Online Diploma-Integrated Community-Based Adaptation/DRR/RuralDevelopment

Center for Sustainable Development—CSDi. Join students from all over the world. Get an Online Diploma: OL 440 Integrated Community Based Adaptation, Disaster Risk Reduction, and Rural Development.

CSDi is announcing a diploma module of eight online Community Based Adaptation (CBA), Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), & Rural Development field courses. These courses begin by introducing basic climate change concepts, and develop as participants identify local community vulnerabilities, identify climate change risks and hazards, investigate appropriate solutions, develop full projects, launch and manage them. A strong course component is the integration of DRR and CBA within course participant’s traditional development projects.

DRR-focused projects developed by course participants have included:

participatory vulnerability and capacity assessments
community-based risk identification and reduction programs
hazard mapping
disaster risk management
emergency preparedness
resilience to extreme weather conditions
community flood resilience program; flood preparation, response and recovery
forming community based flood management (response) committees
community awareness-raising of disaster risk and response
use of bio-engineering for slope stabilization and run-off reduction for landslide and flash flood reduction

Complete information and course syllabi: http://www.csd-i.org...

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 146 different countries and over 475 organizations used CSDi online courses to develop projects impacting over 300,000 people.

CSDi provides the following continuing learning resources
All learning resources and course materials are freely downloadable from the course site and include:

Scholarship opportunities for citizens of developing nations
200 manuals & field guides of CBA activities
300 Community Based Adaptation for Climate Change field activities
Compilation of 50 program outlines for use in Community Based Adaptation Projects
Instructors that provide project consulting, suggestions, and encouragement individually for each student's assignments

Who should attend? Southern and Northern development students, field staff, grant writers, project managers, directors, and donor staff. These are online courses that have a local, in-country field component. Northern participants who don't have community access are partnered with Southern participants that do have community access.

STEP 1: Four Foundation Courses. Begin with the first course: OL 341
OL 341. Adapting to Climate Change: Designing & Funding Community-Based Adaptation Projects.
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, designing projects, and evidence-based activities. Develop a real project in real time.

OL 342. Adapting to Climate Change: Planning for Impact.
Imbed 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.

OL 343. Adapting to Climate Change: 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? Conduct a baseline survey of climate vulnerability, 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.

OL 344. Adapting to Climate Change: Sustainable Implementation.
How do you launch and implement a community based adaptation 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.

Step 2: Elective Courses. Enroll in four of these elective courses.
After successful completion of the four prerequisite courses above, you will be invited to enroll in elective courses.