Embedding Knowledge Management & Communication in M&E Process: Stakeholder Mapping
November 2022
A presentation on how understanding a stakeholders’ relationship with evaluation allows for more useful evaluations and better dissemination and uptake.
Communicating On Evaluation to Increase Demand: Lessons from IDEV
August 2022
A presentation on how ensuring evaluation knowledge, findings & lessons are available, valued, and utilised can contribute to improving development effectiveness.
How to Undertake Rapid Evaluations – Updated Guideline
January 2023
This Guideline, updated from the 2019 version, is an introduction to doing rapid evaluations, either conducted internally or externally or a hybrid. This updated guideline is based on the experiences of Twende Mbele countries (Benin, Ghana, Kenya, Niger, South Africa and Uganda) in planning, undertaking and using rapid evaluations. The first part provides an overview of what rapid evaluation is and when to undertake it. Part B uses the structure of the joint Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation/Twende Mbele guideline on the rapid evaluation toolkit and introduces particular aspects in relation to rapid evaluation.
This updated guideline aims to specifically provide guidance for commissioning, undertaking and using rapid evaluations in a government context, based on the feedback experiences of Twende Mbele partner countries in piloting rapid evaluation. The initial rapid evaluation guideline was developed collaboratively between the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) and the Twende Mbele.
The Role of Civil Society Organisations in the Pilot District Development Model in Waterberg District Municipality, Limpopo Province – Brief
January 2023
The South African Government adopted the District Development Model (DDM) as an operational model for improving cooperative governance and building a capable, ethical and developmental state. In his 2019 Budget Speech, President Cyril Ramaphosa concluded that the poor coordination within government departments results in incoherent planning (silo approach), and poor monitoring and implementation of programmes. Subsequently, Cabinet approved the model, through which, the Government sought a paradigm shift whereby 52 District and Metropolitan Municipalities in South Africa are to develop and implement ‘One Plan’ to improve coordination of state institutions in infrastructure development and service delivery. The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) began piloting the DDM in three districts – eThekwini, OR Tambo and Waterberg District Municipalities.
In 2022, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) in partnership with Twende Mbele – a multilateral government partnership – commissioned a study on the DDM piloted in the Waterberg District. The main purpose of the study was to develop a consensus on the role of civil society organisations in the DDM, in particular their contribution to the planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of the DDM ‘One Plan’. Planact conducted the research for the study over a three-month period. A total of 136 people representing 113 civil society organisations across all five local municipalities participated in the study.
The study focused on six thematic issues, which served as a basis of reporting the findings, namely:
•Awareness about the District Development Model (DDM);
•Awareness of the Waterberg One Plan;
•Modes of communication about the DDM and One Plan employed by the municipalities;
•Extent and quality of civil society involvement (including the DDM Hub);
•Challenges and opportunities regarding involvement of the civil society organisations in the One Plan; and
•Possible strategies that can improve the participation of civil society organisations in the development of the One Plan.
The Role of Civil Society Organisations in the Pilot District Development Model in Waterberg District Municipality, Limpopo Province
November 2022
The South African Government has adopted the District Development Model (DDM) as an operational model for improving cooperative governance and building a capable, ethical and developmental state. In his 2019 Budget Speech, President Cyril Ramaphosa concluded that the poor coordination within government departments results in incoherent planning (silo approach), and poor monitoring and implementation of programmes. Subsequently, Cabinet approved the model, and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) began piloting the DDM in three districts – eThekwini, OR Tambo and Waterberg District Municipalities – in 2019. The model’s implementation is based on ‘One Plan’, a longterm 25-30 year strategic intergovernmental plan guiding investment, development and service delivery in relation to each of the district and metropolitan spaces, which has to be characterised by collaborative research, evidence and solution (CoGTA and NDP 2020). The main aim of this study is to identify current practices in the Waterberg District regarding participation of CSOs in the development of the Municipality’s One Plan and explore possible areas of collaboration between the state and CSOs. It employs qualitative research methods and triangulation to increase the validity of the data.
The One Plan process guidelines highlight that all relevant institutions and actors, including civil society organisations, need to be involved. While the guidelines are important, they do not sufficiently address how the involvement of civil society organisations (CSOs) can be actively facilitated in the various stages. The absence of processes for systematic engagements with CSOs specifically in One Plans for each district, and the subsequent failure to integrate their views into the document, suggests that service delivery and investments will remain misaligned with their needs. Ideally, CSOs should actively participate in the seven stages of developing the One Plans, namely: 1 Diagnostic, 2 Vision Setting, 3 Strategy Formulation, 4 Implementation Commitments, 5 Draft One Plan, 6 Approval and Adoption of Final One Plan, 7 Implementation, Monitoring and Review.
Certainly, CoGTA has realised that the technical aspects of intra and inter-departmental coordination at the expense of other district levels, and the exclusion of non-government actors, limits the success of the DDM to result in change in communities. This is also contrary to South African law such as the Constitution of 1996 (section 152), which promotes involvement of communities and community organisations in local government. Similarly, the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act, 2005 (section 5) highlights the importance of effective coordination between the three spheres of government (national, provincial and local government) and coordination and alignment of priorities, objectives and strategies.