The South African
Cultural Observatory (SACO) is hosting a monitoring and evaluation (M&E)
workshop for creatives, academics, economists, government officials and
researchers next week in Durban.
The M&E
capacity-building workshop hopes to create an understanding of how one
can go about monitoring and evaluating publicly funded Arts, Culture and
Heritage projects, the SACO said.
SACO Chief Economist and Research Strategist, Prof. Jen
Snowball, from Rhodes University, will be delivering the workshop with Prof
Geoff Antrobus, SACO Senior Research Fellow.
According to Snowball, the cultural and creative industries have an
increasingly important role to play in economic growth, development and
employment creation. “Tracking the impact of public and private funding in the
cultural sector helps to monitor policy and funding effectiveness and to
identify high-potential sectors,” she said. “The workshop will address
questions relating to the expression of the value of arts and culture, and how
that value can be measured using a valuation framework linked to indicators.”
Using the Mzansi Golden Economy (MGE) funding initiative as an example,
the course demonstrates how different kinds of value can be expressed and how
the valuation framework can be applied to a diverse range of arts, culture and
heritage projects.
The course is presented from the point of view of both arts funders
(public and private) and industry practitioners and managers who wish to
demonstrate the value of their projects to funders, communities and society at
large.
The creative community is excited about the opportunity to learn more
about M&E methodologies. Palesa Mopeli, a Masters student at Wits
University, said she was looking forward to developing a deeper understanding
of M&E. “I look forward to learning about how best M&E can be done
especially regards to public funded projects. I think M&E is especially
important for future projects. “Often the focus is on the implementation of
projects and as a result we neglect monitoring the project’s development –
understanding the things that work and those that don’t work. Including M&E
in projects means that these issues are dealt with as they arise and can be
mitigated in future projects – leading to better implementation and better
outcomes.”
Thobile Sifunda from the KZN Department of Arts and Culture, said he was
keen on understanding how to track the “on the ground” impact of his
department’s projects and if and how the interventions are changing people’s
lives.
Lindiwe Ndiki from the Phansi Museum said she wanted to
improve her monitoring and
evaluation skills to support applications for funding. “M&E is very
important for non-profits such as the Phansi Museum. We rely heavily on funding
which, nowadays, is very competitive. Any methodologies that support or assist
us in getting funds, and training staff within the industry, is valuable and we
look forward to this opportunity.”
Dr Mduduzi Xakaza from the Durban Art Gallery also noted the
impact of such training on successfully securing funding. “I feel so fortunate
to have this opportunity because funding is the main engine that helps arts,
culture and heritage public and private institutions fulfil their mandates and
become self-sustainable. Better monitoring and evaluation can help identify the
most pressing needs of artists and also help us target those special projects
that can truly empower artists and transform the industry so that it can be
sincerely inclusive and accessible. Perhaps it can also help us overcome
challenges that are caused by both language, economic and cultural barriers.”
Ntwsaki Moloi, whose Thabo Mofutsanyana Arts and Culture
Centre, is central to delivering community arts and culture experiences, said
she was honoured to be attending. “I hope this workshop will improve my skills
and allow me to implement them at my workplace, especially when doing site
visits to the communities, and among SMMEs, students and artists.”
The workshop takes place on Monday (February 13) from 09h00 to 16h00 at
the Ekhaya Multi -Arts Centre, in KwaMashu-B, KwaMashu, Durban. Registration
opens at 08h00. Space is limited.
Facebook event information: https://www.facebook.com/events/1233156983449313/
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