https://aejonline.org/index.php/aej/issue/feedAfrican Evaluation Journal2024-03-12T16:15:08+01:00AOSIS Publishingsubmissions@aejonline.orgOpen Journal Systems<a id="readmorebanner" href="/index.php/aej/pages/view/journal-information" target="_self">Read more</a> <img style="padding-top: 2px;" src="/public/web_banner.svg" alt="" />https://aejonline.org/index.php/aej/article/view/716A results-based monitoring and evaluation system for the Namibian Child Support Grant programme2024-03-12T16:15:08+01:00Brigitte Nshimyimanabriguza@yahoo.comBabette Rabiebrabie@sun.ac.za<p><strong>Background:</strong> Robust results-based monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems allow government to track the progress and impact of development programmes. This article focused on the current M&E system as adopted for the Child Support Grant (CSG) programme of the Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare (MGEPESW) in Namibia.</p><p><strong>Objectives:</strong> The article examined whether the adopted M&E processes and arrangements for the MGEPESW sufficiently track the outcomes for beneficiaries of the CSG programme to enable strategic decisions by the MGEPESW.</p><p><strong>Method:</strong> A desktop review of available literature on M&E systems was complemented by a review of strategic reports and programme documentation of the MGEPESW that sets out the current M&E arrangements. Further interviews with senior, middle and programme managers responsible for the implementation of the CSG programme assessed the suitability and gaps of these arrangements as well as the proposed recommendations to strengthen the existing M&E arrangements.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> The research found several gaps in current practice that hinders the MGEPESW and decision-makers in assessing the outcomes for child beneficiaries.</p><p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> Recommendations were offered to improve the current M&E system to better track the outcomes of the CSG programme. This included a refined theory of change, revised indicators and strengthened institutional arrangements.</p><p><strong>Contribution:</strong> The improved results-based M&E system for the MGEPESW offers a comparative base for the implementation of results-based M&E systems for child-focused cash transfer programmes in similar contexts.</p>2024-03-11T08:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2024 Brigitte Nshimyimana, Babette Rabiehttps://aejonline.org/index.php/aej/article/view/699Lessons learned from an occupational therapy programme needs assessment2024-03-01T16:04:57+01:00Solomon M. Abebesolomekonnen@yahoo.comReshma P. Nurimrpn@queensu.caJasmine A. Montagnesejasmine.montagnese@gmail.comRosemary M. Lysaghtlysaght@queensu.caTerry Krupaterry.krupa@queensu.caCarol Mierasmierasc@queensu.caYetnayet S. Yehuala18ysy@queensu.caSetareh Ghaharisetareh.ghahari@queensu.caDorothy Kesslerdk75@queensu.caKlodiana Kolomitrokk78@queensu.caBeata Batorowiczbeata.batorowicz@queensu.caAnushka MzinganjiraAj74@queensu.caSolomon F. Demissie21sfd@queensu.caNebiyu Mesfinhakimulig@gmail.comHeather M. Alderseyhma@queensu.ca<p><strong>Background:</strong> A needs assessment identifies the differences between actual and ideal situations to facilitate the development of a new programme or improve existing services.</p><p><strong>Objectives:</strong> This article shares our experiences conducting the needs assessment in a context where people had limited or no understanding of the need being assessed.</p><p><strong>Method:</strong> Adhering to a three-phase model – comprising pre-assessment, assessment, and post-assessment – we employed diverse data collection methods, including quantitative survey, qualitative interviews, and environmental scan.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> The findings underscored the necessity of expanding rehabilitation services in Ethiopia, with a shift from a purely medical focus to addressing issues associated with daily functioning and community engagement. These issues align closely with the core expertise and responsibilities of occupational therapists. Participants expressed support for the introduction of occupational therapy in Ethiopia and willingness to incorporate the practice of occupational therapists in their settings. The challenges encountered were how to ask about occupational therapy when it is not well known by members of the local population and how to introduce the profession without biasing participants’ responses.</p><p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> Conducting a needs assessment was critical to developing occupational therapy services in Ethiopia. We welcome others to learn from our experiences.</p><p><strong>Contribution:</strong> This manuscript details the assessment process and delves into the challenges we encountered and lessons learned. It extends methodological suggestions to inform future evaluations and contributes valuable insights to the broader discourse on needs assessment and programme development in a context where people have limited awareness of services, such as occupational therapy.