Publications

Urban Synthesis Report: second evaluation of DSD services and projects — by Rahel — last modified 2009-04-24 16:36

This report is a synthesis of the eight Urban Renewal Programme (URP) nodal reports, namely: Alexandra, Galeshewe, Inanda, Khayelitsha, KwaMashu, Mdantsane, Mitchell’s Plain and Motherwell. Two critical changes that have affected all nodes since the first evaluation (early 2008), include the separation of the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and the consequent changes in the Department of Social Development’s (DSD) role regarding service delivery; and the development of the 10 Year Integrated Service Delivery Model (ISDM) plan with which DSD services are now being aligned. However, lack of appropriate structures and systems, lack of staff and staff capacity, limited resources and strategic guidance, and weak alignment and integration across departments has made the transition to the new ISDM approach very challenging. DSD is moving towards a more developmental role in delivering projects and services, with increasing outsourcing of services. The Poverty Relief Programme (PRP) is more focused on food security and income security in line with provincial thinking and directives, and services are confined to crisis situations and clients considered most vulnerable and at risk. Only a limited number of new projects are planned. From this research, five key issues emerged across all nodes: integration, co-ordination, planning and communication; institutional capacity; staffing and staff retention; training; and access to, and quality of, DSD services.

Rural Synthesis Report: second evaluation of DSD services and projects — by Rahel — last modified 2009-04-24 16:43

The Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Programme (ISRDP) was launched in 2001 to focus attention on 13 rural nodes identified as areas facing extreme poverty. These nodes were selected because of the deep poverty in which many of their citizens live. In 2006 the Department of Social Development (DSD) commissioned quantitative and qualitative studies to evaluate the department’s performance in the URP nodes and in the eight related Urban Renewal Programme (URP) nodes. An evaluation of DSD services and projects in the nodes was carried out in 2006. This report provides a synthesis of findings from a follow-up evaluation held in early 2008. The objectives of the second evaluation was to update information on the functioning of DSD-supported projects, and to identify whether and how issues that were raised during the first baseline research were dealt with. The evaluation also sought to identify changes to DSD services in the nodes since the first evaluation. Despite being the whole point of the ISRDP, lack of co-ordination and integration was top of the list of key issues from the first evaluation carried out in 2006. Lack of staff and resources, problems with business plans and the need for an expansion of DSD interventions also featured strongly. All these issues reappeared strongly in the second evaluation in 2008.

SLSA 25: Reflect and the SLA: exploring linkages and opportunities for strengthening livelihoods with literacy practice — by Rahel — last modified 2008-11-08 16:17

This article explores the conceptual links between literacy and the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA) by exploring Reflect, an approach to adult education and development that connects literacy education with community action. Whilst the focus of Reflect tends to remain on literacy conceived within a wider framework of communication and power, it argues that it can also be a thread woven through the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA) and a guiding tool to systematise thinking about the location of literacy in people’s daily lives. If the relevant entry points are found, it can help ensure that any intervention will be more effective in enabling participants to become protagonists in their own lives.

Lessons learnt from Khanya-aicdd’s experience of using the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA) — by Rahel — last modified 2008-11-18 13:09

This brief article forms an excerpt from a paper chronicling Khanya-aicdd’s experience of using the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach. It was developed for the ESRC-funded Seminar Series on the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach held in October 2008. In March/ April 2009, Khanya-aicdd will host a subsequent seminar on Sustainable Livelihoods Approaches (SLAs) and Community-Driven Development (CDD) which will draw on the expertise of a range of researchers and practitioners, particularly from the Southern and Eastern Africa region. One of the central and distinctive features of the SLA is the aim of putting people at the centre of development and CDD is one practical means of doing this, but evidence of improved development outcomes is sparse.

Learning about action-learning: final report — by Alex — last modified 2008-08-26 13:01

This report aims to identify where and how action learning has influenced improvements in practice and had policy and other impacts, and to synthesise the key lessons from a comparative analysis of five case studies. the Learning about Action Learning (LAL) project aimed to improve our understanding of how to use action learning in the region to improve the development and implementation of policies and practices that actually benefit the poor.

Khanya Briefing 1: Emerging Lessons on Action Learning — by Alex — last modified 2008-10-07 20:05

This briefing summarises emerging lessons from research led by Khanya-aicdd and funded by the Southern African Trust. This was based on five detailed cases studies which aimed to deepen our understanding of how to use action learning to improve the development and implementation of policies and practices that actually benefit the poor.

