Chapter 11: Transformative Equity: Promoting systemic change through a new evaluation criterion

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.