Pre-course+activities

====To help you prepare for this course, we will open the course website as of 25 October 2011. During the pre-course period, please take the time to familiarize yourself with the e-learning environment. You can learn more about the workshop site by reading the instructions on how to get started (adapt and insert link). Please also have a look at the Tips for a successful e-learning experience.. ====

Before the course begins on Monday, 31 October 2011:

- You will have access to the overall online learning environment. - You will be connected and introduced to the faciliation team and to the other participants. - You will have the opportunity to express your expectations and ask questions of the facilitation team and the other participants - You will review the basic concepts of impact assessment and programme desig


 * Pre-course activities.**

1. **Tell us about yourself:** In your profile please tell us a bit about yourself, your profession and where you work. Please tell us where you are located and upload your picture. To edit your profile click on your name in the online users box in the left hand menu. For detailed instructions on how to edit your profile please read How to Edit your Profile (adapt and insert link).

2. **Get to know your classmates:** Your fellow partcipants in this course represent FAO and its food security partners in over 15 countries, with varying levels of experience in impact assessment for food security projects. In your application forms, you have already noted that your expectations for the course include: (1) upscaling your individual capacities to design impact assessments in the context of program/project preparation, and understanding the treatment of impact assessment at each stage of the project cycle; (2) sharing ideas with colleagues to allow the cross-fertilization and validation of experiences; and (3) and identifying good practices to promote for potential replication...all with the goal of helping FAO and its partners to build institutional capacity to demonstrate the efficiency of food security interventions and report on results achieved.

For the benefit of other participants, please visit the discussion forum to introduce yourself to your classmates and reflect a bit on how this course specifically relates to your work. What can you contribute to the course, and what would you like to gain? This is our first activity in the discussion forum. Please reply to the related post from the course facilitators. Have a look at other partcipants' posts in order to get an idea of who else is taking part in the course.

3. **Review the basic concepts:** In order to participate it is important that you are familiar with the basic concepts of impact assessment and programme design. Therefore, if you have not already done so, we ask you to review the following introductory self-guided e-learning modules. With this prior knowledge, you will be perfectly equipped to start the course.

Complete lesson 1.1: "Introduction to impact assessment" (zip file in shared drive folder for pre-course activities or on FAO shared drive at ftp://ext-ftp.fao.org/DDK/reserved/elearn/SCORM_lessons/ImpactAssessment/English/Release_12_05_2011/) The lesson outlines the basic concepts of impact assessment, why it is conducted and the importance of being able to attribute observed change to the programme. This lesson is optional for learners who have already mastered the basic concepts of impact assessment. Duration: 50 minutes

Complete lesson 1.2: "Food Security Concepts and Frameworks" (zip file in shared drive folder for pre-course activities) The lesson reviews different food security-related conceptual frameworks used by programme planners for designing development programmes that address food insecurity. This lesson is optional for learners who are already familiar with food security concepts. Duration: 45 minutes.

Complete lesson 1.3: "Programme Design Implications"(zip file in shared drive folder for pre-course activities) The lesson reviews different types of development programmes that address food insecurity and discusses implications for assessing their impact. This lesson is optional for learners who already have a good idea of what development programmes that address food insecurity are. Duration: 45 minutes.