Jeff Sachs' Army? A more thorough look at why I am studying in Columbia's MDP program

A week ago, I began orientation for my graduate program in Development Practice. We spent some time discussing what "Development Practice" is, what the degree stands for, and why we wanted to study in this field. Although I have previously written a brief introduction to my program, it occurred to me that many others would like to know details about the issues mentioned above (the acronym alphabet soup alone can be daunting; for instance, I am pursuing an MPA-DP from SIPA and EI at CU)*.

Many people working or interested in development associate the MDP (Masters of Development Practice) program at Columbia University with one man. Indeed, the global MDP program, and more directly the Millennium Villages Project that is partially associated with the MDP program, are seen as his brainchild. In reality, the MDP program was born out of the Millennium Development Goals and a team of 20 development experts looking to improve education for development practitioners. Still, the association has stuck, as when I told my friends in Peace Corps about my program and they responded with, "Oh, so you're joining Jeff Sachs' Army?"

Jeff Sachs' Army. This comment has stuck with me. A man committed to ending poverty forming a cadre of "troops" for his cause? Perhaps I should explain a bit further. Like it or not, for years now development issues have been debated as either Pro-Sachs or Anti-Sachs. (**) Dr. Sachs has strongly expressed his view (in just about every media form available) that massive new commitments of aid are necessary to help third world countries break out of the poverty trap. This strong stance has, of course, created a backlash within the aid/development community. The most notable critic has been Dr. Easterly, who feels that responsible aid is important but insufficient to break out of the poverty trap (in fact, there is no "poverty trap," as he sees it as due to poorly-designed tests).

Anyway, Dr. Easterly is just one of many critics of Dr. Sachs floating around the blogosphere. Since many see the Millennium Villages Project as a Sachs pet project that refuses to accept criticism, I would imagine they would see our MDP program (which has a direct link with the Millennium Villages) as creating more Disciples of Sachs. Therefore I wanted to refute this idea, and show how the goals of the program are in line with the overall suggestions being made by many in the blog-world for improving aid and development. And to spice up this post a bit, I thought I'd tackle this with a little dialogue:

-What is Development Practice?
--In short: the practice of development.
-I guess I should have seen that one coming... can you elaborate?
--Well, some programs focus on development economics or theory or studies. These programs are usually highly academic and sometimes overly theoretical. They are very necessary to the overall understanding and implementation of development. Development Practice aims to take the successful, evidence-based theories and practices and implement them in projects in the developing world.
-Alright, and what is the MDP program? (****)
--The Masters of Development Practice program is a masters program consisting of two years of coursework in the four disciplines of natural, social, health, and management sciences, combined with cross-sectoral field training, to produce versatile development practitioners.
-Yikes, sorry I asked you to elaborate before. Can you say that in a shorter way?
--Well, it is an interdisciplinary graduate degree that aims to prepare students to better address the multi-faceted problems of development.
-Still too many big words...
--Ok. It is kind of like an MBA for Development Practice.
-MBA! Wait, how is it "kind of like an MBA?" MBA's are for business-folk, right?
--First, like an MBA, the MDP is a professional degree. Professionalizing the aid and development world is a necessity at this point. But don't take my word for it, here's aid blog Tales From The Hood: "Professionalizing the aid sector – by definition applying standards which would mean excluding non-professionals from practice – means improving the quality of service provided to the poor." (*****) The other reason I compared it to an MBA is because the MDP is also a versatile degree. Upon graduating, an MDP'er should be able to succeed in development work in any sector without necessarily being an expert in one field.
-Wait, not an expert? Isn't that bad?
--I said not an expert in one field. An MDP graduate is an expert. She or he is an expert in development practice (thanks to Professor Glenn Denning for that one). A development practitioner could be a "general manager" type, but could also be an economist or an agronomist or a health worker... with the ability to understand complex problems and opportunities across sectors. The MDP graduate is not limited to a single field of expertise.
-Ok, that sounds pretty good. So you're taking the ideas and theories from the academic world and putting them into practice?
--In a way. A development practitioner utilizes evidence-based concepts and ideas in the field. But, a good development practitioner knows that there is no One Right Answer. An idea that works in India will need to be adapted, or maybe even scrapped altogether, in Liberia. The MDP program promotes an understanding of results and the skills to change the program as indicated by these results. Trial and error, when one learns from those errors and they are on a small-scale, is an important part of development practice. Take a look at the blog A View From the Cave, where the author talks about Tim Harford and the need to learn from one's failures.
-I know that blog! Doesn't that same article also talk about Groupthink within the development world? Aren't you concerned about intellectual stagnation being in a program devoted solely to the MDGs, MVP, and the teachings of Sachs?
--Actually, the groupthink can be dangerous, and it has seemed to invade the blogosphere recently as well, stifling debates about important issues. Check out Aid Thoughts for more on this. But I reject the idea that the MDP program is a reactionary leviathan opposed to new or different ideas. In fact, quite the contrary. I think the MDP program wants to implement effective ideas, and encourage constructive debate. This is crucial, as a quality development practitioner needs to critically analyze every idea and its effects in a particular context. No idea, including the Millennium Villages, is sacrosanct to our program. In my current class, we have students from all over the world, with wildly disparate yet impressive experiences. They question everything, using their experiences as evidence for or against a particular development strategy. But most impressive is their optimism and excitement. Too often in the world of development, you run into burnt-out and jaded pessimists. These fellow graduate students are committed to combating poverty, and are critical and creative in finding the solutions to do so.
-Wow. You kind of went off on a tangent there, huh? Any final thoughts about why you chose this program?--As I mentioned in an earlier post, linked to at the top of this page, the Columbia MDP program is full of amazing faculty and great courses. It has links with the world-renowned School of International and Public Affairs and the Earth Institute. But after (only!) a week of orientation, I realize the main draw of the MDP program is the people. As some of you know, I can be pretty cynical regarding aid and development sometimes. This comes mostly from frustrations during my time in Madagascar. So I was very excited to learn that my classmates (and really everyone associated with the program) are enthusiastic, optimistic, intelligent, and incredibly passionate about development. Maybe some of the will rub off when I go through a cynicism phase...
-...That got pretty sappy, pretty fast. But I'm glad you're happy, so far. Maybe I will check back in after a few months, after real classes have started and the shiny gleam of a new program is gone...



* = That's the Masters of Public Administration in Development Practice from the School of International and Public Affairs and the Earth Institute at Columbia University. Phew...
** = Which, if said quickly enough, sounds like either (1) a jazz debate or (2) an argument within a 1960s social movement about interpersonal relationships
*** = Professor Easterly also wrote one of my favorite books on aid and development, The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good (but this may have been because I read it in Peace Corps at the height of my cynicism!)
**** = Note: there are many MDP programs around the globe, but for this article I am mostly talking about Columbia's MDP program since I know the details the best (and am, you know, attending it)
***** = For those of you reading at home, you can see the quoted article here and more here. Professionalizing the sector is a major theme of Tales From The Hood and many other blogs.