offered in the facilities of and in collaboration with the University of Bergen, Norway

Course Modules:

System Dynamics for Development Planning
Module 1: March 31 – April 11

Integrated Socio-economic-environmental Modeling and Planning
Module 2: April 14 – 25

Advanced Modeling and Analysis for Development Planning
Module 3: April 28 – May 9

Many countries struggle with development problems of dynamic nature that seems persistent and immune to quick fixes. Conceptualizing effective development policies requires the understanding of complex and interacting social, economic, and environmental systems. Modern modeling and simulation techniques such as System Dynamics (SD) offer an ideal platform upon which existing theories and approaches may be integrated into a single multi-disciplinary framework for policy design and decision making. The Millennium Institute and the University of Bergen, the leading research institutions in the field, offer a rich and unique environment to learn this complex discipline.

The course provides theory, method, techniques and tools for System Dynamics based development planning. It comprises three modules, each of which may be taken individually, or in combination with the others. The modules are designed to provide systematic capacity building, and participants would particularly benefit from taking the whole course. The first module provides a general introduction to System Dynamics theory and its use for development planning, and a basic introduction to the Vensim modeling software. The second module is dedicated to the development of an integrated dynamic national model for development planning by way of a case study. The third module guides the participants through the analysis of country-specific issues and covers advanced modeling and analysis techniques, such as dynamic optimization and sensitivity analysis.

The course is based on the T21¹ framework, developed by the Millennium Institute. This framework has received favorable evaluations from the United Nations Development Program and has been used for planning by governmental institutions of several developing and industrialized countries, the World Bank, NGOs, as well as major private corporations.

The course is designed for professionals working in the field of development planning, including government officials, representatives of the civil society, and educational institutions. Discounted rates are available for students and professionals from developing countries.

¹The course is particularly well suited for planning technicians who are using, or are planning to use, the Threshold 21 (T21) model for medium-long term planning exercises in their country. For further information on T21, see www.millennium-institute.org