Custom Programs

The Duke Center for International Development partners with organizations and government agencies around the world to design custom programs that meet the needs of finance, tax and budgeting professionals in developing and transitioning countries, as well as those of existing and future public sector managers in general.

Our Global Reach

DCID has offered customized executive training programs for over 5,000 officials from more than 30 countries from Azerbaijan to Zambia. These programs, which may be held in-country or on the Duke University campus, have covered such diverse topics as project appraisal and risk management, tax policy, fiscal decentralization, human resource management, urban planning and e-governance. Some of our most established and long-standing partnerships are with Bangladesh, China, India and Kazakhstan in the broad area of development management. Reach out to us if you’d like to know more about previous programs in your country.

Our Approach

Drawing from world-renowned faculty at Duke and others from leading academic, research and development institutions, these programs are designed to meet the specific capacity-building needs of our clients. Programs can range in duration from three days to a full academic semester, and can take place in-country and/or at Duke University. Depending on client needs, programs can focus on a particular public policy topic or can encompass a broad range of policy areas and management skills.

1. Collaboration

Before embarking on any custom program, we work closely with our clients to learn about and acquire a deeper understanding of their needs, challenges and goals. By collaborating directly with our clients, we are able to create programs that meet their needs, achieve their objectives, and help unleash their full potential.

2. Design

Having determined the needs, requirements and goals, we select a team of key experts to design a training program that addresses all required topics and achieves required outcomes. We work with clients during every step of the design phase to ensure the program is meeting their needs and that it is tailored specifically to their unique interests and challenges.

3. Delivery

Our faculty collaborates with experts from outside organizations and agencies to deliver program content in a clear, compelling and effective way. They use a combination of classroom presentations, interactive exercises, workshops, case studies, computerized models and problem-solving sessions to help clients fully master new skills and concepts. The primary focus of the training is to provide practical skills that can be implemented immediately to address existing problems and issues.

4. Evaluation

Clients are asked to complete a formal evaluation after the conclusion of the program. We use this feedback to adapt future programs to better meet the needs of clients and participants and ensure that the courses are equipping them to make a positive difference in their workplace.

The Duke Difference

Staff and Faculty Expertise

With growing interest in executive education programs around the world, we know that you have options for advancing your career in international development. At DCID, we’ve been offering open enrollment and custom programs for two decades, and we have tailored our programs specifically for senior leaders working in topics related to development. Most of our core program faculty are “professors of the practice,” meaning that before they came to Duke they held roles and responsibilities very similar to those of our program participants. Finally, our staff are experts in managing the complex logistics of international executive education programs and study abroad programs. While we handle the details of your accommodations and transportation, you can focus on your learning.

Field Visits

Beyond the classroom, professional site visits help participants solidify their learning. Previous site visits have included government agencies and nonprofit organizations in Durham and the state capital of Raleigh, federal/national agencies and international organizations in Washington, D.C., and similar agencies in New York City. Examples of site visits have included: North Carolina Board of Elections, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, North Carolina Department of Commerce, North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management, Durham Office of Economic and Workforce Development, and dozens of other important government and non-profit agencies across the region. We have also taken participants to field visits in New York City and to the nation’s capital of Washington, D.C. Participants have visited places like USAID, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, World Bank, Center for Global Development; and the Federal Trade Commission, among many other agencies and organizations.

Comprehensive Programming

Each of our programs includes time for rest and social activities. Duke’s campus, where most of our programs are held, sits on more than 8,000 acres of beautiful land and the city itself has many parks, shops, restaurants, and cultural activities to choose from. Learn more about Durham, N.C., and the surrounding area.

Previous Course Topics

Below are some examples of previous custom courses our faculty and staff have designed and delivered over the years

Leadership

Tax Analysis

Revenue Forecasting

Administrative Decentralization

Trends in political, administrative and fiscal decentralization
Roles of central and subnational governments
Strategies for effective decentralization
Managing the decentralization process

Fiscal Decentralization

Public choice and fiscal federalism
Allocating expenditure and revenue responsibilities
Designing intergovernmental transfers
Structuring local government borrowing
Enhancing local resource mobilization

Fiscal Planning and Management

Budgeting and financial management
Debt management
Resource administration
Special problems of local revenue administratio

Local Revenue Systems

Property taxation
User charges and excise taxes
Business taxation, license fees and permits
Income and sales taxation

Budgeting

Budget and macro-economy
Public finance and economic growth
Budget and stabilization policy
Management and organization of budget processes
Alternative budget frameworks including MTEF (medium-term expenditure framework)
Input-control and output-oriented performance or results-based budgeting techniques
Balanced scorecard approaches to budgeting and management
Budget as an instrument of managerial performance
Monitoring and evaluating of budget performance
Indicators of budget policy, institutions and processes
Budget implementation, cash management and budget monitoring techniques
Fiscal transparency standards and assessment
Fiscal decentralization and budgeting
Budgeting and poverty reduction strategies
Capital budgeting, cost-benefit and cost effectiveness analyses
Debt management
Role, budgeting and management of foreign aid
Fiscal aspects of external and domestic debt management
Negotiation techniques and conflict resolution

Intergovernmental Transfers

Structuring recurrent and development transfers
Designing effective performance-based grants
Coordinating intergovernmental transfers
Monitoring intergovernmental transfers

Financial, Economic, Stakeholder and Policy Analysis

Stages in feasibility studies and project cycles
Development of cash flow statements
Financial sustainability of projects
Impact of scale, timing and length of life on project viability
Impacts of inflation and exchange rates on financial viability and risks
Cost-effectiveness measures of social programs
Capital markets and financing projects
Economic cost of human resources, capital and foreign exchange
Economic valuation of goods and services, environmental and social impacts
Basic needs valuation for social programs
Integration of financial, economic and social appraisals of major investment projects
Privatization, contracting and regulation issues
Public-private partnerships (PPPs)
Foreign direct investment, joint ventures and tax incentives
Poverty alleviation and poverty reduction

Project Appraisal and Risk Management

Foundations of uncertainty and risk
Project design, financial and organizational arrangements
Risk assessment, costing and management techniques
The roles of incentives, sanctions and risk sharing

Transfer Pricing Principles and Administration

Traditional methods for setting prices
Transactional methods for setting prices
Simplified methods
Safe harbors
Use of databases
UN and OECD guidelines
Transfer pricing documentation
Coordination of tax rules with customs valuation
Advanced pricing agreements
Treaty-based dispute resolution

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