</p>2024-02-29T08:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2024 Abebe, S.M., Nuri, R.P., Montagnese, J.A., Lysaght, R.M. Krupa, T., Mieras, C. et al.https://aejonline.org/index.php/aej/article/view/690Making conventional data collection more Child-friendly: Questionnaires with young students2024-03-01T12:53:15+01:00Andrea Marizelig30@hotmail.com<p><strong>Background:</strong> Despite the widespread recognition among authors and international agencies of the significance, essential nature, and rightful entitlement of children to directly voice their thoughts, research with young students is not as frequently undertaken as one might expect, particularly in the context of evaluating teachers’ performance. Interestingly, though, when researchers and evaluators have engaged young students in data collection, they have overlooked the use of questionnaires and rather favoured more qualitative and participatory data collection tools or closed-questions surveys.</p><p><strong>Objectives:</strong> In order to fill this gap, this article intends to make a case for a wider use of mixed quantitative and qualitative questionnaires with young students as a reliable tool to monitor teachers’ performance more systematically.</p><p><strong>Method:</strong> In particular, the article illustrates how to design and administer questionnaires to primary school students using a framework developed with contributions from four main sources: Gendall’s revisitation of Labaw’s theory of questionnaire design, the question answer process, Piaget’s theory of cognitive development stages, and lessons learnt from a questionnaire designed and administered by the author among Tanzanian primary school students.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> This approach not only ensures that students respond thoughtfully and reach consensus through debating, but also provides deeper insights into the specific cognitive and emotional criteria valued by students.</p><p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> The article shows that the employment of questionnaires with young students is likely to yield valid and reliable data when three conditions are met: (1) questions are tailored to the respondents’ cognitive skills and cultural background; (2) questions cover content that is meaningful to the respondents; and (3) questionnaires are administered in settings in which respondents can freely interact with each other.</p><p><strong>Contribution:</strong> By establishing that the validity and reliability of data from questionnaires with young students hinge on considerations of cognitive skills, cultural background, meaningful content, and interactive administration, this article sets a foundation for enhancing the effectiveness of teacher evaluation methods in educational settings.</p><p> </p>2024-02-28T06:05:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2024 Andrea Marihttps://aejonline.org/index.php/aej/article/view/684Engaging children to make evaluation products more child-focused2024-03-01T12:53:15+01:00Madri S. Jansen van Rensburgmadrijvr@gmail.com<p><strong>Background:</strong> Participation by less-assertive groups is critical to enhancing evaluations. The participation of children is mostly seen in data collection activities. Engagement with children should take place during all the phases of the evaluation process for true transformation of child rights and protection.</p><p><strong>Objectives:</strong> This article reflects on the process of developing child-friendly materials by engaging with children throughout the process. This article intends to describe the engagement process so that it can be adapted and applied to the development of other materials such as evaluation reports.</p><p><strong>Method:</strong> The process involved iterative steps from deciding on the content, developing activities to convey the information, creating images and visual elements, editing the information for age-appropriateness and relevance and, finally, testing the activities and disseminating the end product.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> The children enjoyed the development of the documents. The documents were more user-friendly for a child audience, which ensured that the information shared was more likely to be understood and used and contribute to child rights work. Flexibility in timing the activities and roles played by children and a celebratory event that acknowledged the contributions of every child contributed to the success.</p><p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> This process can easily be replicated for the development of evaluation products. This will enhance the likelihood of children claiming their rights and holding programmes accountable.</p><p><strong>Contribution:</strong> The process as described could be adapted further to enhance child participation throughout the evaluation cycle.</p><p> </p>2024-02-28T06:02:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2024 Madri S. Jansen van Rensburghttps://aejonline.org/index.php/aej/article/view/685Child-centred evaluations from child-friendly design to dissemination: Lessons from 5 African countries2024-03-01T12:53:15+01:00Chloe Maillardhumaiya.solutions@gmail.com<p><strong>Background:</strong> Child participation in evaluation and research is key to ensure horizontal accountability and respect the rights of the children to voice their opinions on actions that have a direct impact on their lives. The author uses illustrative examples to describe how child-focused evaluation and research can be implemented in practices and discusses the main challenges and lessons learnt.