Download - SAMEA Conference Draft IV fin - DPME
JohannesburgHilton,SouthAfrica23to27October2017 February2018
6th Biennial SAMEA ConferenceConference Report
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Table of Contents
04 10 17page page page
Introduction Planning Conferenceprogramme
27Lessonslearnt
32Feedback
37Annexes
25Strands
page
page page page
The SAMEA Conference recorded the highest number of delegates in its history –a sign of a growing profession.
Raising the bar
Introduction AboutSAMEA
Conferenceobjectives
Conferenceformat
Conferenceparticipation
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About SAMEA SAMEAaimsto:
• ProvideaplatformforinteractionandinformationsharingamongallthoseinterestedinMonitoring&Evaluation(M&E)
• Promotehighqualityintellectual,ethicalandprofessionalstandardsinM&E
• IncreasetheuseofM&Etheoryandpractice
• PromotethedevelopmentandadoptionofM&EapproachesandmethodssuitabletoaSouthAfricananddevelopmentcontext
• Promotepost-graduateeducationandcontinuingprofessionaldevelopmentinthefieldofM&E
• IncreasetheprofileofSouthAfricanM&Eatnationalandinternationallevel
• HelpbuildunderstandingofinternationaldevelopmentsandtrendsinM&E
• BearesourceonM&EinSouthAfrica
TheSouthAfricanMonitoring&EvaluationAssociation(SAMEA) strivestocultivateavibrantcommunitythatwillsupport,guideandstrengthenthedevelopmentofM&Easanimportantdiscipline,professionandinstrumentforempowermentandaccountabilityinSouthAfrica.
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Conference theme and objectives
Sincethe5th biennialSAMEAConferenceinOctober2015,theSouthAfricanenvironmenthasbeencharacterisedbytheSAGovernmentadvocatingfortheNationalDevelopmentPlan,whichisalignedtotheinternationalSustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDGs).
Thereisalsoagrowingdemandforevaluationsbydifferentsectorsforvariouspurposes.
Keystateinstitutionsanddevelopmentpartnersintendtouseevaluationevidencetomeasuredevelopmentresults.
Internationalanddomesticdebatescurrentlyemphasisetheneedforbetterqualityandrigourofevaluationwork,
clearframeworksforevaluatorcompetence,evaluationstandardsandmoreadvocacyfortheuseofevaluationevidenceforinformeddecisionmaking.
Itisagainstthisbackdrop,thatSAMEAhasdecidedontheconferencetheme:
This6th SAMEAConferenceaimedtobroadentheevaluationcommunityandincreasecommitmentamongstevaluationusersanddecision-makerstouseevidenceforinformeddecisionmaking.
Purpose-drivenMonitoringandEvaluation(M&E)
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Conference format
TheConferenceranoverfivedays,comprising2 daysofpre-conferenceprofessionaldevelopmentworkshops.Therewerefivestrandsforconferencepresentations(seeadjacent).
Threeplenarieswereheld,includingtheopeningandclosingsessions.Plenariescomprisedinternationalexpertswhosharedtheirtimeandexperiencewithparticipantsoverarangeofpractical,learningsessions.
Conferencestrands
1. StrengtheningPerformanceMonitoringSystems2. EnhancingDataManagementandVisualisation3. UsingEvidenceforDecisionMaking4. Lessonslearntfromevaluationcasestudies5. StrengtheningtheMonitoringandEvaluationProfession
“Thepresentationsattheconferencewereofhighquality,withhighprofilespeakersthatkeptattendeesengaged”– Dr VictorNaidu.
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Conference participation
XAsian
Quickconferencefacts:• 26countries• 619conference
participants• 372workshop
registrations• 5strands
TheSAMEAConferencehasbecometrulyinternational,asconferenceparticipationindicates.
Brazil
Canada
USA
Mexico
India
Malaysia
17Africancountries:1.BurkinaFaso2.Congo3.CoteD’Ivoire4.Ethiopia5.Ghana6.Kenya7.Lesotho8.Malawi
9.Namibia10.Niger11.SouthAfrica12.Senegal13.Swaziland14.Tanzania15.Uganda16.Zambia17.Zimbabwe
Lebanon
Spain
Nether-lands
The rise in M&E has necessitated the need for more purpose driven evaluations which will contribute to programmes that impact positively on the lives of people.
