5.2 Purposes of Monitoring and Evaluation within KZN CoGTA
5.2.3 Organizational learning
55 the municipalities, they also can use this information. That‟s the reason why we do evaluations, (R-3)
According to Ile, Eresia-Eke & Allen-Ile (2012: 92), monitoring and evaluation must seek to track performance in order for it to be able to expose areas of performance.
The respondents presented their understanding of the purposes of M&E to be about tracking performance. R-3 stated the purpose of monitoring:
“The Monitoring side of it, they monitor the performance of each and every indicator they put in the Annual Performance Plan (APP).”
R-1 concurs with the purpose of M&E as an exercise used to track performance and elaborates on the compilation and use of the monitoring report:
“Then Monitoring will do that performance report… Then we look at the performance report to see which projects have been completed, whether they have been achieved or not achieved according to the monitoring report.”
In the light of the responses by the participant, it is important to note the argument by Worthan, Sanders and Fitzpatrick (1997: 6) that how one defines monitoring and evaluation is a dependent on what one believes to be the purpose of evaluation. Therefore, the definitions of M&E provided by respondents describe what M&E is, based on the approach adopted by the those particular M&E practitioners in their quest to use M&E for a particular function.
56 manner. As a result of that recommendation, the Business Plan of that unit has managed to actually encourage coordination.”
So, one recommendation pointed to the need to develop a strategy that will improve the work of the organization and its effectiveness. Whilst organizational learning can be linked to organizational culture due to its effect on the systems, structure and processes of project and policy implementation, it highlights the purpose and uses of M&E when it is directed to the organization itself.
Another purpose of M&E in assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of project or programme implementation involves the generation of findings in order to provide feedback to practitioners. Whilst elaborating on the provision of feedback to relevant policy stakeholders, the participants at KZN CoGTA revealed that this process is currently week in some sections. For example, R-3 states that:
“The municipalities never get feedback. When it comes to the feedback to municipalities, it‟s not the problem for Evaluation Unit, we‟ve completed our part and we‟ve submitted to the Branch Managers. But we want to break that barrier. The finding needs to be shared.”
Whilst generate knowledge about what works and what does not work about the project, the purpose of M&E is understood to be to inform and enable decision making. As R-1 bluntly puts it that:
“The reason why we conduct evaluations is in order to influence decision-making in the department.”
The understanding of the purpose of M&E as a means to affect decision making affirms M&E as a critical stage in the cyclical exercise of policy making. However, M&E itself is also cyclical since it comprises of various stages. R-3 warns that:
“We need to understand that evaluation doesn‟t start from developing the tools, it starts as a system whereby you are just talking evaluation entirely as in line with the Government-Wide Monitoring and Evaluation Framework. That‟s where our mandate is based,” (R-3).
The aim of policy evaluation is „learning about the consequences of public policy” (Dye, 1987: 351). From the M&E practitioners‟ perspective,
57 As the program runs then it has to be evaluated so that we identify the problems whilst the project is running. If there is a need for the program to be stopped then the recommendations will call for the program to be stopped, (R-3)
On the one hand, “the Monitoring side of it, they monitor the performance of each and every indicator they put in the Annual Performance Plan (APP) then managers implement their indicators by doing the activities… That is monitoring part of it.
Monitoring at the end of the quarter says they (departments) did achieve these activities. On the other hand, Evaluation takes that information from Monitoring and we conduct evaluations....” (R-3).
The responses from participants show that M&E is perceived to improve performance, governance and ensure accountability and planning. It was revealed by (R-3) that they do not assert M&E as some kind of spying and policing their colleagues, but it done for the purpose of “not only looking for the problem we are also looking for the progress.
“We also report on the successes and say here are the successes then we are happy that this is happening like this, (R-3).
R-3 also stated that as M&E practitioners, they had basic understanding of the M&E concept, but through HR capacity building they now appreciate the purpose of conducting M&E. R-3 further states that as a result, the M&E unit has also gained confidence that their evaluations are up to the higher standard to be posted on DPME‟s website. R-3 asserts:
“Our evaluations get publicized by the provincial Office of the Premier (OTP).
M&E practitioners (R-4 and R-5) revealed that there is much focus on M&E being for performance and less attention is paid to assessing the impact as an objective of the M&E system. All the respondents portray a common understanding of M&E as well as its aims and objectives.
The various purposes of M&E as explained through the responses from participants show that M&E can adopt various approaches and that the evaluation findings and recommendations are used in different ways. As Weiss (1998:20), puts it, the purpose for which monitoring and evaluation is used determines the particular orientation of each evaluation. However, this evidence-based approach for M&E requires a policy-making process that is receptive to evidence.Without a level of willingness in the organizational culture from the personnel, the structures and processes, evidence becomes unusable.
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