Equitable Evaluation

Ayabulela Dlakavu is the programme manager of Twende Mbele, a multilateral peer-learning initiative between South Africa, Benin, Uganda, Kenya, Niger and Ghana, hosted by the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits). Ayabulela is also a lecturer, researcher and analyst of public policy, foreign policy, international organisations, global and regional peace and security, political economy and international development. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree (PhD) in Political Science.

Candice Morkel is a global leader in the evaluation sector and the director of the Centre for Learning on Evaluation and Results, Anglophone Africa (CLEAR-AA). Morkel has 26 years of experience in government, academia and the non-profit sector, specialising in public sector governance and monitoring and evaluation. She leads CLEAR-AA’s work in building national evaluation systems through institution building and capacity development. Morkel holds a PhD in Public Administration.

Cecile Feront is a senior lecturer at the University of Cape Town (UCT) Graduate School of Business and a research fellow at Stellenbosch University’s Centre for Sustainability Transitions (CST). Feront researches and teaches how individuals and organisations engage in change to promote social justice and environmental sustainability. She also explores research approaches that promote the co-creation and sharing of knowledge in service of systems change. Feront holds a PhD in Business Administration.

Desiree Jason is a senior manager at the National Department of Social Development responsible for the monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes. She holds a Master’s Degree (MA) from the University of Pretoria (UP) and a postgraduate diploma in Monitoring and Evaluation from Stellenbosch University. She is a past board member of the South African Monitoring and Evaluation Association (SAMEA). She currently manages the implementation of a digital transformation project on linking social protection administrative data systems across government to improve services to poor and vulnerable citizens. She is extremely passionate about working on initiatives aimed at improving the lives of our most marginalised and vulnerable members of society – ‘leave nobody behind’.

Ian Goldman established the South African national evaluation system. He is a monitoring and evaluation advisor for the South African Presidency, Global Evaluation Initiative and CLEAR-AA. Goldman is also the presidentof the International Evaluation Academy (IEAc) and a professor at UCT, applying monitoring and evaluation to hasten a socially just transition to climate and ecosystems health.

Jennifer Norins has over fifteen years of experience in project monitoring, evaluation and research in education, youth programming and community development. She currently serves as the monitoring, evaluation, reporting and learning (MERL) specialist of regional programmes at MIET AFRICA, a Durban-based non-profit organisation (NPO) that works in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region on youth development and education projects. Norins was a co-lead in the equity group for the 2021 South African Monitoring and Evaluation Association (SAMEA) evaluation hackathon. A current SAMEA board member, Norins is the portfolio lead for monitoring and evaluation for Just Transition and facilitates the Evaluation for Just Transition Conference of the Parties (COP). She has an MA in International Affairs from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America (USA).

Kgaugelo Moshia-Molebatsi is a senior evaluation specialist in the Republic of South Africa (RSA) National Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) with extensive experience in coordination and management of research and evaluation in reproductive health, youth and gender. Over the past five years, Moshia-Molebatsi has played a key role in supporting the national departments and provincial offices of the premier in implementing the National Evaluation Plan (NEP).

Matodzi Amisi has extensive experience as a researcher and evaluator in government and public administration in South Africa. Amisi is a research associate at the CLEAR-AA, Wits, South Africa. She is also a senior research consultant in the Justice and Violence Prevention Programme at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), Pretoria. From 2005 to 2013, Amisi worked in the Commission on Gender Equality and the Departments of Human Settlements and Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation. She was part of the team that established the NEP in South Africa, working with the South African Department of Social Development and Department of Human Settlements.

Penny Parenzee is the senior programme manager at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance at UCT. She has a background in law andsocial policy and has been involved in monitoring the implementation of various pieces of legislation and examining policy processes related to land, violence against females and sexual and reproductive health and rights in RSA, SADC and East Africa. Parenzee has managed European Union (EU) funded programmes, conducted research, led monitoring and evaluation initiatives, undertaken budget monitoring and expenditure tracking, as well as provided technical support to institutions seeking to strengthen their research and training efforts. Parenzee is a recipient of the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship. Over a two-year period, she completed two MA programmes at Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, USA. She holds an MA in Law and Social Policy and in Clinical Social Work. Parenzee was a PhD candidate at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance at the time of contributing to this book.