Towards Purpose-driven M&E
Planning Timeline
Organisingteam
Sponsors&bursars
Abstracts
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Timeline
8
July17
Aug17
Sept17
Oct17June17
March7
April17
Secondannouncement/callforpapers:20April2017Abstractsubmissionsopened:20April2017Workshopproposalssubmissionopened:20April2017
Abstractreviewscompleted:15July2017Acceptingandrejectionofabstractscompleted:24July2017Speakersnotified:28July2017Workshoppresentersnotified:28July2017
6th SAMEAConferenceheldinJohannesburg
Speakersconfirmed:7Aug2017Finalprogrammeannouncement:22Aug2017
Earlybirdcut-offdate:18September2017
Registrationopened:15June2017Abstractsubmissionsclosed:30June2017Workshopsubmissionsclosed:30June2017
Preliminarywebsiteopened:15March2017Firstannouncement:15March2017
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Organising team
Thefiveconferencestrandswereorganisedby14strandcoordinatingteams (seeAnnexAforthenamesoftheconferencechairandstrandcoordinators).
Theoutstandingleadershipprovidedbystrandco-coordinatorsinconceptualising,reviewingandmanagingthestrandscontributedtoasuccessfulevent.
Thestrandcoordinationprocessprovidedamemorablelearningexperience.
Forafourthyear,theSAMEABoardcontractedIlios Conferencestoorganiselogisticsandeventmanagement.
Ilios didanexcellentjobinsupportingtheSAMEABoard withtheirmandatetohostthe6th SAMEAConference.
Volunteersweremobilisedandbriefedtoprovidefront- andbackendsupporttowardseffectiveeventflow.
Theteamalsoknewhowtohadfunbetweenallthehardwork– asdemonstratedbyend-of-conferenceselfiesandbanterintheSecretariatoffice.
Theresourcesthatpulledtogethertheeventworkedtirelesslytowardsitssuccess.
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Sponsors
SponsorsandotherpartnersplayedacriticalroleintheConference.
Varioustypesofsponsorshipopportunitieswereavailableforthepublic,recognising thatnotallorganisations havethefinancialflexibilitytooffercashsponsorships.Cashsponsorshipincluded:
• PremiumSponsorship – R500000eachorabove• SelectSponsorship – R300000each• ClassicSponsorship – R100000each
Inadditiontocashsponsorship,thefundingstructureallowedfor:• In-kindsponsorshipsforstrandmanagementsupport andworkshop
contributions
SAMEAsecuredtheparticipationofnineconferenceexhibitors.
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SponsorsSAMEAwishestothankoursponsorsfortheircontributiontotheconference.
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Abstract management
30June2017
Strandmanagersreviewed,scoredandselected758anonymousabstractsviaIlios Conferences’digitalsystem.Theabstractswereofaveryhighstandard.
EnhancingDataManagementandVisualisation 20Lessonslearntfromevaluationcasestudies 56StrengtheningPerformanceMonitoringSystems 50StrengtheningtheMonitoringandEvaluationProfession 38UsingEvidenceforDecisionMaking 60
Acceptedabstractsperstrand
758 abstracts received
224 abstracts selected
Private sector institutions see the benefits of using evaluations to measure value for money of their corporate social investments.
Why the need for Purpose-driven M&E?
Conference programme
Workshops&posters
Parallelsessions&plenaries
Awards
Events
Technology
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Workshops & posters
Highqualityprofessionaldevelopmentworkshopsandposterssetthesceneforapurpose-drivenevent.
• 21workshopswerepresentedattheSAMEAConference(SeeAnnexBforlistofworkshopspresented)
• 24posterswerepresented
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Parallel sessions and plenariesTheopeningplenaryframedtheconferenceagainstthethemeofPurpose-drivenM&E.Severalhigh-profilespeakerspresented.
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Openingspeakersincluded:• DrArunaselam Rasappan (President,Asia-pacific
EvaluationAssociation(APEA)• DrNtsiki Tshayingca-Mashiy,DGintheDepartmentfor
Planning,Monitoring&Evaluation(DPME)intheSouthAfricanPresidency(forHonMrJeffRadebe)
Conferenceday2speakersincluded:• Openingaddress byHonSenzeni Zokwana,MinisterOf
Agriculture,Forestry& Fisheries• SaraVaca,IndependentConsultant,VisualBrains
ChairedbyDrVictorNaidu,theclosingplenaryincludedthefollowingspeackers:• Jozef Leonardus Vaessen,IEGMethodsAdvisor,World
BankGroup• Ziad Moussa,President,InternationalOrganisation For
CooperationInEvaluation(IOCE)• SummaryandclosingbyDuganFraser• Feedbackfromstrandleadersandconcludingremarks
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Events
OnWednesdayevening,29October,delegatesenjoyedaopeningcocktailduringwhichtheAfricanEvaluationAssociation(AfrEA)launchedtheYoung&EmergingEvaluators(YEE)Network.
OnThursdayevening,SAMEAhostedtheAfricanAuthorscocktail– aneventthatshowcasedtheworkofAfricanauthors,editorsandpublishers.
