Panel discussion on evidence-based decision making: challenges and changes

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gLOCAL Evaluation Week 2021

Panel discussion on evidence-based decision making: challenges and changes since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic- a case of the Western Cape

 

4 June 2021
11h30 - 13h00
Hosted on Zoom

Register here

 

Summary

It is all very well to produce M&E evidence but is it used? The importance of using evidence to inform policy and practice has come to the fore during the COVID-19 pandemic. Decisions need to be made – what does the evidence say? How can the evidence help us through the difficult transitions coming up arising from climate change, ecosystems breakdown, persistent inequality?
And how has the use of M&E evidence changed since the start of the pandemic – what have been the successes, challenges, new imperatives/strategies? This will be explored from a variety of perspectives (provincial government, sector specific, NGO, funder etc), in a province which is a pioneer in M&E and has responded dynamically to the pandemic, adjusting its M&E systems.


Purpose

This panel will explore why evidence use matters, how evidence has been used in the Western Cape during the pandemic, and how it can take us towards the future we need.

Moderator: Professor Ian Goldman: CLEAR-AA and SAMEA Board member

Producer: Lesedi Matlala: Monitoring and Evaluation Officer at JET Education Services

Speakers

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Professor Ian Goldman is an Advisor: Evaluation and Evidence Systems at CLEAR Anglophone Africa and has worked in 20 countries. He led the establishment of South Africa’s National Evaluation System, and has just researched and published a book Using Evidence in Policy and Practice – lessons from Africa. He is a SAMEA Board member.

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Zeenat Ishmael is the Chief Director: Strategic Management Information, Department of the premier in the Western Cape Government. She has been a data, monitoring and evaluation champion, with over 30 evaluations undertaken in the Western Cape, as well as pioneering different approaches in the pandemic. She is also doing her PhD on data governanc

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Kayin Scholtz is an Early Childhood Development Resource Manager at the DG Murray Trust, an important foundation in South Africa. Kayin studied social work, and then policy and management. He joined the non-profit sector in 2012. Since then he has worked at educational non-profit organisations (SAEP, Nalíbali and the DG Murray Trust), supporting interventions in literacy and early childhood development. Currently, he is seconded to work on the President’s Economic Stimulus for Early Childhood Development.

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Dirk Troskie is the Director: Business Planning and Strategy, Western Cape Department of Agriculture. He has led the evaluation work in the department since 2011, which is a pioneer in Africa in systematically using evaluation across the whole portfolio of their work. Dirk started his career as a farmer.  At the Department he is responsible to provide advice and information on the strategic direction the sector and the Department should take whilst, at the same time, evaluating the outcome and impact of interventions. He has published widely on subjects ranging from macro-economic policy to farm level issues.

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Eleanor Hazell: is a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) specialist and researcher with’ experience in the non-profit and public sector environments in South Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and the United Kingdom. She is passionate about M&E and has a wealth of experience conducting M&E and research for education, health and social and socio-economic development projects. Her varied work includes developing M&E frameworks and plans and conducting process, outcomes and impact evaluations. She is an M&E Executive Manager at JET Education Services and a SAMEA Board member.

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