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Due to the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions most face to face education and training providers shifted their programmes online. The move to online education programmes raised the need to collect monitoring data digitally. This blog outlines the benefits of various digital data collection methods as discussed by (Odhiambo, 2013) and (Progressly, 2017).
Implementers of social and development programmes are typically focused on the design and effective implementation of the programmes they manage, sometimes overlooking the necessity of programme communication or lacking the know how to do so. The following article briefly highlights the importance of communicating programmes and provides key tips for developing an effective communication plan.
Evaluative approaches are underpinned by a range of different social development theories, ideological paradigms, and assumptions. It is important for evaluators to understand these to ensure the appropriateness of the evaluation design. This blog presents three common ideological paradigms that underscore evaluative approaches.
The escalation of the recent COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a global reimagining of how workplaces can and do function. An area markedly impacted by this change is in monitoring and evaluating interventions. This blog considers the lessons that can be learnt from a previous global health crisis, namely the Ebola Virus outbreak, in helping to improve monitoring and evaluation (M&E) practice during the current, and future, pandemics
In South Africa, a number of institutions offer Consumer Financial Education programmes. These programmes are aimed at equipping South Africans with the necessary knowledge and skills to make informed financial decisions. DNA Economics has evaluated a number of these programmes and this blog unpacks some of the lessons from the evaluations.
Many evaluations rely almost exclusively on perception based data collected through interviews with, or surveys of, implementers (programme providers) and/ or beneficiaries (programme users). While interview data is relatively easy to collect and often provides valuable insights, such data suffers from a number of shortcomings, biases and limitations. We highlight a number of these issues in the context of educational research and suggest potential ways of reducing the risk that such issues result in incorrect research findings and recommendations.
Agriculture is critical to achieving a number of government priorities including food security, rural development, employment creation, and poverty alleviation. The land reform programme is central to the long-term success of the agricultural sector. Two main policies proposals by the government are currently in the spotlight: the final proposal on Strengthening the Relative Rights of People Working the Land; and the Regulation of Land Holding Bill. These bills seem to be a departure from the land reform model outlined in the NDP, which had significant buy-in from stakeholders. The current proposals have therefore contributed to significant policy uncertainty. There is a need for rigorous and robust evaluation of these policies to ensure sustainable regulatory outcomes.
Policymaking is difficult. It involves opportunity costs, trade-offs, and unintended consequences. Ideally the process should be open and transparent, and should include a vigorous debate on all aspects of the policy being developed: its purpose, cost, mechanics, alternative designs, the likelihood of success, and the like.
The Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation recently released the findings of the Management Performance Assessment Tool (MPAT). The MPAT results yield interesting insights into the way government works. In particular, the scores around governance and accountability mechanisms are low.