</p><p><strong>Objectives:</strong> To reflect on the current evaluation practices and identify clear ways to ensure children and other marginalised groups can meaningfully participate in evaluation and research processes.</p><p><strong>Method:</strong> Children from 8 years to 18 years were involved in various evaluation and research assignments through different data collection and dissemination methods in five African countries.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> The experiences show practically how children can successfully be engaged in evaluation and research through meaningful consultations that are both safe and ethical and through adapted communication materials and channels to ensure horizontal accountability.</p><p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> Ensuring the meaningful participation of children in evaluation and research processes is not only a right for children but also a great opportunity to enhance the design of evaluation and research pieces to make them more engaging and human-centred. The use of child-focused approach brings its own set of challenges and questions that evaluators can navigate with the support from relevant stakeholders. It requires authors to think outside of the box, be creative and put ourselves in the shoes of our main audience to develop the most suitable engagement strategies.</p><p><strong>Contribution:</strong> This article represents the culmination of a comprehensive research endeavor, from conceptualisation to data analysis and findings interpretation, conducted solely by the main author. The different pieces were reviewed for quality assurance by Helene Juillard. The illustrations presented in the article were made by Clementine Guivarch’ based on the author’s guidance and inputs.</p>2024-02-28T06:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2024 Chloe Maillardhttps://aejonline.org/index.php/aej/article/view/710Health researchers’ efforts in bridging evidence into policy and decision making in Malawi2024-03-01T12:53:15+01:00Patrick Mapulangapmapulanga@kuhes.ac.mw<p><strong>Background:</strong> Health research is typically disseminated through peer-reviewed journals and academic forums. However, evidence suggests limited exploration of alternative communication methods for effective knowledge dissemination.</p><p><strong>Objectives:</strong> This study aimed to determine the extent to which policymakers in Malawi consult health researchers while translating their knowledge. This study aimed to determine the post-research endeavours of Malawian health researchers to incorporate research findings into policy and decision making.</p><p><strong>Method:</strong> Conducted at Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS), this cross-sectional study employed a 5-point Likert scale survey to collect data from researchers, offering a snapshot view without indicating temporal changes or causality.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> Researchers rarely created suggestions, take-home messages, or actionable instructions for use by health officials. They seldom give users access to a searchable database of papers, studies, and syntheses that summarise recommendations for policymakers in the field of health. They seldom send reprints of papers from scientific publications to decision-makers. Few researchers have created summaries of articles or systematic reviews for health officials’ use.</p><p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> Traditional channels, such as journals and conferences, dominate the dissemination of health research. However, limited evidence suggests the need for broader communication strategies. The current landscape lacks effective products and methods, urging researchers to produce accessible formats with clear, key messages to address policy questions.</p><p><strong>Contribution:</strong> Researchers should develop research products in compelling formats by using clear key messages. The summarised evidence should answer important policy questions. Researchers should involve the media to communicate their research outputs.</p>2024-02-08T06:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2024 Patrick Mapulangahttps://aejonline.org/index.php/aej/article/view/714The African Evaluation Journal and the field of monitoring and evaluation in Africa2024-01-15T13:53:51+01:00Mark A. Abrahamsmarka@iafrica.comNo abstract available.2023-12-21T08:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 Mark A. Abrahamshttps://aejonline.org/index.php/aej/article/view/613Assessing fidelity of community-tuberculosis programme in the central region of Burkina Faso2024-01-15T13:53:51+01:00Flore M.G. Donessounécouldaley@yahoo.frOlivier G. Sossasossaog@gmail.comRachidatou Compaorérachidoc7@yahoo.frEvariste W.M. Yaméogomyameogo@iasp-bf.orgHalima Tougritougrih@yahoo.comSeni Kouandasenikouanda@gmail.com<p><strong>Background:</strong> Tuberculosis (TB) remains a significant global public health concern, particularly in Africa. In Burkina Faso, a community-based TB program was established with funding from the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, TB, and Malaria. However, a mid-term evaluation of the program primarily focused on its effects, lacking an examination of the implementation process. To address this gap, an evaluation was conducted to assess the fidelity of the program’s implementation in Burkina Faso’s central region.