Welcome
Welcome to this special edition, focusing solely on Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E). In line with our core offerings and after our attendance at the recent SAMEA (South African Monitoring & Evaluation Association) conference in Gauteng, we wanted to highlight M&E and its importance in the development sector for our readers.
We hope you enjoy our special, ad-hoc edition! Stay tuned for the next quarterly edition, set for release in early November!
Many thanks,
The Creative Consulting & Development Works Team
Spotlight On: SAMEA Conference
Our team recently attended and presented a paper at the 3rd Biennial South African Monitoring and Evaluation Association (SAMEA) Conference, held in Johannesburg. The five-day conference attracted over 350 delegates. The Public Service Commission, Auditor General and Public Administration Leadership and Management Academy had a strong presence as exhibitors alongside Creative Consulting and Development Works and other research consultancies.
The conference was opened by the Chairperson of the Public Service Commission of South Africa, Ben Mthembu, who highlighted the role of management and the role of parliament to hold government accountable in his opening address. “Although we acknowledge a lack of capacity in government as being a problem, we still believe that we have raised vigilance and have taken big steps in the right direction,” he said. “We have made great strides in getting government departments to eradicate corruption.”
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Stomping Out Corruption
Corruption in any form, locally or worldwide, is driven by greed. According to research conducted by the World Bank, widespread corruption can cause the growth rate of a country to be 0.5 to 1.0 % lower than that of a similar country with little corruption. This statistic raises the concern for many around the auditing and monitoring processes of organisations – governmental and non-governmental - and the people or bodies who govern them.
Dishonesty and corruption paints a bleak picture of the ethical practises of those who head up or are in charge of such organisations, making donors or even the ordinary man on the street – the taxpayer, wonder if the money within those organisations is being used for the appropriate reasons. For this reason, monitoring and evaluation processes need to be set in motion and practiced vehemently to ensure accountability on all fronts.
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Afro Optimism vs. Afro Pessimism in SA Development Context
The Exclusives Books Top 10 Bestseller list at King Shaka International Airport was a staggering reflection of the fragile balance of the collective psyche of South Africans recently. This intriguing snapshot revealed high interest in South African current affairs and equal doses of nostalgic optimism and pessimistic reservations. Are we Afro optimists or Afro Pessimists? And how do our attitudes serve socio-economic development?
Scenario-planner Clem Sunter points to three potential courses for South Africa: all the ducks in a row; none of the ducks in a row; or the failed state. “Forget the high road and the low road,” says Clem Sunter. “That imagery is so eighties!” At Creative Consulting & Development Works
we have to agree. For us, the metaphorical glass seems full to the brim with threats and possibilities. Sunter highlights Nationalisation, Media Tribunals, National Health Insurance & Land Grabs as key threats and SARS, The Red Cross Childrens Hospital and 5000 excellent schools as examples of good practice. We would like to opt for option C - a healthy dose of Afro Realism and hope to see South Africa's challenges addressed with Afro Entrepreneurship – a view mirrored by Sunter.
Which potential course do you think we are on? Are we Afro Optimists or Afro Pessimists? And how do our attitudes serve economic and social development?
Read more here and share your views HERE.
Creative Consulting & Development Works: Evaluation Services
One of our core service offerings is Monitoring & Evaluation. We provide M&E to NGO’s, CBO’s, Corporates and government agencies. M&E holds governments and private agencies accountable, assists in long-term funding and donor support and provides results and data for long-term, sustainable growth. In short, it is a valuable component of development-related projects. One cannot asses the success or impact of a project without an independent evaluation. To evaluate the long-term impact and potential of an initiative, on-going monitoring is necessary.
Creative Consulting & Development Works reliably measures and assesses programmes to aid in needs assessments, improved programme effectiveness, best practice and policy recommendations.
What do we offer?
1. Developing monitoring frameworks
2. Conducting programme evaluations through:
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Formative evaluations
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Summative evaluations
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Process/implementation evaluations
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Outcomes evaluation
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Impact evaluation
Some of the evaluations we have conducted:
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Mindset Health: national impact evaluation to assess the impact of the Mindset Health’s HIV/AIDS Programming on health care professionals.
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Hope Africa: an outcomes evaluation of the Hope Africa skills development programmes.
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CMRA: a summative evaluation of the CMRA municipal benchmarking AIDS programme.
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Children’s Institute: process evaluation of the South African Child Gauge 2006.
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DCAS: evaluation of Museums for the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport
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Provincial Government: evaluation of 'Stars in their Eyes' football development programme
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CAGE: evaluation of the content, reach and visibility of the Conflict and Governance Facility website
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Artscape Resource Centre: Evaluation of MAPPP-Seta funded training programme
For more information, please contact Lindy Briginshaw, CEO, (lindy@developmentworks.co.za) and Susannah Clarke, Research Co-ordinator (susannah@developmentworks.co.za) or phone us at +27 21 448 2058.
Contributors & Contact
Lindy Briginshaw (Director); Michelle Cruywagen (Communication Co-ordinator); Susannah Clarke (Research Co-ordinator); Jessica Lomelin (Project Co-ordinator); Charlene Yared-West (Contributor); Sue Maude (Bookkeeper) and Jacques van Niekerk (Technologist)
Contact
For more information about Development Works or the Development Works Newsletter, please visit our website, email media@developmentworks.co.za or call +27 21 448 2058.
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