Comments from participants

We have always welcomed comments from all participants on our training programmes. Below are some of the participants' comments from our most recently held programmes, revealing what they considered to be the strengths of the programme.

'Making markets work for business and income growth', Glasgow, UK, July 2007

This training programme attracted 38 participants from 19 different countries. Organisations sponsoring and sending participants included DFID, GTZ, DAI, SDC, Swisscontact, ILO, EU, IDC, Mercy Corps, IFC, RLDC, SIDBI and Practical Action. Donor agencies, both bilateral and multilateral, NGOs, national governments and contractors were all represented on the training programme. "I felt engaged and excited by the materials/conversations throughout" "Energised and energising facilitators" "Very good models/framework = excellent product" "Cutting edge" "World class presentations" "Meticulous logistics" "Case studies well designed and covered all the critical dimensions" "Stimulating content (focus on ways of thinking)" "Excellent and interesting participants" "Good sense of humour incorporated" "Brilliant management - 'went the extra mile' to meet requests/queries"


'Making service markets work for enterprise competitiveness', Phuket, Thailand, March 2007

This training programme attracted 63 participants from 14 different countries. Organisations sponsoring and sending participants included GTZ, Swisscontact, Mercy Corps, SDC, Helvetas, DAI, ADB, Intercooperation, IDE, and CADF. "Highly experienced and professional trainers" "This was a great programme and very relevant" "Comprehensive - covered the whole spectrum" "Relevant Asian experiences from the real world" "Programme organisation was superb" "Powerful delivery techniques" "Addressed emerging issues" "Stimulates a new way of thinking about what to target in our programmes" "Offers a different approach to development" "Relevant case studies made the concepts accessible" "Facilitators very knowledgeable, accommodative and friendly


'Making markets work for business and income growth', Glasgow, UK, July/August 2006

This training programme attracted 50 participants from 28 different countries. Organisations sponsoring and sending participants included DFID, GTZ, USAID, SDC, Swisscontact, IDE, CARE, CIDA, Traidcraft and Oxfam. Donor agencies, both bilateral and multilateral, NGOs, national governments and contractors were all represented on the training programme. "Overall, the best training programme I've ever participated in. A refreshing change from the norm! Will recommend without hestation to colleagues" "Very knowledgeable and high-calibre instructors" "Illustrated the new approach to development work" "Relevant to real on-the-ground challenges" "Excellent balance of theoretical approach and case studies" "Great networking opportunities" "Developed by those who have extensive hands-on experience in the field" "Great hospitality and willingness to response to unique requests" "Fun interactive teaching methods!" "Case studies were relevant and credible" "Programme structure provided a good environment for learning"


'Making service markets work for enterprise competitiveness', Phuket, Thailand, March 2006

This training programme attracted 63 participants from 16 different countries. Organisations sponsoring and sending participants included GTZ, SNV, Swisscontact, DFID, CARE, EC, DAI, Winrock, SDC, and Intercooperation. "A clear roadmap of where we are going" "Real life, practical case studies" "Good depth of topics despite the time constraints" "Excellent, knowledgeable and dedicated trainers" "Faultless programme organisation and management" "Great diversity and varied experience of the participants" "Giving a new perspective" "I feel more confident that I'll be asking the 'right' questions re markets" "This approach works better than other 'quick fixes'" "Stimulating, informative and presented in an effective manner" "Excellent management. Three cheers!"