Institutionalisation of the South African national evaluation system in two national government departments

Abstract

This study has attempted to review the institutionalisation of the South African national evaluation system as well as the extent of the uptake of the system by participating departments based on the experiences of two departments. The study was necessitated by the need to understand how the institutionalisation of the evaluation system is navigating through the negative attitudes of some of line departments towards the practice of evaluation.

The study employed a combination of document review and semi-structured interviews with selected participants. In terms of the conceptual framework, this study is anchored on a hybrid of the rational choice model (evidence-based approach) and a political system model to provide a balanced analysis of the system.

One of the critical elements towards the institutionalisation of the evaluation practice in government is the capacity of line departments to manage and conduct evaluations. While the MPAT assessments show that a significant number of government departments still do not have M&E units, this study found that both of the sampled departments (departments of Human Settlements & Trade and Industry) are just some of the few departments that have the capacity to conduct evaluation in terms of M&E units. It is imperative to note that DPME is not (and cannot be) responsible for the establishment of M&E units in government departments save the issuance of the MPAT Evaluation Standard requirement that seeks to foster the establishment of the departmental evaluation systems, which includes the establishment of M&E units, among others.

The uptake of the evaluation system by line departments is also one of the critical elements towards the institutionalisation of the evaluation practice in government. The study found that the cooperation and uptake of the system by departments varies from one department to another, and even within the same department.

Finally, DPME appears to be succeeding in rolling out the national evaluation system as per the National Evaluation Policy Framework notwithstanding the implementation challenges viii

alluded to in Chapter 5. However, the uptake of the evaluation system by line departments still poses a major challenge for the system. It appears that the MPAT Evaluation Standard requirement would go a long way in fostering the uptake. However, it remains to be seen if this intervention would drive a genuine uptake as opposed to a mere compliant uptake.