Professionalisation study resources

Rhoda Goremucheche, a Senior Technical M&E Specialist shares more about SAMEA's journey towards the development of an Evaluator Competency Framework.

This document presents the final South African Monitoring and Evaluation Association (SAMEA) evaluator competencies for practice in South Africa. The SAMEA final list of competencies has been developed through research, consultation of evaluation experts and SAMEA membership through various platforms such as the Listserv, the Biennial Conference and Eval Cafés. This process began towards the end of 2016 and now in 2020 is complete. The 54 competencies are spread over 5 competency domains: a) Professional Practice, b) Technical Practice, c) Context (global, national, local and organisational), d) Managing an Evaluation and e) Interpersonal.

ZENEX Foundation undertook a landscape study of M&E (with a specific focus on Educational Evaluation) in South Africa. The specific terms of reference for the study distinguished these main tasks. To inform the strengthening of institutional (university) capacity.To inform the strengthening of black organisational/Individual capacities to conduct evaluations .To strengthen the enabling environment.

SAMEA has decided to take the competency discussion further and would like its members to begin a discussion around a draft set of competencies for South African evaluators.

The roadmap is rooted in empirical research and a belief that knowledgeable and passionate evaluators will form the core on which to ensure strong evaluation.

Evaluators in South Africa and throughout the world remain deeply divided on issues of self-regulation and autonomy that are critical ingredients of professionalisation of evaluation.

This session explored professionalization of the field of program evaluation by especially focusing on the role that foundational standards, principles, and competencies play in the process.

Will the results of your evaluation get used?