The history of programme evaluation in South Africa

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study seeks to document the emergence of programme evaluation in South Africa. The valueof the study lies in the fact that no extensive study on the history of programme evaluation in SouthAfrica has been undertaken before. In order to locate the study within an international context, thestudy commences with a description of how programme evaluation developed as a sub disciplineof the social sciences in other countries. In terms of the South African context, the NGO sector,public sector and professionalisation of programme evaluation is considered. Through this study, itis proposed that the emergence of programme evaluation in South Africa is directly linked to donoractivities in the NPO sector. This leads to a discussion of the advancement of monitoring andevaluation in the public sector – specifically the role played by government in institutionalisingmonitoring and evaluation. Finally, the professionalisation of the evaluation field is also included.The study commenced with a thorough document analysis to gather data on both the internationalcontext as well as the South African context. In terms of gathering data on South Africa, data oncertain aspects of the emergence of programme evaluation was very limited. To augment thelimited data on the local front, face to face and telephonic interviews were conducted. Throughthese conversations, valuable additional non-published resources and archaic documents werediscovered and could be included in the study to produce a comprehensive picture of theemergence of programme evaluation in South Africa.A number of salient points emerge from the thesis. Firstly, there are both similarities anddifferences between the United States and the UK when considering the emergence of programmeevaluation internationally. Secondly, South Africa followed a different trajectory to the USA andUK, where programme evaluation originated within government structures and was consequently atop down occurrence. In South Africa, programme evaluation emerged through donor activity andtherefore occurred from the bottom up. Thirdly, in comparison to the US and UK, the South Africangovernment did not initially play a significant role in the advancement of monitoring and evaluation(M&E). However, it is within this sector that M&E became institutionalised in South Africa. Finally,the professionalisation and development of programme evaluation in South Africa can beattributed to the first generation evaluators of the 1990s. It is the critical thinking and initiative takenby these individuals that stimulated the field.It is hoped that this study will constitute only the first step into the documentation of programmeevaluation's history in South Africa as there are many areas where further investigation is stillrequired.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University