</p><p><strong>Method:</strong> The study employed a qualitative case study approach, involving five districts in Ouagadougou. Data were gathered through individual interviews and document analysis between July and September 2019, involving various stakeholders, such as program managers, monitoring and evaluation managers, community health workers, traditional healers, community leaders, and health workers. Thematic analysis was conducted using NVivo software version 9.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> The results indicate that all program components were indeed implemented, with a particularly high fidelity in the training of community health workers. Nevertheless, adaptations were made throughout the implementation process to address local challenges effectively.</p><p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> This study sheds light on the fidelity of a community-based TB program in Burkina Faso. While the program displayed a relatively faithful implementation overall, the identified challenges and adaptations underscore the importance of ongoing monitoring and resource availability. These insights are invaluable, contributing to the knowledge base and providing guidance for future program planning, implementation, and refinement to enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of community-based TB interventions in similar settings.</p>2023-12-20T07:12:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 Flore M.G. Donessouné, Olivier G. Sossa, Rachidatou Compaoré, Evariste W.M. Yaméogo, Halima Tougri, Seni Kouandahttps://aejonline.org/index.php/aej/article/view/713Acknowledgement to reviewers2024-01-15T13:53:51+01:00Editorial Officepublishing@aosis.co.zaNo abstract available.2023-11-23T10:07:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 Editorial Officehttps://aejonline.org/index.php/aej/article/view/702Factors affecting the integration of cultural values into evaluation: Indigenous perspectives2024-01-15T13:53:51+01:00Evans S. Boaduesboadu@uesd.edu.gh<p style="color: #686868; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><strong>Background:</strong><span> </span>The debates about embedding cultural evaluative values into evaluation activities have been more dominant among indigenous evaluators in recent years. African indigenous evaluators now hold the view that the continent’s mainstream evaluation theories, studies, and practices are profoundly founded in Euro-American ideals and tend to exclude Afrocentric evaluation philosophies.</p><p style="color: #686868; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><strong>Objectives:</strong><span> </span>This article discusses some of the obstacles in the integration of indigenous evaluation values into contemporary evaluation theories and methods in Ghana and Africa at large. It describes how Afrocentric ideas, values, norms, relational patterns, and other cultural realities are rooted in evaluation methods, theories, and practices that are often neglected.</p><p style="color: #686868; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><strong>Method:</strong><span> </span>Using a qualitative strategy of inquiry grounded in multiple case studies and an indigenously responsive evaluation approach, this article identified and analysed several challenges associated with cultural integration in the evaluation. Several research themes were discussed, including indigenous relational networks, indigenous stakeholders’ participation, indigenous information gathering, feedback mechanisms, and the challenges of integrating cultural values into evaluation activities. This article drew from empirical, existing, and documentary data.</p><p style="color: #686868; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><strong>Results:</strong><span> </span>This article identified five challenges associated with cultural integration in evaluation activities including indigenous cultural guilt, power dependency, globalisation and localisation, post-colonial legacies, revenue, and urbanisation. This article highlighted that indigenous evaluative values stem from social interactions and relational networks, influenced by exogenous and endogenous factors.</p><p style="color: #686868; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><strong>Conclusion:</strong><span> </span>This article concludes that there are several ethical and notional challenges that arise while attempting to incorporate indigenous evaluation values and other socio-cultural philosophies into evaluation theories, methods, and practices.</p><p style="color: #686868; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><strong>Contribution:</strong><span> </span>To generate effective and efficient evaluation measurements and outcomes, a synergy between Afrocentric and Euro-American evaluation methodologies, conceptions, and practices would broaden evaluation processes and activities while also deepening the discourse on ‘Made in Africa’ evaluation.</p>2023-11-21T06:00:00+01:00Copyright (c) 2023 Evans S. Boadu