Twelveemergingevaluatorsweresponsoredtoattendtheconference:MiriamChikwanda,Bongiwe Pasiya,Geeta Morar,CynthiaMendoza,Onias Hlungwani,FaithChinungwe,Noleen Advani,Mkhululi Mnyaka,VeronicaMkuyamba,SchwarzenegerrKusikwenyu,Nomathamsanqa Mfundisi andNevilleMangwiro.
Authors,editorsandpublishersgatheredonThursdayeveningforthetheAfricanAuthorscocktail.
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AwardsInrecognitionofthemanypeoplewhoarecontributingtothedevelopmentoftheevaluationprofession,SAMEAheldanawardsfunctiononWednesdayevening,29October.
TheSAMEADistinguishedServiceAwardwentto:• EasternCapeSAMEAchapter:ProfEdwinIjeoma• WesternCapeSAMEAnetwork:Dr MarkAbrahams
TheSAMEAEmergingEvaluatorAwardwasawardedtothefollowingyoungevaluators:• AshleighFynn:GenesisAnalytics• KhotsoTsotsotso:CLEAR• LetitiaRambally Greener:MatCH ResearchUnit,
WitsHealth
Consortiumwasawardedinabsentia
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AwardsTheGovernmentEvaluationAwardsrecognisedbestperformanceingovernmentevaluationswiththeaimtopromoteacultureandinstitutionalisationofevaluationingovernment.Theawardscomprisedfourcategories.
Category3:Aprovincialdepartmentthathasinstitutionalised evaluationWestern Cape Department of AgricultureDr Dirk Troksie, Director: Business Planning and Strategy (Evaluation Champion)
Kwa-Zulu Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional AffairsMr Manelisi Sogwagwa, Senior Manager: Evaluation (Evaluation Champion)
Category4:Anofficeofthepremierthathasinstitutionalised evaluationGauteng Office of the PremierMs Annette Griessel, DDG for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation in the Office of the Premier (Evaluation Champion)
Western Cape Department of the PremierMs Zeenat Ishmail, Chief Director: Strategic Management Information (Evaluation Champion)
Category1:AnevaluationintheDPME’sevaluationrepositorythatreceivedahigh-qualityassessmentscoreMr Edwin Moshabele, Director: Recapitalization and Development (Programme Manager)
Ms Thokozile Masangu, Director: Evaluation and Research (Evaluation Champion)
Mr Charles MachetheUniversity of Pretoria (Independent Evaluator)
Category2:Anationaldepartmentthathasinstitutionalised evaluationNational Department of Social DevelopmentMr Thabani Buthelezi, Chief Director: Monitoring and Evaluation (Evaluation Champion) , Professor in School of Agriculture & Rural Development
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Technology
Technologyapplications:
• Activesocialmediaparticipationandlivefeedingonconferencetwitterwall
• Theadoptionandengagementwiththeconferenceappallowedorganiserstovisualiseconferenceparticipationandprovidedreal-timefeedbacktodelegates
• Theconferenceappprovidedagreaterfocusoncontent.Italsoprovidedanopportunitytoinvestigatewhatattendeesfoundimportant
• Lastly,itallowedorganiserstobenchmarkwhereM&Ewaspositionedrelativetoothercountries
#samea2017
Theuseoftechnologyisparticularlyimportantinadata-drivenprofession.Thus,SAMEAprioritisedreal-timedelegatefeedbackviaatwitterwallandconferenceapp.
Non-governmental organisations and civil society groups have raised citizens’ awareness to actively participate in the evaluation process and to use evaluation evidence for accountability.
Why the need for Purpose-driven M&E?
StrengtheningPerformanceMonitoringSystems
EnhancingDataManagementandVisualisation
UsingEvidenceforDecisionMaking
Lessonslearntfromevaluationcasestudies
Strands
StrengtheningtheMonitoringandEvaluationProfession
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Strengthening performance monitoring systemsOutcome1:MonitoringandEvaluationstakeholdersfromacrosssectorshaveanimprovedunderstandingofpurposiveperformancemonitoringsystems,datamanagementanddatavisualizationforinformeddecisionmaking.
Enhancing data management and visualisationOutcome2:Evaluationusers,decision-makersandevaluationmanagers,commissioners,developmentpartnerswillhaveabetterunderstandingofhowfitforpurposemonitoringandevaluationcanbeusedforpolicy-making,oversight,accountability,andchangestointerventionsthatultimatelyleadtoefficientandeffectivedevelopment.
Using evidence for decision-makingOutcome3:Evaluatorsofalllevelswillhavedeepenedtheirknowledgeandskillstoapplypurposiveevaluationapproaches,designsandmethodsforbetterqualityevaluations.
Lessons learnt from evaluation case studiesOutcome4:TheevaluationfieldinSouthAfricaisstrengthenedthroughthedevelopmentofpurposiveM&Eframeworks,ethics,standardsandcompetencies.
Strengthening the monitoring and evaluation profession Crosscuttingthematicandkeydevelopmentareasforallstrands.
