This chapter describes the value of organizational memory (OM)
Background: The Global Evaluation Agenda 2020 calls for evaluation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within an equity-focused and gender-responsive lens. Most of the methodologies and materials come from the Global North. However, gender issues and evaluation capacity in the Global North do not necessarily match with those in the Global South. The Global South has rich experiences related to equity and gender. An important group to target to build capacity is young and emerging evaluators (YEEs).Objectives: This study investigated the gender responsive evaluation training experiences and needs of YEEs in Africa.Method: A total of 72 respondents completed an online survey that was administered over a 7-day period. The quantitative survey was self-administered in French and English, and was distributed through existing Voluntary Organisation for Professional Evaluation (VOPEs) and youth evaluators forums.Results: Respondents were from 23 African countries. Most of the respondents were YEEs, although many of the respondents did not self-identify as an YEE. One-third of respondents have participated in training programmes on gender responsive evaluation or a gender focus on evaluation. Virtual trainings have not been used. Topics included evaluating gender focussed interventions and gender responsive aspects of evaluation studies in general (including applying gender perspective to all types of policies, and participatory approaches to ensure gender equity).Conclusion: This study has practical value for training and mentoring of YEEs in gender focused evaluations in Africa. It will contribute to efforts of the South-to-South project and global efforts that ensure that ‘no one is left behind’ from a gender lens.
Background: The sustainable development goal (SDG) 4.2 calls to ‘ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and preprimary education so that they are ready for primary education’. It is then important to identify early childhood literacy drivers for better decision-making in education.Objectives: This research investigates the impact of pre-schooling and home environment effect on children’s literacy in sub-Saharan Africa francophone countries.Method: A total of 21 933 Grade 2 children participated in the regional assessment of literacy in 14 countries. Items on cognitive skills were used to assess children’s literacy skill. A contextual questionnaire was used to collect data on the home environment and children’s characteristics. Descriptive statistics, logistic regression and inverse-probability-weighted regression adjustment were used to estimate the impact of pre-schooling and home environment on children’s literacy skill.Results: At least 57% of children in Grade 2 did not have the literacy skill required to pursue their learning without difficulty. Only 28% of children attended preschool. Home-language and reading at home have the highest effect size on children’s literacy skill. Attending preschool improves the percentage of children capable to pursue their learning without difficulty by 10%. Furthermore, that improvement is 15.7% for children who attended preschool. Impact of pre-schooling varies between countries and slightly across gender.Conclusion: Findings of this research call for better access to pre-schooling and better home environment to improve children’s literacy skill. The research will contribute to efforts of the sub-Saharan Africa francophone countries to achieve the SDG 4.2.Contribution: This research contributed to fill the knowledge gaps on Early Childhood literacy in the Global South. It highlighted home environment drivers and the impact of preschooling on children’s literacy skills in the Global South.
Background: This article reflects on the implementation of a diagnostic study carried out to understand the gender responsiveness of the national monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems of Benin, South Africa and Uganda. Carrying out the study found that the potential for integrating the cross-cutting systems of gender and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) are strong. At the same time, it highlighted a range of challenges intersecting these two areas of work. This article explores these issues, which range from logistical to conceptual.Objectives: This article aims to share reflections from the gender diagnostic study to enable more appropriate capacity building in the field of gender responsiveness in national M&E systems. Developing more sophisticated tools to measure gender responsiveness in complex contexts is critical. A better understanding of how gender and national M&E systems intersect is important to understanding firstly how we can more accurately measure the gender responsiveness of existing systems and secondly how better to engender capacity development initiatives.Method: As part of the Twende Mbele programme, Centre for Learning on Evaluation and Results (CLEAR) commissioned Africa Gender and Development Evaluator’s Network (AGDEN) to coordinate teams of researchers in Benin, Uganda, and South Africa to collaboratively develop the diagnostic tool, and then implement it by conducting a review of key documentation and to interview officials within the government wide monitoring and evaluation systems as well as the national gender machinery in each country.Results: The study found that the gender responsiveness of M&E systems across all three systems was unequal, but more importantly, it is important to do more work on how M&E and gender are conceptualised, to ensure this can be studied in a more meaningful way. To strengthen national monitoring and evaluation systems, gender responsiveness and equity must serve as a foundation for growth. However, intersection M&E with gender is complex, and riddled with gaps in capacity, conceptual differences, and challenges bringing together disparate and complex systems.Conclusion: A stronger understanding of the linkages between M&E and gender is an important starting place for bringing them together holistically.
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