As we all know the PMP is a credential for people who lead and manage projects. As the need for skilled project managers is high and often wanted by the employers, practitioners who hold the PMP credential are in high demand, because of its world wide recognizition and high quality assessment process. However we often notice that most of the PMP holders work in the private sector where it is mostly recognized and relevant. On the other hand it should be also noted that there are significant numbers of project professionals in the humanitarian and development sector around the world and of course in Sri Lanka. Hence recognizing the professionals in the development sector is also sought and the PMD-Pro has been developed as a result of it, recognizing the fact that high-quality, comprehensive project management practices are indispensible to helping organizations manage organized, focused, effective and efficient projects and programmes.

The fundamentals of Project Management are common to all sectors, but it is especially important that learning is contextualized to the learners’ environment. For a development and humanitarian professionals, this includes the basic philosophies of community participation, the people-focused, and impact oriented rather than profit-driven. This contextualisation in project management allows learners to apply their new knowledge and skills in their work.

The PMD PRO provides an introductory, platform-independent exploration of the principles and terminology of project management within the context of the international development sector. It is intended for an audience of Project/Programme managers and team members such as Project/Programme officers, assistants and Programme associates who are new to the international development sector and who intend to pursue professional credentials in project management. PMD Pro has developed level one of its professional credential, called PMD-Pro 1.

The decisions regarding the scope of the PMD-Pro 1 content have been made based on the assumptions that Project managers in the development sector share many fundamental challenges, despite the unique organizational cultures in which they work and Project managers in the development sector can learn from the best practices of their colleagues working in other sectors. The challenge facing development organizations is to recognize the value of cross-industry tools, techniques and standards of project management, and to apply them within their context. Hence PMD-Pro provides an opportunity for the development professionals to learn the project management in the development context in a well organized approach and it is a unique opportunity to get credited for their knowledge and skills in project management.

From “A guide to the PMD-Pro 1”, April 2010.

RedR Lanka plans to conduct PMD-Pro 1 level examination preparation courses. If you are interested, please contact RedR Lanka at  C 10, Anderson Flats, Park road, Colombo 05, 

Sri Lanka
t  +94 (0) 11 259 7733  e  communication@redr.org.lk

This article written by;

Eng. Aslam Saja

BSc.Eng (Hons), MSc.Eng, AMIESL

Member of RedR UK and Founder Member of RedR Lanka