Professional development and teaching

The CHSSC is one of six providers that have been contracted by DFAT to provide learning and development support to DFAT’s Diplomatic Academy.

The CHSSC is currently partnering with La Trobe’s Education Services Team, the Humanitarian Advisory Group and the Development Intelligence Lab to co-design, build and deliver six training courses for DFAT staff over 2025.

The courses are: i) Introduction to international development (on-line); ii) Being a development manager (on-line); iii) Dimensions of poverty; iv) Core concepts of social change; v) Technology as a driver/disrupter of development; vi) Developmental leadership.

The project is led by CHSSC Director Lisa Denney with support from other CHSSC staff including Adjunct Professor Chris Roche, Senior Research Fellow Thushara Dibley, Senior Outreach and Learning Advisor Chris Adams and Research Assistant Serena Ford.

In 2022-23, the CHSSC partnered with the University of Birmingham (UoB) to design, build and deliver a five-module face-to-screen course on developmental leadership for DFAT staff working at post and in Canberra.

The course content drew on the research produced by the Developmental Leadership Program over the last decadeEach module included pre-reading/watching/listening resources, an interactive seminar and guest speakers, as well as follow up one-on-one and group mentoring.

The project was led by the CHSSC's then Senior Research Fellow Lisa Denney with support from Senior Outreach and Learning Advisor Chris Adams, then PhD scholar Ujjwal Krishna and Research Assistant Serena Ford.

Since 2022, the CHSSC has partnered with The Asia Foundation's governance team to jointly design and deliver regular political economy analysis training for DFAT staff.

A range of training offerings introduce learners to what PEA is and why it is valuable; the core concepts of a PEA framework and how it can assist in more politically sound development programming.

The CHSSC’s contribution to this project is led by the CHSSC’s Director Lisa Denney.

The CHSSC also runs political economy analysis training for a range of organisations and development programs, tailored to their work and context.

In 2021-2022, the CHSSC partnered with the BHP Foundation to co-design, build and deliver a ten-module course on Enabling Transformational Change for the Foundation’s program and operational staff.

The course addressed how social change happens and the implications for both development practice and for leading and managing organisations, coalitions and alliances.

Each module included pre-reading/watching/listening resources, an interactive seminar with inputs from CHSSC staff and from guest speakers and follow up one-on-one and group mentoring.

The project was led by then CHSSC Director Professor Chris Roche with support from then Senior Research Fellow Lisa Denney, Senior Outreach and Learning Advisory Chris Adams.

In 2016-2017, the CHSSC partnered with the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) to co-design and deliver a 12-module professional development program for emerging leaders from Australian-based international development agencies.

The course included three units: i) understanding what social change and how it happens; ii) how to design, implement and evaluate programs in ways that address complexity and enable learning and adaptation; and iii) exploring how organisations adapt their structure, culture, ways of working and performance management and measurement in light of the changing and uncertain world in which they operate.

Each unit was delivered over six to 12 weeks using a mix of interactive face-to-face seminars, small group work, work-place based projects and mentoring. Forty-five people from 26 organisations participated in the program.

The design and delivery of the program was led by then CHSSC Director Professor Chris Roche and then CHSSC Co-Director Linda Kelly.