Action learning case-study: 4 Country Community-based Worker (CBW) Project — by Alex — last modified 2008-11-18 14:56

This case study looks at an action-research project implemented by partner organisations in South Africa, Lesotho, Kenya and Uganda seeking to strengthen the delivery and impact of local services in the natural resource (NR) and HIV/AIDS sectors. The action learning operated at both national and regional levels; in-country and between countries. This made for a challenging and dynamic project environment with a significant breadth and depth to the sharing and learning

Final Country Report on Community-based Worker Systems in Lesotho (2007) — by Alex — last modified 2008-10-02 20:35

This report summarises the development and results of the Community-based Worker (CBW) Systems project in Lesotho between 2004 - 2007 and highlights some of the key learnings from this project.

Final Country Report on Community-Based Worker Systems in Kenya — by Alex — last modified 2008-10-06 19:50

This report aims to document the action-research process of the Community-based Worker (CBW) Project in Kenya from the inception of the project in January 2004 to its end in March 2007. The report: - gives the background and explains the project purpose. - provides a situational analysis prior to the project. - explains what happened during the project, - and discusses the recommendations and the way forward.

Report of 4-Country CBW Workshop, 10-13 April 2007, Entebbe, Uganda — by Alex — last modified 2008-11-17 07:15

4 country partners organised a final workshop in Uganda to share experiences from the 3 year process, and in particular findings from recent evaluations of the pilot projects and national workshops held in each country.

Final country report on Community-based Worker systems in South Africa — by Alex — last modified 2008-10-06 17:42

This report summarises the development and results of the Community-based Worker (CBW) Systems project, which was run in South Africa from 2004 to 2007. It aims to inform organisations in South Africa of the CBW context and to highlight key lessons learnt by the partners involved in the implementation of the project.

CBW National Workshop Report Kenya (2007) — by Alex — last modified 2008-10-06 19:51

This report is an outcome of a one-day national workshop held in Nairobi, Kenya, which brought together stakeholders in the HIV/AIDS and Animal Health sectors to share findings from the evaluation of Kenyan pilots and experiences from other agencies and to explore the implications of mainstreaming and scaling up the CBW systems in-country.

Final Country Report: Community-based Planning (CBP) in South Africa (2004) — by Kim — last modified 2008-10-07 15:08

This report summarises the development and results of the Community-Based Planning (CBP) Project in South Africa. It aims to inform organisations in South Africa of the context to CBP, and some of the lessons from its initial application during 2001/2 in Mangaung Local Municipality of Free State Province, in Limpopo Province and in a further 9 municipalities during 2003/4. Lessons were also gathered through a study tour of India and Bolivia, where forms of community based planning systems have been applied. It is based on the work of a DFID Funded 4 country project covering Uganda, Zimbabwe, Ghana and South Africa called “Action Research on Community-Based Planning”.

South African Community-Based Planning (CBP) Pilot Workshop Report (2004) — by Kim — last modified 2008-10-07 17:53

This report documents the proceedings of a workshop that was held as part of the CBP/IDP project and brought together the 8 pilot municipalities to learn from each other’s experience and specifically: - to be be aware of where each pilot is at, and the achievements, constraints and learnings for the future, the political task required to build support for CBP - to understand the tasks required around implementation,

Report on Study Tour on Community-based Planning to Bolivia, 3 - 13 May 2002 — by Alex — last modified 2008-11-18 14:34

This is the report of a visit to Bolivia conducted by 3 countries who are partners in an action research project looking at community-based planning - how to link participatory planning with the local government planning system.

Report on a Community-based Planning (CBP) Study Tour to India (2001) — by Alex — last modified 2008-10-15 12:10

This document reports on a study tour to Madhya Pradesh, India as part of the 4-Country Community-based Planning (CBP) Project. This project involved action research/learning within and between Ghana, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Uganda.The project purpose was that realistic plans have been developed in each country for policy change, implementation or piloting of community-based planning systems, which participating institutions are committed to take forward.

Report on Zimbabwe National Workshop on Community-Based Planning (2001) — by Alex — last modified 2008-10-07 13:03

This report captures the proceedings of the Zimbabwe National Workshop on Community-based Planning. The key objective of the workshop was to enable participants to have a clear understanding of the present mechanisms, structures and systems of community based planning that are operational in Zimbabwe, as well as a shared analysis and understanding of the key lessons, experiences on participatory planning and integrated development.

Poverty Eradication Strategy for the Free State, 1999 — by Kim — last modified 2008-10-02 13:20

This Strategy is a document for action-learning. It is intended to provide a guide for investment and to suggest practical areas where cost-effective action can be taken, maximising synergies across the province, and using the broad stakeholder resource available, both within and outside government. It is structured as follows: Section 2 looks at the policy background, international trends, national and provincial policy. Section 3 provides the detailed rationale of why we need to act – the situation of the poor in the Free State, and some recommended objectives for the province. Section 4 discusses the definitions of poverty, how this can be looked at using a sustainable livelihood concept, and the implications of this for the focus of the work. Sections 5 to10 address specific sectoral areas that are important elements of sustainable livelihoods, and also relate fairly closely to the cluster groups of the Free State Provincial Government