Universidad
Politécnica de Madrid

The PhD. Program in Project Planning of Rural Development and Sustainable Management of the Technical University of Madrid (UPM) has an experienced teaching staff from the UPM which belongs to the research groups GESPLAN (www.ruraldevelopment.es) and SILVANET (www.montes.upm.es/ETSIMontes/PDI/Investigacion/GI/GestionSostenible).

The Program goal is to train researchers in planning and evaluation of rural–local development projects, as well as in sustainable management of the territories and its biodiversity. The interdisciplinary studies and APPLIED RESEARCH addressed in this PhD. Program are focused not only in the context of the specific problems of the developing countries, but also in the context of the developed countries.

The Program has five specialization lines with their correspondent research objectives:

1- Planning and Management: Improvement of the planning and management in the development programs and identification of the elements which defined the different planning models.

2 - Evaluation: Design of suitable methodologies and participatory approaches and tools for the evaluation of development interventions. Such design is also addressed to decrease the lack of an appropriate scientific basis in the decision making process by the institutions in charge of promoting development projects.

3 - Project Management. To provide a conceptual and practical framework (knowledge, skills, techniques, tools and practices) to assist the training of project managers.

4 - Technologies and methodologies for sustainable management: Design of methodologies and tools developed with a sustainability approach from the beginning of the planning activities and that allow the conservation of biodiversity.

5 - Quantitative methods in decision making: Development and application of methodologies for the development of decision making systems with socioeconomic and territorial information integrated.