ASSESSMENT GUIDANCE: COUNTRY PORTFOLIO The coursework is a Country Profile Portfolio. You are required to choose a developing country, and to provide an overview of a specific aspect of the public sector in that country – ie health, education, the civil service etc. You need to carry out a needs analysis of existing state capacity in that sector, identifying strengths and weaknesses, and making use of a range of different indicators and sources of evidence in support of this. You should identify an International Organisation working to reform performance / capacity in your chosen country and sector, and provide an overview of their work in that country / sector.. Write a brief case study based on a specific programme / project that your chosen International Organisation is supporting in that country. Consider the extent to which it was / is / will be effective in meeting the needs of the sector which you identified in your needs analysis. Provide recommendations for future activity in support of capacity building in that sector. Needs Analysis You are asked to evaluate existing state capacity in your chosen sector, identifying strengths and weaknesses in existing capacity, and to identify the training / developmental needs required to bring that sector up to an appropriate level of capacity. In doing this you can draw on: 1/ databases and indices such as the World Bank Good Government Indicators, the Fragile States Index, the Human Development Index, the World Health Organisation and UNESCO databases, MDG annual reports etc. You can look: a/ longitudinally, tracking change over time in the country / sector: b/ comparatively, comparing performance in your chosen country / sector with that of neighbouring / similar states: c/ you should draw on existing needs analyses produced by organisations working within your chosen sector / country. d/ you might wish to evaluate your chosen country / sector against international norms of best practise, against regional benchmarks, or any other criteria you think are relevant.