Strand outcomes
Higher education institutions have responded to more focussed evaluation efforts by offering a wide range of M&E qualifications.
Why the need for Purpose-driven M&E?
Lessons learnt Challenges
Forthefuture
Sponsors&bursars
Abstracts
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Challenges
• Theregistrationprocesswasdelayed,hencedelayedtrainingtimes.Wearelookingintodifferentwaysthattheregistrationprocesscouldbeimprovedtoavoidsuchdelaysinthefuture
• Presentersdroppedoutwithoutnotice.SAMEAwillputinplacemitigationmeasuresforthis
• Navigatingaroundtheconferencewasstillachallengeastherewasnoenoughsignagearoundtheconferencevenueandrooms.
Registrations
Cancellations
Navigation
Althoughlaudedasahighlysuccessfulconference,everyeventoffersopportunitiesforlearning.TocontinuetheimprovementofSAMEAconferences,wehavenotedandearmarkedthefollowingthreechallengestoaddressduringthenextevent:
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For the future
• Havingreal-timeupdatedconferenceprogrammeonacomputerscreenattheconferenceforthosethatcannotaccesstheapp
• Continueimprovingandusingtheconferenceapptocaterforourdelegates
• Usingtechnologytorecordtheconferenceanddevelopliveconferencepresentations
• Usingstrandsastopicalinterestgroupstocontinuethediscussionpost-conference
• Inclusionoffreenetworkingsessionsliketheauthors’night,techsalonatfutureevents
• TheneedforhavingSAMEAchaptersworkingwithuniversitiesinthechapterstostrengthenM&Ecapacity
ThenewSAMEAwebsitewillbelaunchedinthefirstquarterof2018
InlinewithourvisiontomakeeachSAMEAConferencebetter,weidentifiedsixactivitiesforthefuture.Thesecouldbebroadlythemedastechnology&innovation,post-eventconversationanduniversityengagementinSAMEAchapters.
technology&innovation
post-eventconversation
universityengagementinSAMEAchapters
“The conference facilitates discussions on fresh thinking to achieve purpose-driven evaluation congruent with the development agenda – let’s continue to think about this critically” –Dr NtsikiTshayingca-Mashiya (DPME).
Towards Purpose-driven M&E
Feedback
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Workshop feedbackAwordcloudsummarisingattendants’impressionsoftheSAMEAworkshops:
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Emerging themesStrandcoordinatorsprovidedfeedbackonthethedifferentstrandsessions,whichresultedinidentifyingthefollowingdominantthemes:
1. TheimportanceofdataqualityinarobustM&Esystem
2. Theuseofadynamictheoryofchangeasaconceptualtoolinevaluations
3. Datavisualisation topresentdatamorecreativelyandaccessibly
4. Thefocusonevaluationtrainingonpractical“how-toskills”
5. StrengtheningdataanalysisinM&Ereports
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Strand feedbackSpecificfeedbackfromstrandcoordinatorsontheirsessions,arecapturedbelow:
“Thereisnosingleschemaorframeworkthathasproventobetheidealmodeltofollowtosupportevidenceuse. Inallcasesandexamplespresented,itappearedthatsomeformofhybridisrequired.Thisreinforcestheideathatcontextmattersinevidenceuse,andevaluators(andevaluands)needtobeintentionalaboutunderstandingcontextualissuesaspartofensuringtheeffectiveuseofevidence.”
Fromstrand:Usingevidencefordecision-makingFeedbackbystrandcoordinator:Dr RuthStewart
“ThepurposeofanM&Esystemisgroundedinthebeliefsystemandphilosophyofanorganisation.Understandingthiswillhelpyoulocateyourrolewithinthesystem,andwhattheappropriateactionsarethatyouneedtotake.”
Fromstrand:StrengtheningperformancemonitoringsystemsFeedbackbystrandcoordinators:Ms Fazeela Hoosen &Mr Asgar Bhikoo
Ending on a high note
All in all, the 6th SAMEA Conference was a major success. Thought provoking discussions took place amongst a record number of delegates, which sets the tone for an exciting 7th SAMEA Conference in 2019.
Annexes
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Annex A: Strand leaders
AspecialwordofthankstoDr VictorNaidu,theConferenceChair.
Strand1: Ms Fazeela Hoosen &Mr Asgar BhikooStrand2: Mr Taurai Bwerinofa &
Ms Jerusha GovenderStrand3: Ms Alyna Wyatt,Dr RuthStewart&
Ms Sunet JordaanStrand4: Mr AntonioHercules,Ms Seirah Ngcobo &
Dr IanGoldmanStrand5: Dr DonnaPodems &Dr LaurenWildschut
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Annex B: Workshop list
Conference presentations
All presentations from the 6th SAMEA Conference is available on the conference website at: http://sameaconference.co.za/presentations/