Training on Project Appraisal and Impact Evaluation

Module 1: Project Appraisal & Analysis

• Criteria for investment decision-making and planning process
• Identification of technical, logistical, and environmental risks
• Economic and market risk analysis
• Project selection aligned to organizational objectives
• Case Study: Poor project selection leading to failed infrastructure investment
• Practical: Assessing and ranking project investment options

Module 2: Financial Analysis for Projects

• Income, cash flow, and project duration estimation
• Identification of cash flow risks
• Cost of capital: WACC, CAPM, Arbitrage Pricing Model
• Investment appraisal techniques: Payback, ARR, NPV, IRR
• Spreadsheet-based financial appraisal
• Case Study: Overestimated project returns due to weak financial modelling
• Practical: Building a basic project appraisal model in Excel

Module 3: Project Risk & Appraisal

• Measuring risk and uncertainty in projects
• Constraints: scope, time, cost, and quality
• Risk evaluation techniques
• Risk response planning and reporting
• Case Study: Project failure due to unmanaged scope and cost risks
• Practical: Developing a project risk register and mitigation plan

Module 4: Risk Management in Projects

• Risk management across the project lifecycle
• Roles and responsibilities of the project manager
• Qualitative and quantitative risk analysis
• Financial risk management and derivatives
• Sensitivity analysis and Monte Carlo simulation
• Case Study: Managing uncertainty in a high-value investment project
• Practical: Performing a sensitivity analysis on project outcomes

Module 5: Managing Uncertainties

• Decision trees for uncertainty management
• Programming and resource optimization techniques
• Manpower planning, smoothing, and leveling
• Project contingency planning
• Earned Value Analysis (EVA)
• Case Study: Project delays due to poor resource planning
• Practical: Applying decision trees and EVA in project scenarios

Module 6: Cost-Benefit Analysis

• Cost-benefit analysis principles and application
• Identification of genuine costs
• Measuring intangible benefits
• Environmental and social considerations
• Role of intangible benefits in decision-making
• Case Study: Infrastructure project approved based on strong social benefits
• Practical: Conducting a cost-benefit analysis

Module 7: Development of Project Appraisal Models

• Building financial and investment models
• Modeling investment opportunities
• Sensitivity analysis in models
• Case Study: Use of modeling to improve investment decision accuracy
• Practical: Developing a basic project appraisal model

Module 8: Appraisal Process Development

• Structuring the appraisal process
• Using appraisal in risk management and negotiations
• Integrating appraisal into project management
• Developing organization-specific appraisal frameworks
• Case Study: Improved decision-making through structured appraisal systems
• Practical: Designing a project appraisal workflow

Module 9: Introduction to Impact Evaluation

• Overview of impact evaluation
• Counterfactual concept
• Role and timing of impact evaluation
• Case Study: Measuring real impact of a development intervention
• Practical: Identifying outcomes vs impacts in a project

Module 10: Evaluation Design

• Developing program theory
• Selecting evaluation approaches
• Baseline survey design
• Handling absence of baseline data
• Use of secondary data in evaluation
• Qualitative data and triangulation
• Case Study: Evaluation design for a social development project
• Practical: Designing a basic impact evaluation framework