Although the Harris School’s Custom Professional Learning (CPL) program, is still in its early days, the list of satisfied clients is growing.

In September, Professor Robert LaLonde ran a two-day training session on program evaluation in Puebla, Mexico for 55 state and federal government officials from a wide variety of agencies, including the Ministries of Social Development, Education, and Innovation.

The program was coordinated in conjunction with Harris School alumnus Julio Franco, MPP ’01 who is the Deputy Secretary of Social Development in Puebla and founder of the Institute for Executive Education (IEXE). A Mexican policy and management training and consulting firm, IEXE focuses on training public officials with cutting-edge theory and practical application. Since 2003, the company has provided training to over 2,000 federal, state, and municipal public officials throughout the country.

Incorporating the theoretical concepts of program evaluation as well as several case studies from the United States and Mexico, Professor LaLonde’s training was well received by the participants. Program evaluation is a critical skill needed by government officials. According to Franco, “most of the social policy programs implemented in state governments are designed and funded with federal resources and must comply with the federal operation rules that require impact evaluations.”

As a result, Franco adds, the participants now “know the appropriate moment to implement impact evaluations, how to select a methodology, and, most importantly, how to identify the key aspects to consider when contracting an outside evaluation.”

The Harris School is currently working on developing future programs with IEXE, which handled the logistics for the September CPL program.

For more information or to set up a program for your organization, contact 773.702.4586 or exec-training@uchicago.edu, or visit harrisschool.uchicago.edu/cpl.