Strategic Plan for New Master’s Degrees in Development Policy Studies at the University of Liberia

This initiative is in alignment with objective three of the USAID Liberia Economic Development Policy Activity, which aims to increase Liberia's internal capacity to support and drive policy reform. The strategic plan for this new program identifies the need for a dual track Master's degree that will cater to the needs of working professionals, currently in the Government of Liberia, as well as Civil Society organizations, who lack direct policy analysis, implementation, and monitoring experience. The plan proposes one Master's Degree program with two separate tracks, an accelerated (Executive) path aimed at mid-career professionals with development experience, and a traditional track for college graduates or professionals with no development experience. Liberia's policy landscape is characterized by a country in the throes of development recovery, trying to establish economic, political, and sociocultural equilibrium in the aftermath of its Second Civil War and the consequences of an Ebola virus crisis. The country has made progress in recent years, but its growth and development have been adversely impacted by these events, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed Master's program is designed to address the need for skilled people in the policy arena with core skills in policy analysis, policy writing, project management, monitoring, and evaluations. The program will focus on experiential learning, providing opportunities for students to acquire hands-on experience in policy formation and analysis, policy implementation and management. A provisional mission statement for the Master's program in Development Practice has been developed, which aims to incubate, nurture, and produce human talent equipped to take on leadership roles in policy formation and analysis, policy implementation and management. The program will strengthen the Government of Liberia, Civil Society sectors, and private sectors to be responsive to the economic and social needs of Liberia's people by developing a robust and accountable structure to engage communities in the policy arena. The strategic plan includes a SWOT analysis, which identifies the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats associated with the proposed program. The plan also outlines five major objectives, including convening a committee comprised of University of Liberia faculty, Government of Liberia, Civil Society, and private sector stakeholders to oversee the process, and contacting institutions funded by the MacArthur Foundation to determine the status of their Master's in Development programs and what can be learned from them. The plan also includes a summary of survey results from students who have enrolled in the LEPDA-sponsored course at the University of Liberia on Development Studies, which showed consensus and strong interest among those who responded in having this new Master's degree, focused on development and policy. An earlier Inception Report is also included as an appendix to the plan.