Journal articles

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/handle/10539/27970

Browse

Filters

2018 - 20199

Settings

Start date: 2018End date: 2019

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 9 of 9
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Assessing Evaluation Education in African Tertiary Education Institutions: Opportunities and reflections
    (South African Journal of Higher Education, 2018) Dr Tirivanhu, Precious; Dr Chirau, Takunda; Ms Waller, Cara; Mr Robertson, Hanlie
    The demand for knowledge from evaluations to inform evidence-based policy making continues to rise in Africa. Simultaneously, there is increased recognition of the role tertiary education institutions can play in strengthening evaluation practice through high quality evaluation education. This article investigates the status quo of evaluation education in selected tertiary institutions in Anglophone African countries. The article utilizes a mixed methods research methodology that blends secondary data review, an online survey using a structured questionnaire and two regional workshops. Data was collected from 12 Anglophone African tertiary education institutions. Findings indicate that evaluation education in Anglophone African tertiary institutions is mostly in the nascent stages and there are mixed feelings on the appropriate entry levels (undergraduate or postgraduate). The study highlights the need for developing a specialized evaluation curriculum as evaluation education still borrows from theories and methodologies from the North. Institutional, operational and policy-related challenges are highlighted as well as the potential for collaboration among various stakeholders in strengthening the design and implementation of evaluation education. Key tenets for strengthening evaluation education are highlighted and discussed.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Rooting Evaluation Guidelines in Relational Ethics: Lessons From Africa
    (American Journal of Evaluation, 2019) Ms Blaser Mapitsa, Caitlin; Ms Polzer Ngwato, Tara
    As global discussions of evaluation standards become more contextually nuanced, culturally responsive conceptions of ethics have not been sufficiently discussed. In academic social research, ethical clearance processes have been designed to protect vulnerable people from harm related to participation in a research project. This article expands the ambit of ethical protection thinking and proposes a relational ethics approach for evaluation practitioners. This centers an analysis of power relations among and within all the different stakeholder groups in order to establish, in a contextspecific manner, which stakeholders are vulnerable and in need of protection. The approach also contextualizes the nature of “the public good,” as part of an ethical consideration of interest tradeoffs during evaluations. The discussion is informed by our experiences in African contexts and speaks to the “Made in Africa” research agenda but is also relevant to other global contexts where alternatives to “developed country” ontological assumptions about the roles of researchers and participations and the nature of vulnerability are being reconsidered.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    African Review of Economics and Finance Conference
    (AREF Consult and Wits Business School, 2018) Professor Alagidede, Paul; Associate Professor Obeng-Odoom, Franklin; Dr Mensah, Odei Jones
    This paper endeavours to examine the impact of FDI on income distribution in South Africa. The study utilized annual time series data covering the period 1970–2016, and employed an Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag Model (ARDL) and the error correction method (ECM) to investigate the long –run and the short-run parameters between the observed variables. The regression results suggest a long-run cointegration relationship among the variables. While FDI, education, domestic investment and trade openness have negative and statistically significant coefficients which suggests that these variables reduce income inequality in South Africa in the long run; financial development has a positive and a statistically significant coefficient and this implies that there is still a gap between the rich and the poor as far as access to credit markets is concerned, and this aggravates income inequality. This study recommends that more investment-inducing activities for both domestic and foreign investments be encouraged in parallel with increased investments in human capital development, as well improved access to capital markets through allowing the poor to invest in high return investments in order to achieve inclusive economic growth.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Can massive open online courses fill African evaluation capacity gaps?
    (African Evaluation Journal, 2019-06-26) Caitlin, Blaser Mapitsa; Linda, Khumalo; Hermine, Engel; Dominique, Wooldridge
    Theory of Change for Development is a free online course developed at an African institution to strengthen evaluation capacity in the region. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) provide a platform for building skills at scale in the region. Scholars of evaluation have long pointed to a gap between supply and demand that frustrates both evaluation practitioners and commissioners. This article explores the possibilities and limitations of MOOCs to bridge this gap.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The emergence of government evaluation systems in Africa: The case of Benin, Uganda and South Africa
    (African Evaluation Journal, 2018-03-29) Ian, Goldman; Albert, Byamugisha; Abdoulaye, Gounou; Laila R., Smith; Stanley, Ntakumba; Timothy, Lubanga; Damase, Sossou; Karen, Rot-Munstermann
    Evaluation is not widespread in Africa, particularly evaluations instigated by governments rather than donors. However since 2007 an important policy experiment is emerging in South Africa, Benin and Uganda, which have all implemented national evaluation systems. These three countries, along with the Centre for Learning on Evaluation and Results (CLEAR) Anglophone Africa and the African Development Bank, are partners in a pioneering African partnership called Twende Mbele, funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) and Hewlett Foundation, aiming to jointly strengthen monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems and work with other countries to develop M&E capacity and share experiences.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Institutionalising the evaluation function: A South African study of impartiality, use and cost