Samukelisiwe Mkhize is a researcher at the CLEAR-AA, Wits, South Africa. She holds an MA in Policy and Development Studies from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). Mkhize has previous work experience in climate adaptation and mitigation in smallholder systems as well as supporting the development of climate-smart agriculture decision support systems. Her current research interests are around the conceptualisation of climate justice in complex socio-ecological systems and public policy responses to climate adaptation and mitigation in Africa.

Seán M Muller is a senior research fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study, Johannesburg, South Africa. An economist by training with higher education training and degrees from UCT and the University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom (UK), his work nevertheless ranges widely from public policy to philosophy of science. Since 2010, Muller has developed an original, multifaceted critique of how randomised trials are used and promoted in economics and social science for policy purposes.

Sinenhlanhla Tsekiso has over ten years of experience in strengthening monitoring and evaluation systems in the public sector. She worked in different sectors and spheres of government in South Africa before joining CLEAR-AA. Tsekiso is currently the programme manager for evaluation systems at CLEAR-AA and is tasked with strengthening monitoring and evaluation systems within English-speaking countries.

Steven Masvaure is a senior evaluation technical specialist at CLEAR-AA, Wits, South Africa. He holds a PhD in Development Studies. Masvaure possesses more than fifteen years of working experience as a researcher and evaluator in the development sector across several African countries.

Sybert Mutereko is a professor of Public Governance and the academic leader of Public Governance at the School of Management, IT and Governance. Mutereko acted as the dean and head of the School of Management, IT and Governance. Mutereko holds a PhD in Policy and Development from the UKZN.

Takunda J Chirau is the Deputy Director at CLEAR-AA and leads the Evaluation Systems Programme at the Centre. Takunda has a PhD in Sociology from Rhodes University. Takunda has been working in the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) discipline and has practised for over twelve years now. Taku has conducted several National Evaluation Capacity Development (NECD) activities. Some of these activities have been through respective UNICEF country office and East and Southern Africa Regional Office. His contributions in the M&E discipline and profession are evidenced in countries of Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Lesotho, Namibia, Botswana, Tanzania, Liberia and Zimbabwe, to mention a few. He is a board member of SAMEA.

Tebogo Fish is a researcher at CLEAR-AA, hosted by the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management (CLM) at the University of the Witwatersrand. She holds an MA in Research Psychology and has been working in the M&E field for seven years. Her research interests include social issues in Africa, such as poverty, unemployment, inequality, education and skills development, as well as indigenous and equitable evaluation for transformative change in Africa.

Thandolwethu Lukuko is currently the coordinator of the South African Climate Action Network (SACAN), a network of fourteen NGOs working to address the challenge of climate change and climate action. He is also a director of Community Engagement at Mansa Advisory, a climate change and energy advisory services business. He has a passion for problem-solving, especially as a means to address the socio-economic challenges faced by marginalised and disadvantaged groups. After completing his qualification in entrepreneurship, Thando pursued his interest in the business environment and established businesses in the mining, logistics and textiles industries. More recently, his work has been focused on working in low-income communities and developing strategies for co-creating and growing rural and peri-urban resilience.

Umali Saidi is the Postgraduate Studies Manager (Research and Innovation Division), a senior lecturer and the Editor-in-Chief of The Dyke (the institutional academic journal) at Midlands State University. He is a staunch and avid researcher with interests in knowledge management and indigenous knowledge systems, especially linked to monitoring and evaluation. His current research interests are around epistemes and how indigenous knowledge-based evaluation systems in Africa can support changes in governance for sustainable development on the continent.

Zacharia Grand is a public governance researcher at the School of Management, IT and Governance, University of KwaZulu-Natal, and a Public Policy lecturer at the College of Business, Peace Leadership and Governance, Africa University, Zimbabwe. He is also a senior public health and global development professional with a private consulting company Academic, Coaching, Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, Education and Training (ACMERET) Solutions and has over seventeen years of experience as a development evaluation and capacity-building professional for government departments and non-governmental organisations in East, Central and Southern Africa. He has also worked for and with international organisations, including UN agencies and the government of Zimbabwe. His current research interests are around global health partnerships, partnerships for climate change and shared services in local authorities in South Africa.

Zulaikha Brey is a development economist at DNA Economics. She has a focus on driving robust programme design, efficient implementation and the measurement of performance – for government, donors, corporates and NPOs. Having completed more than 80 M&E and research studies to date, she possesses a diverse skillset of methodologies, applying such in key focus areas of trade, finance, health, education, entrepreneurship, employment and socio-economic development.