Final Evaluation of the Programme to Support Pro-Poor Policy Development (PSPPD) II (2019)

The purpose of this report is to provide a Draft Final Review for the EU of its financing in South Africa of the Programme for Support of Pro-Poor Policy Development, Phase II (PSPPD II). This Action comprised of a grant of 10 million Euro to the RSA Treasury, as a component of a much wider Budget Support agreement signed in 2012. It was to enable the South African government’s Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) to extend evidencebased policy making in relation to policy impacts in respect of poverty.

In terms of an appropriate methodology for evaluation, the broad canvass of PSPPD II work and issues raised pertaining to policy impacts of poverty inevitably required targeting. In the present review, this targeting comprised of a number of dimensions. First, an evaluation approach was adopted following the so-called DAC criteria1 and Logical Framework, as is common in cases of EU funded programmes. Second, a method of targeted sampling of the broad range of programme source materials was adopted. This included a national sectoral and provincial spread of observation points, and examination of more impactful and less impactful programme areas. It also entailed two types of observation lenses, one a more critical EU project evaluation perspective, and the other a more social science and policy analytical perspective.