Using monitoring and evaluation to build transformative equity and resilience in South Africa

The document argues that M&E is inherently connected to power and can either promote equity and resilience or reinforce dominance and exclusion. Through the analysis of six South African case studies, it identifies four 'enablers' for transformative M&E: contextualized learning, inclusive processes, increased agency for Global South actors in design, and institutional arrangements that ensure long-term continuity. It emphasizes that achieving equitable resilience requires shifting power dynamics and moving beyond funder-driven compliance toward locally-led development.

• M&E is fundamentally linked to power dynamics, as choices regarding what is monitored, who collects data, and the criteria for success determine whether the process promotes equity or reinforces 'dominance, exclusion and dependence'.
• To effectively promote equity, M&E must move beyond external 'best practices' and cultivate a reflexive learning culture where people embedded in the local context identify and monitor the specific factors contributing to vulnerability and inequity.
• Inclusive M&E processes—which involve non-technical staff and participants in data collection, sense-making, and design—generate co-benefits such as increased personal agency, improved collaboration, and greater sensitivity to implementation realities.
• Global South organisations often face restrictive compliance and reporting requirements from multilateral funders that stifle local contributions and can damage reputations with local constituencies due to payment delays.
• The prevalence of short-term 'project-model' funding undermines the continuity of M&E, as varying requirements and data restrictions prevent local organisations from demonstrating long-term cumulative impacts and reducing their resilience.
• The Tsitsa Project demonstrated that inclusive participation requires significant investment in social process work, including the use of home languages (isiXhosa) to mitigate power imbalances and the use of a 'capability pathway' to move toward co-deciding and co-adapting.

APA

Global Resilience Partnership (2023). Using monitoring and evaluation to build transformative equity and resilience in South Africa. https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/sara_policy-toolkit_me_21-nov.pdf

Chicago

Global Resilience Partnership. Using monitoring and evaluation to build transformative equity and resilience in South Africa. 2023. https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/sara_policy-toolkit_me_21-nov.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Global Resilience Partnership |title=Using monitoring and evaluation to build transformative equity and resilience in South Africa |date=September 2023 |url=https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/sara_policy-toolkit_me_21-nov.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{globalresiliencepartnership2023using, author = {{Global Resilience Partnership}}, title = {{Using monitoring and evaluation to build transformative equity and resilience in South Africa}}, institution = {Global Resilience Partnership}, year = {2023}, month = sep, url = {https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/sara_policy-toolkit_me_21-nov.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }