Browsing by Author "Mouton, Charline"

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    The history of programme evaluation in South Africa
    (2010-12) Mouton, Charline; Mouton, J.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study seeks to document the emergence of programme evaluation in South Africa. The value of the study lies in the fact that no extensive study on the history of programme evaluation in South Africa has been undertaken before. In order to locate the study within an international context, the study commences with a description of how programme evaluation developed as a sub discipline of 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, it is proposed that the emergence of programme evaluation in South Africa is directly linked to donor activities in the NPO sector. This leads to a discussion of the advancement of monitoring and evaluation in the public sector – specifically the role played by government in institutionalising monitoring 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 international context as well as the South African context. In terms of gathering data on South Africa, data on certain aspects of the emergence of programme evaluation was very limited. To augment the limited data on the local front, face to face and telephonic interviews were conducted. Through these conversations, valuable additional non-published resources and archaic documents were discovered and could be included in the study to produce a comprehensive picture of the emergence of programme evaluation in South Africa. A number of salient points emerge from the thesis. Firstly, there are both similarities and differences between the United States and the UK when considering the emergence of programme evaluation internationally. Secondly, South Africa followed a different trajectory to the USA and UK, where programme evaluation originated within government structures and was consequently a top down occurrence. In South Africa, programme evaluation emerged through donor activity and therefore occurred from the bottom up. Thirdly, in comparison to the US and UK, the South African government 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 be attributed to the first generation evaluators of the 1990s. It is the critical thinking and initiative taken by these individuals that stimulated the field. It is hoped that this study will constitute only the first step into the documentation of programme evaluation’s history in South Africa as there are many areas where further investigation is still required.
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    Performance measurement of policy priorities: tracking government performance
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2021-03) Mouton, Charline; Wildschut, Lauren; Mouton, Johann; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology (CREST)
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: There is universal consensus that governments need to execute their functions well so that the needs of citizens are met. Performance measurement enables governments to determine whether their efforts are effective.This thesis presents a focus on one approach to improving performance through rigorous attention to the delivery of public services –referred to as Deliverology by its originator, Sir Michael Barber. As head of the Prime Minister Delivery Unit (PMDU) in the Tony Blair Government in the United Kingdom(UK), Barber developed an approach that targets the implementation shortfalls in government. This thesis employs a case study approach to provide a practical example of how Deliverology was applied in the Western Cape Government (WCG) to implement and measure the performance of six strategic programmes, called Game Changers. The WC Gunder the auspices of Premier Helen Zille, established the Western Cape Delivery Support Unit (DSU) in 2015 to drive the delivery of the Game Changer programmes. In executing the Deliverology approach, some of the perceived limitations in the performance measurement related elements of the approach were addressed through the inclusion of methods and features borrowed from main stream program evaluation (specifically theory-based approaches). The overarching aim of the study is to demonstrate that a modified Deliverology approach is an effective analytical framework to assess the performance of complex social interventions as represented by the eLearning Game Changer. This study is divided into two Parts. Part 1 provides the historical roots of Deliverology, with a focus on the direct precursors as found within the performance measurement and policy implementation traditions. I utilise the three public sector regimes of the 20thcentury -Public Administration (PA), the New Public Management (NPM) and the New Public Governance (NPG) as a framework to show the theoretical and methodological advancements over time. Deliverology has roots in both the NPG and NPM and is put forward as a recent approach to solving government’s implementation challenges Part 2 covers the eLearning Game Changer case study, where I discuss how I have added to the Deliverology approach, drawing on the performance measurement and programme evaluation traditions. Deliverology’s five-step process was utilised as the analytical framework for discussing the modified approach. The gains from using an expanded approach were found to be three-fold: the explicit use of a theory-based approach elucidated the causal pathways; an additional sub step on indicator formulation contributed to greater clarity in conceptualisation and operationalisation of indicators; and finally, the introduction of a clear distinction between short and medium term outcomes mitigated the risk for an unbalanced focus on outputs only. The distinction between short and medium term outcomes also assisted in setting realistic expectations as to what could be achieved within a relatively short period of time. The study suggests that the modified approach is suitable for more complex interventions but requires the necessary technical capabilities and human resources to be put in place. In conclusion, this case study demonstrates the value of a highly structured approach to performance measurement (as exemplified in the elements and routines and strategies of a modified Deliverology framework) when augmented with lessons learnt around theory-based monitoring and evaluation. Given the many policy reform and service delivery challenges in South Africa –basic health care, food security, education, inequality and many others –many of our social programmes are in fact complex interventions. This case study has argued for a very structured approach to tracking the performance and monitoring the outcomes of such complex programmes.