CIDA PROJECT

MEMO: To: ___________________________, Senior Advisor Department of Developing Country Aid

From: Executive Director Canadian International Development Agency RE: Background Brief for Canadian Development Aid

Your task is to prepare a brief for the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Your brief will be considered as a recommendation to CIDA how it should spend a sum of $100,000,000 to improve the living conditions and environmental sustainability of __________________________. The brief will: 1. provide relevant background information on the current situation in the country 2. analyze the causes of poverty in your country 3. detail how and why aid money should specifically be spent to improve living conditions

Specific Components of the Assignment

Part I Basic Facts Provide a one page overview of the basic facts of your country, its size, climate, geography, economy, government, etc. Include maps and pictures. Part II Population Study Evaluate your countrys demographic situation. Is the population growing too quickly? Too slowly? At just the right pace? How do you know? What does the countrys dependency ration tell you about its needs (think health care, education, employment)? Include statistics and visuals on population size, birth and death rate, growth rate, doubling time, infant mortality, life expectancy, migration, fertility, and other statistics you find relevant. Also include population pyramids. Part III Living Standards Use statistics, visuals and/or descriptions to evaluate the level of development for your country and the root causes of poverty. Consider the following a. UN Human Development Index b. Literacy and education c. Status of women d. Status of children (check UNICEF website for its U5MR (under 5 mortality rate)) e. Access to health services, disease issues, sanitation, etc. f. Access to safe water g. Food security and nutrition levels h. Environmental sustainability i. Government finances (debt, revenues) j. Governance (whos running the country and how) k. Culture Part IV Population distribution and resources Create a map of your country which includes: a. Surrounding countries b. Major physical features c. Population distribution (using the dot density method)

d. Capitals and major cities e. Transportation (rail, airports, major roads) Part V Budget and Analysis Create a budget that details how your money will be spent and why Include pie charts and written passages that explain specifically where the money will be spent and why it will make a difference. Make sure this part shows a clear and deep understanding of the underlying causes of the countrys problems and how your investments will help solve them. This is the most important part of the assignment the part the whole rest of it builds a foundation for. Part VI Citations and Bibliography Throughout your project you must accurately cite your sources of information. You must also include a properly formatted bibliography. It is suggested you use the APA (American Psychological Association) format for citations. Presentation Your brief will be presented to a small group of your fellow students in the CIDA office. They will act as directors of CIDA and will evaluate your presentation. Following your presentation, your brief will be turned in to the Executive Director of CIDA for final evaluation. Evaluation Criteria: 50% - Information is accurate, relevant and complete 40% - Recommendation and explanations show deep and broad understanding of development issues 10% - Graphics and writing communicate clearly An excellent CIDA brief: Completely and accurately details the relevant aspects of your country. It includes effective, relevant and attractive visuals which help the audience easily understand the problems facing this country. The recommendations for how your money will be spent are detailed and clear. They thoughtfully justify your spending priorities showing how your plans will make a meaningful, long term difference in the lives of your countrys people. The brief is written clearly and correctly in your own words and uses appropriate citations to credit your sources.