02935 - Laboratory (Lab16)

Course contents

The theoretical content of the course aims at providing the following fundamentals:

1. Introduction to political geography and basic concepts (frontiers and borders; Jones' Model; geopolitics and the relationship with International Cooperation in Italian Law 125/2014.
2. Geofinance and the financial system (Diamond Model);
3. The international financial architecture and international financial institution in the field of international cooperation;
4. Basic elements of public finance and development aids
5. Basic financial instruments for international cooperation for development (grant, loans and technical assistance)
6. Advanced financial instruments for international cooperation for development (trust funds, microcredit, blending, sustainable/impact finance, crowdfunding, etc.)

The laboratory part will enhance knowledge and practice on how to design and manage process, programmes and projects in the various field of international cooperation (country papers, strategy papers, elements on monitoring, structuring project proposals in international cooperation, indicators and assessments, budgeting and reporting, missions organisation, etc.). Both traditional (aid) and integrated (post-aid) approaches will be used.

The importance of the sustainable development paradigm, the bottom-up and local development approach will be methodologically central in conceptualizing actions. Finally, students will develop knowledge and skills to debate the future scenarios of international cooperation and the different paradigms of development.

 

In particular, the course is structured in three main parts:

(1) a theoretical one dedicated to the learn the basic elements of points 1-6;

(2) *an applied one as a joint lecture and international group-work activity with the University of Mississippi dedicated to the EU INTERREG programmes transnational European Territorial Cooperation and draft a project within a given call for proposal

(2) a simulation project work: a learning lab atmosphere will be created with the aim of enabling students to acquire the basic skills to create, design and manage processes, programmes, projects in the various fields of international cooperation (using simulation case studies and project work teams)

Main Lab Skills: Team Building; Team Management; Communication Skills; Time Management; Problem Solving

* This course is participating to the blending experimentation

Readings/Bibliography

SLIDES in VIRTUALE

Reading List: (* available in Italian as well)

Theory (text will be available also in Virtuale.unibo.it)

• GRANDI S., 2017, Political Geography, geopolitics, finance and development: a first approach (in virtuale)

• SELLAR C, GRANDI S, JAFRI J (a cura di): Grandi S, Sellar C, Jafri J, Geofinance between political and financial geographies. A focus on the semi-periphery of the Global Financial System, Edward Elgar Publishing, UK (Intro, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 12)

• GRANDI S., PARENTI F. M., (2019), Does Geography Matter in Finance? Frontiers, Polarizations, Alternatives and Geopolitical Elements for Financial Analysis. In BOUBAKER S., NGUYEN D. K. (eds), Handbook of global financial markets: transformations, dependence, and risk spillovers,World Scientific Publishing, pp.767-788, ISBN: 978-981-3236-64-6.

• GRANDI S (2020). Micro and small business clusters and local development policies: insights from India-Italia cooperation projects. In Lund-Thomsen P, Hansen MW, Lindgreen A (eds), Business and Development Studies – Issues and Perspectives. Routledge, London And New York.

Further Readings (not compulsory):

• Agnew J., Muscarà L., (2012) Making Political Geography- Second Edition, Rowman and Littlefield, Maryland, US.*
  
• PARENTI F.M. E ROSATI U. (eds), 2016. Geofinance and geopolitics, EGEA, Milano*
  
• Stiglitz J. E, (2003), "Ethics, Market and Government Failure, and Globalization, The Governance of Globalization, The proceedings of the Ninth Plenary Session of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, Acta 9, Edmund Malinvaud and Louis Sabourin, eds., Casina Pio IV, 2-6 May 2003,- https://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/faculty/jstiglitz/sites/jstiglitz/files/2003_Ethics_Market_and_Government_Failure_and_Globalization.pdf]*

Official Institutional Guidelines

• Europe Aid Cooperation office, 2004, Aid Delivery Methods. Project Cycle Management Guidelines, European Commission, Bruxelles. https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/aid-delivery-methods-project-cycle-management-guidelines-vol-1_en
  
• DG BUDGET, 2017, A guide to EU Funds. 2017 edition. European Union, Brussels. (free on: https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/7d72330a-7020-11e7-b2f2-01aa75ed71a1/language-en/format-PDF/source-39311751 )
• DG BUDGET, 2014, A beginners guideline to EU Funding. European Union, Brussels. (free on: https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/9eb0b343-aa5e-46b6-8cd4-4fc07dcaddea/language-en/format-PDF/source-search )
• DG BUDGET, 2015, EU budget at Glance. European Union, Brussels.(free on: https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/7472f901-0de2-4eee-bfa6-4373571146e1/language-en/format-PDF/source-39420457 )
• OECD, 2017, Development Co‑operation Report 2016. The Sustainable Development Goals as Business Opportunities, OECD, Paris - http://www.oecd.org/dac/development-co-operation-report-2016.htm
  
  

Instructions for non-attending students (non frequentanti): Non attending students are required to study the core texts above as well as all slides in virtuale.

Instructions for SPOSI students: to improve basic knowledge on Geography of Development reading one of the following book before is very recommended:

Potter, R., Binns, T., Elliott, J. A., Nel, E., Smith, D. W., 2018,. Geographies of Development. An introduction to development studies. Routledge, London

Grandi S., 2013, Sviluppo, geografia e cooperazioni internazionale . La Mandragora, Imola.

Teaching methods

The course participates in the Unibo 2023/24 'Blending' type experimental programme. Most

Lectures are composed of classical and flipped lectures supported by PC-based presentations, case studies, maps and videos.

Some lectures and a workshop are going to be organised online jointly with the University of Mississppi in order to experiment crossborder lecturing and teamworking.

Moreover, tutorial, simulations and working group sessions are going to be performed in the second part of the laboratory.

Assessment methods

Students who attend on line or in presence lectures (frequentanti) can participate to the group small discussions (including a team work with the University of Mississippi) and can prepare a group project work with a presentation to be done and discussed in the final days of the lectures.

In special cases, an essay (tesina) can be agreed with the lecturer.

Full oral exam is foreseen for those not able to partecipate to the lectures. (please contact the Professor to agree exactly what to study)

Teaching tools

Pc, videos, slides, maps.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/120925285236740/?source=create_flow

Office hours

See the website of Silvia Grandi