    (Elsevier, 2019-05-03) Caitlin, Blaser Mapitsa; Dr Takunda, Chirau
    Purpose: This article explores the implications of outsourcing the evaluation function in South Africa, a context where there is a mismatch between evaluation supply and demand. It unpacks the tradeoffs between internal and external evaluation, and challenges some commonly held assumptions about both. Approach: Based on experiences as an internal evaluator, external evaluator, evaluation manager, and building evaluation capacity, the author explores how each role changes when evaluation is a scarce skill, and looks at implications outsourcing has for both the organization, and the evaluation. Findings: The purpose of the evaluation must drive the decision to outsource. However, with changing models of collaboration, there may be hybrid options that allow organizations to build evaluation capacity. Practical implications: Organisations are faced with a trade-off between commissioning an evaluation, and building internal evaluation capacity. To better understand each approach, it is important to consider the purpose and context of the evaluation. This shifts some commonly held assumptions about internal and external evaluations. Re-examining these assumptions will help organizations make a more informed decision about an evaluation approach. Originality/value: The field of evaluation is particularly concerned with evaluation use. Most of the literature on this has focused on the approach of individual evaluators, and insufficient attention has been paid to the institutional architecture of the evaluation. This article considers how some of the organisational structures around an evaluation contribute to evidence use, and the case study of South Africa also shifts the focus to the central but overlooked role of context in the debate.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Evaluation 2 – Evaluating the national evaluation system in South Africa: What has been achieved in the first 5 years?
    (African Evaluation Journal, 2019-08-28) Ian, Goldman; Carol N., Deliwe; Stephen, Taylor; Zeenat, Ishmail; Laila R., Smith; Thokozile, Masangu; Christopher, Adams; Gillian, Wilson; Dugan, Fraser; Annette, Griessel; Cara, Waller; Siphesihle, Dumisa; Alyna, Wyatt; Jamie, Robertsen
    South Africa has pioneered national evaluation systems (NESs) along with Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Uganda and Benin. South Africa’s National Evaluation Policy Framework (NEPF) was approved by Cabinet in November 2011. An evaluation of the NES started in September 2016.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Diagnosing monitoring and evaluation capacity in Africa
    (African Evaluation Journal, 2018) Caitlin, Blaser Mapitsa; Linda, Khumalo
    Since 2015, the Centre for Learning on Evaluation and Results-Anglophone Africa (CLEAR-AA) has implemented more than seven diagnostic tools to better understand monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems in the region. Through the process of adapting global tools to make them more appropriate to an African context, CLEAR-AA has learned several lessons about contextually relevant definitions and boundaries of M&E systems.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Determinants of skills demand in a state- intervening labour market. The case of South African transport sector
    (Emerald Insights, 2019-02-20) Khotso, Tsotsotso; Elizabeth, Montshiwa; Precious, Tirivanhu; Tebogo, Fish; Siyabonga, Sibiya; Tshepo, Mlangeni; Matsemela, Moloi; Nhlanhla, Mahlangu
    Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to improve the understanding of the drivers and determinants of skills demand in South Africa, given the country’s history and its current design as a developmental state. Design/methodology/approach – In this study, a mixed methods approach is used. The study draws information from in-depth interviews with transport sector stakeholders including employers, professional bodies, sector regulatory bodies and training providers. Complementary to the interviews, the study also analyses employer-reported workplace skills plans from 1,094 transport sector firms updated annually. A Heckman correction model is applied. Findings – The study finds that changes in competition, technology, ageing employees, market conditions and government regulations are among the most frequently stated determinants reported through interviews. Using a Heckman regression model, the study identifies eight determining factors, which include location of firm, size of a firm, occupation type, racial and generational transformation, sub-sector of the firm, skills alignment to National Qualification Framework, reason for skills scarcity and level of skills scarcity reported. The South African transport sector skills demand is therefore mainly driven by the country’s history and consequently its current socio-economic policies as applied by the state itself. Research limitations/implications – Wage rates are explored during stakeholder interviews and the study suggests that wage rates are an insignificant determinant of skills demand in the South African transport sector. However, due to poor reporting by firms, wage rates did not form a part of the quantitative analysis of the study. This serves as a limitation of the study. Practical implications – Through this research, it is now clear that the state has more determining power (influence) in the transport sector than it was perceived. The state can use its power to be a more effective enabler towards increasing employer participation in skills development of the sector. Social implications – With increased understanding and awareness of state’s influence in the sector, the country’s mission to redress the social ills of the former state on black South Africans stands a better chance of success. Private sector resources can be effectively mobilized to improve the social state of previously disadvantaged South Africans. However, given the economic dominance of the private sector and its former role in the apartheid era in South Africa; too much state influence in a supposedly free market can result in corporate resistance and consequently, market failure which can be seen as result of political interference.