Question NW316 to the Minister of Small Business Development
28 June 2017 - NW316
Matsepe, Mr CD to ask the Minister of Small Business Development
(1)Will she make available to Mr C D Matsepe the (a) policy paper on sector prioritisation referred to in slide 39 and (b) Partner Management Framework to forge partnerships with the private sector, referred to in slide 29 of her department’s presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development on 23 November 2015; if not, in each case, why not; if so, by what date in each case; (2) (a) what are the names of the partners commissioned to conduct research on defining the ecosystem for small businesses and cooperatives, as referred to on slide 14 of the specified presentation and (b) by what date will her department and the specified partners report on the findings of the specified research; (3) what progress is her department making with regard to the adoption of recognised impact measurement techniques and tools for measuring the impact of its programmes and projects referred to in slide 27 of the specified presentation?”
Reply:
(1)(a) The Minister is pleased to share ther Sector Prioritisation paper (Annexure A); and
(1)(b) The Draft Development Partnership Guidelines (Annexure B).
(2)(a) The Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) has commissioned (Greater Capital) a service provider to conduct research on the eco-system. The research is conducted in close collaboration with the following organisations: South African Breweries (SAB) Foundation, Sustainable Entrepreneurship Accelerator (SEA) Africa, Allan Gray and Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute (GEDI).
(2)(b) The final report with findings and recommendations will be presented to DSBD Executive Committee within the second quarter of the current financial year.
(3) Programme Impact Evaluation
This type of evaluation (impact evaluation) measures the non-observable aspects that result from the programme. For example, while the number of enterprises supported by a programme is 200 (as established through monitoring), the number of sustainable ones among these – an intangible and multi-composite attribute – may only be evident through measurements of effectiveness.
A programme’s effectiveness can only be measured through a repeatable study that applies multiple data methods. In this instance, enterprise sustainability may be the effect sought by the programme. “Sustainability” may be one of the components defined for “economic growth”. Outcomes are relevant to cumulative effects that together with other reinforcing aspects have profound socio-economic implications (say, creating a small business-conducive environment, an entrepreneurship culture, etc).
Given this background, the portfolio of Department’s programmes are being evaluated internally on the basis of planning, design and implementation, guided by the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework guidelines developed for the department at this stage. This is motivated by the fact that most of the programmes that are being run by the department are inherited from the Department of Trade and Industry and therefore to assess their relevance to the mandate, Mission and Vision of the department, this process is necessary. The guiding principles are derived from the Acts that govern both SMMEs and Co-operatives nationally coupled with the guideline documents which were developed on inception to guide implementation.
To measure policy impact coupled with outputs and outcomes up to date, with intention to measure effectiveness, efficiency and value for money, the Department undertook to partner with Department of Planning Monitoring and Evaluation-DPME and undertook to embark on an evaluation process of the Integrated Strategy on the Promotion and Support of Small Businesses (2005).
This process is to identify what needs to be done to institute more responsive interventions that will be more responsive given current challenges; highlight an overall impact on the programmes’ responsiveness to the needs of SMMEs to date. The outcome of this exercise will inform an evidence based review and programme improvement plan that will position the interventions as more responsive to needs of beneficiaries and point at more effective methodologies that are better fitting to the developmental mandate.