Municipal support, monitoring and evaluation

National Treasury, Technical Assistance Unit (TAU – later incorporated into GTAC) (May 2009 – December 2010)

National Treasury’s Technical Assistance Unit (TAU) provided support to the Eastern Cape and Western Cape Provincial Governments with respect to their programmes aimed at supporting and building the capacity of Municipalities.  There was also ongoing interaction with the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Local Government and Traditional Affairs. During this time it became apparent that there was overlap and opportunities to learn and share experiences from each other.

It was decided to facilitate the formation of an informal Provincial Learning Network (PLN) comprising the municipal monitoring, support and capacity building units (in the respective Departments of Local Government) of KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape. Four two-day learning events were curated over an 18-month period, with ongoing interaction in between.  The network was relatively short-lived, but had significant impact.  One of the most telling comments made was that the PLN ‘is a safe space for us as local government practitioners to reflect.’ In this safe environment, the participants are able to learn from each other and share best practice.  Participants found that attendance of the PLN had improved their technical competence in terms of skills and knowledge in M&E. They also reported that their personal effectiveness had improved. This led to the introduction of improved approaches and a deeper understanding of Municipal systems and monitoring.

MCA helped to conceptualise, organise, convene and run the network.

Skills

Posted on

September 13, 2018