School of Governance

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Browsing School of Governance by School "Wits School of Governance"

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    An investigation of stakeholder influence on participants’ informed consent in the monitoring and evaluation process
    (2022) Kapay, Sara
    Monitoring and Evaluations (hereafter referred to as evaluations) aid in decision making, come in many forms and have various functions depending on their objectives. The nature of evaluations is such that they are reliant on participation from various individuals, communities, and organizations. Informed consent is the process by which participants are made aware of the potential risks, benefits, and objectives of a study and thereafter formally or informally indicate their consent to take part in the proposed research. Informed consent is required as it contributes to trust amongst stakeholders in evaluations. However, while issues regarding informed consent (both in theory and practice) have a well-documented history, especially in medical journals that centre on developed nations; further insights still need to be garnered. As such, there is a need to understand the informed consent process and its suitability within low-income nations in research and evaluations. Consequently, this research report aims to provide an understanding of stakeholder influence on informed consent on participants in evaluations and how power and pressure mechanisms from stakeholders affect informed consent. The interviews allowed us to better understand the role of stakeholders and their influence in informed consent through the perspectives and lived realities of evaluators, industry experts, researchers, and academics as well as those currently working in organisations that have been evaluated. It is evident from the interview findings that the power dominance, pressure, and influences that occur in Evaluation can be both implied and explicit. There is no consensus on what constitutes true informed consent or what exactly and to what extent should participants be informed within evaluations. Rather the focus is more on the protection and privacy of information and data of the evaluations than participants' consent. The observed and dominant ways stakeholders influence participant informed consent is through information. This study contributes to the existing literature on the relationship between evaluators, participants, and decision-makers as well as the power dynamics experienced practically within evaluations. The researcher proposes that a more deliberate approach needs to be taken during the conception phase of evaluations. Finally, further research looking at participation in Evaluation from the lenses of participants is required. In addition, a deeper look into ethics within evaluations as service providers to their stakeholders.
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    Assessing the implementation of monitoring and evaluation systems in the National Treasury
    (University of the Witwatersrand, 2022) Sithagathaga, Latani Nicolas
    This research study was driven and motivated by the need for continuous public service reform while maintaining good governance and enhanced service delivery in public service institutions. Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) systems are one of the important instruments used to assess progress made in public service reforms and good governance in the public service. A thorough study was conducted to assess the implementation of M&E in the National Treasury to establish challenges and lessons learned. The literature review process conducted was focused on determining relevant theoretical and legislative frameworks as well as policy and frameworks relevant to public sector reforms, governance and M&E. A qualitative research design method was chosen for this study, using a case study to collect data. The unit of analysis was the National Treasury, and a non-probability sampling approach was used to target key informants from the Strategic Planning Monitoring & Evaluation Unit and other employees from different Divisions of the National Treasury. The primary research data was sourced through a series of semi-structured interviews. Content analysis of key M&E relevant government documents was conducted to understand the M&E. To conduct this assessment, the study posed two important questions. The researcher reviewed literature relating to the established history and description of the National Treasury. The researcher further conducted research problem analysis to understand the history and description of monitoring and evaluation. The researcher has further reviewed the literature on the monitoring and evaluation systems of developed and developing countries in Africa and internationally. From the reviewed literature, the researcher developed a theoretical and conceptual framework to guide the research approach in collecting, processing, and analysis of the research results. The researcher developed an explanatory framework that assists in interpreting the findings. Some of the findings pointed to the following issues. It was not clear from the reports whether the National Treasury lacked the capacity and skills for monitoring and evaluation on the repeated audit opinions as raised by Auditor General or whether it lacked defined structures, processes, that also include roles and responsibilities for monitoring and evaluation; or lacked support and buy-in from management and support staff. It is crucial that the National Treasury M&E system generates high quality performance information on quarterly and annual periods to provide decision makers with critical information. This information should also be provided to public, and other stakeholders with accurate and reliable performance information on reforms and good governance of the organisation. The research concluded that, given the establishment and institutional arrangement elements that were assessed and found to be in place and functional, the National Treasury M&E system has the potential to be sustainable if the recommendations provided in this study are considered and implemented. There were no clear indications of specific challenges that were encountered during implementation and there was a clear process followed in conducting the M&E within the organisation which can be used as lessons by other organisations. The Researcher concluded by providing some recommendations to strengthen the National Treasury’s monitoring and evaluation system.