Abstract
Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) holds an important place in the functioning of an organisation. It provides vital information to enable an organisation to assess, improve, ensure accountability as well as influence organisational policies. However, M&E is relevant only if the findings generated are utilised. This study establishes that non-profit organisations (NPOs) often do not use M&E data, and even when they do, it is not coherent. The few NPOs that utilise M&E data, often do so as part of donors’ requirements for funding and accountability to funding agencies and not for internal learning, improvement and decision-making. Furthermore, these NPOs lack a comprehensive M&E system to enable them to identify programme challenges and track progress towards the achievement of set goals. This study used an exploratory qualitative inquiry, and a before-and-after study design, to understand how the utilisation of M&E data by a gender-based violence (GBV) NPO can be enhanced by incorporating feminist evaluation (FE) into a theory-of-change-informed logic model to guide organisational decision-making processes. Data was collected using in-depth interviews and documentary review. A thematic analysis was applied to the collected data. This study found that, first, POWA (People Opposing Women Abuse) used M&E data to inform management decisions only to a limited extent. Data collection was irregular and inconsistent before the implementation of the intervention. POWA implemented evaluation only to demonstrate accountability, on behalf of or by the donor. Second, although POWA branded itself as a feminist organisation before the intervention and its management understood feminist values well, staff had little knowledge of these key elements of its mission. Third, the FE approach selected to test at the NPO was too theoretical and abstract for participants to engage with at a practical level. This led to the intervention whereby I introduced the reframed feminist principles in a one-day conversation to staff and management. In addition, as part of the intervention, I facilitated the design of a ToC (Theory of Change) and a logic model in a two-day workshop as well as redesigned POWA’s data collection tools. Fourth, after the intervention, POWA used the FE-informed ToC, logic model and redesigned data collection tools to collect relevant and useful data. It used the data collected to improve organisational learning, increase accountability, increase ownership of data, increase iii commitment and promote shared understanding. Therefore, this study concluded that the implementation of the FE, a ToC and a logic model was relevant for this NPO.
Ph.D. (Development Studies)