On June 17 and 18, 2009, LMRF and the M&E unit of DED delivered the Introductory Workshop of the 2009/2010 Emerging Researchers Capacity Enhancement Programme (ERCEP) in the Balmoral Hotel, Durban. It is already the 3rd time the LMRF and DED run this programme with Petra Penninkhoff, of Royal Tropical institute in the Netherlands as the principal trainer.

In order to improve service delivery the South African government has identified M&E as a priority for all public sector institutions. It has developed a programme called Government Wide Monitoring and Evaluation (GWM&E). The new ANC government has continued to put M&E at the top of the agenda. In his address to the British Business Conference, the Treasurer for ANC, Mr Mathews Phosa, stated that the new ANC government will not change existing government policies, but will rather strengthen and improve the M&E capacities initiated by the previous government in order to ensure service delivery improvement. The implication is that government institutions should prioritise M&E capacity building in order to ensure that this goal is realised.

From March 2 – 6, 2009 LMRF and DED’s M&E unit, delivered the final training workshop of the 2008/2009 Emerging Researchers Capacity Enhancement Programme (ERCEP).

The Emerging Researchers Capacity Enhancement Programme for M&E in LED was set up and piloted in 2007. At the end of this pilot, a first batch of 15 participants graduated in March 2008. ERCEP aims to develop a pool of specialists that have knowledge of and skills in participatory monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment of programmes, projects and business ventures aimed at local economic development. Efforts are underway to further develop the programme for it to lead to a National Diploma at NQF level 6.