information on elective courses.
Certificates:
You will receive a course completion certificate upon successful completion of each of the eight courses. Upon completing the eight courses you also receive a Master Certificate for OL 440 Integrated CBA, DRR, & Rural Development. Read more about the Certificate.