Description
The purpose of the evaluation as set out in the Evaluation Terms of Reference and, as a product of subsequent engagement with the client and the Programme Steering Committee (PSC), refined and
confirmed in the evaluation’s Inception Report, is to establish the outcomes attained by the BEF, and document the lessons learned through its implementation. The evaluation is therefore required to
both pronounce on the overall performance of the Fund, as well as find evidence of ‘what works’ and ‘what does not work’ in order to inform the design of future funding instruments.
Final report: Documenting key lessons and outcomes of the BEF
17 INTRODUCTION
This report is further intended to inform programme management’s end-term reporting to the EU on the EU-Gijima KZN LED Support Programme, fulfilling its contracted evaluation and accountability
obligations; and it is anticipated that the evaluation will contribute to the body of knowledge on LED practice in South Africa more generally. The evaluation terms of reference operationalises the evaluation purpose in four broad study objectives, namely:
STUDY OBJECTIVE 1: Determine the nature and extent to which BEF projects have contributed towards fund, programme and broader LED outcomes in their respective localities, paying specific
attention to how and whether the BEF projects have any relevance or have rendered any results in terms of locality and local government LED processes.
STUDY OBJECTIVE 2: Determine the nature and extent to which the BEF has contributed to the establishment and operation of an enabling environment for business in a locality.
STUDY OBJECTIVE 3: Identify weaknesses relating to the BEF design and objectives, grant eligibility, approval or implementation and how existing weaknesses may be mitigated or eliminated.
STUDY OBJECTIVE 4: Propose amendments to the Business Enabling Fund model or alternative models or instruments for support to the government sector in the effective development and
operation of an enabling environment for business.
Study objectives 1 and 2 are concerned with the outcomes and impact of the BEF and direct the evaluation towards identifying the BEF’s contribution to LED at project, programmatic and systems
levels; while study objectives 3 and 4 direct the evaluation towards assessing and explaining the level of efficacy demonstrated by the BEF model.
