Evaluation of the Southern and Eastern Africa Regional Centre for ...

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8Kenya and Zimbabwe. Another area of impact concerns the deliberations involved incourt judgements, and legal assistance in Zimbabwe. The course had helpedemployees to highlight ‘gaps’ in current legal practice and in using a ‘gender lens’directed at reworking judgments and altering decision making. Institutional impact inZambia is most apparent in the police force, where there are examples of how thegraduates have improved the work on women’s issues, in particular on gender basedviolence. The NGO sector employer respondents indicated how graduates in theiremployment had been highly beneficial in contributing a more proactive andevidence based approach to their work.Limits to impactThough the Centre is described as a key resource, most notably for its graduates,there remains, nonetheless, the assumption that graduates are able to impactinstitutional structures. Not only is this outside of SEARCWL’s control, but it alsounderplays the nested nature of power within institutions. As explained bygraduates, institutional relations were extremely difficult to alter, especially due tohierarchy. One highly relevant avenue was that the findings in dissertations could bemade better known to maximise potential for impact. More accessible and strategicknowledge could be an asset to state and civil society actors.SEARCWL is active mainly if not almost entirely in Zimbabwe and the alumnaegraduates are also relatively well networked in Zimbabwe but networking decreasesthe further one moves to other countries. The need for strategic interventions withalumnae was keenly felt in Zambia and Kenya.SEARCWL responseThe evaluation finds that though there appears to be discussion amongst Centrestaff, there is lack of a strategic document or policy vision for the Centre’s activitiesas a whole (i.e. over and beyond the Masters itself), especially, discussion of outreach.Often this was put down to shear time and human resource constraints that arecertainly important considerations. However, there might be certain issues or areaswhere the Centre could concentrate its efforts year to year more proactively ratherthan appearing to react to situations as they arise. Again, the further away fromZimbabwe, the more rapidly the presence of the SEARCWL diminishes, which alsosuggests the need for higher degree of strategic prioritisation.Financial governanceThe agreement has been adhered to in a timely and efficient manner, as recognisedby all parties. Furthermore, annual audits are up to date with no signs ofirregularities. However, there have been a number of different financial fundingarrangements over the years. These have largely been a creative response tochallenges of financial management in Zimbabwe. Though there is also a graduallymore stable situation in Zimbabwe since dollarization and with the Government ofNational Unity in 2009, the future is still very uncertain.Regional Advisory BoardThe board has provided professional and highly competent advice for steering thecourse related activities in particular. It also appears to have become more vocal on
key issues at the last meeting. It does not appear particularly proactive in terms ofdirecting research nor course related finances. It remains, therefore, advisory andshould be, but could extend the areas where it provides advice. It may though bebeneficial for an individual from outside the university sector -perhaps withexperience of regional research, dissemination and/or advocacy at a regional level- tobe invited on to the board.SustainabilityThe issue of sustainability should be one of the priorities for the Centre. There hasbeen very limited discussion of this, and that was only during the last regional boardmeeting. There is little doubt that the regional component would suffer as a result offunding cuts. It is clear that options for sustainability have not been fully explored bySEARCWL largely because they have not had to and this now requires urgentattention. Based on an estimation –albeit rudimentary and merely indicative- onbalance the Master’s is neither any more particularly expensive nor cheaper than onesfunded by Norad’s Programme for Master’s Studies (NOMA).The effectiveness and value of regional collaboration and its sustainability is lessevident with respect to research, publications and especially outreach, than it is withrespect to teaching (and teaching related products, some also published or inpreparation). Notwithstanding the time consuming demands of establishing MOUswith regional universities, what has been a significant achievement is in establishing acadre to teach women’s law in the region. Outside of course related texts, and keypublications by the SEARCWL staff, there is relatively little emerging from theregional research component.ConclusionA solid and even innovative Master’s programme has been created by SEARCWLand through its regional collaboration. We cannot overstate that in difficult andtrying circumstances SEARCWL and its leadership have provided both excellentsteering and also an exemplary level of dedication to its students and in strengtheningwoman and the law as an academic discipline. The predictable funding and indeedloyal support from RNE, as well as other partners in Norway, notably UiO, in ahighly volatile political and economic situation, has also contributed to makingSEARCWL an asset not only for Zimbabwe but also for the region as a whole.The report finds that the Centre has been very creative in terms of meetingchallenges in day to day organisation and even survival. Certainly, conceived aseducational and academic, it is very apparent that this is where considerable effortand energy has been placed by SEARCWL staff and rightly so. Findings show that afine tuned methodological approach has been developed that focuses upon theuneven power relations between men and women. This approach has beentransferred from the course and into graduates own thinking and thereby back intoinstitutions. Creating a cadre of approximately 195 graduates is a major contributionto improving the legal and social status of women in the region. However, there isscope for greater impact by harnessing the considerable resources that the Centre hasat its disposal.Perhaps one of the biggest assumptions remains, however, that the cadre ofpredominantly middle income men and women graduates will interact differently9
Page 1: Norad Report 5/2013 DiscussionEvalu
Page 6 and 7: 4AcknowledgementsThe Norwegian Inst
Page 8 and 9: 6Executive SummaryBackgroundThe pur
Page 12 and 13: 10with and in a manner more pro-act
Page 14 and 15: 121 Introduction1.1 Background and
Page 16 and 17: 14−−−at the Centre and cooper
Page 18 and 19: 16evaluation is how the 2010 MTR id
Page 20 and 21: 18and also any strategic planning d
Page 22 and 23: 20An important factor for impact al
Page 24 and 25: 223 Findings: Impact of the SEARCWL
Page 26 and 27: 24percent in 2008, 18 percent in 20
Page 28 and 29: 263.3 Women’s law as a discipline
Page 30 and 31: 283.4.2 Career impactOne of the mos
Page 32 and 33: 30A critical space for influencing
Page 34 and 35: 32A male senior law officer in the
Page 36 and 37: 34“massive knowledge. It has real
Page 38 and 39: 36group to do lectures, training, a
Page 40 and 41: 383.6.1 Sufficiently harnessed?Desp
Page 42 and 43: 40like with the lack of discussion
Page 44 and 45: 42to RNE for 2012 the centre ‘now
Page 46 and 47: 44• Regional Masters programmes 6
Page 48 and 49: 46of the Women’s Law Series entit
Page 50 and 51: 48development of new methods and ev
Page 52 and 53: 50There is clearly a major threat i
Page 54 and 55: 52to reconsider those less popular)
Page 56 and 57: 542008 Centre- end of phase report2
Page 58 and 59: 56SEARCWLProf. StewartProf. A. Tsan
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58Annex 2:SWOT analysisName Positio
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60Annex 3:Zambia Field WorkOne of t
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62Annex 4:Survey Responses1. Are yo
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645. Age of respondents50%45%40%35%
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6670%67%60%50%40%30%32%20%10%0%1% 0
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6818. Assess the quality of various
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70543211%1%5%29%64%0% 10% 20% 30% 4
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7224. Which components of the cours
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74Thank you for answering this ques
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76can share with you as they were a
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78office as a Consultant namely (a)
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80objective of the program was to e
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82Results of Assessments of Women
Page 86:
NoradNorwegian Agency for Developme
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