School-based Education

Marathon Room

Facilitator – Cathy Duff

Louise van Rhyn – SymphoniaDonné Nichol – Shanduka Foundation

Setlogane Manchidi – Investec

School-based EducationCommunication: Practices holding us back

• Insecurity keeping us from sharing our failures• Misalignment between monitoring and evaluation• No or ineffective communication channels• The ‘look at me’ approach• We impose on the school process and we do not let

the school take ownership• Keeping silent – even on the wins• Beneficiary silence for fear of losing funding

School-based EducationCommunication: Practices holding us back

• NGOs keep quiet, despite being ‘close to the ground’ while corporates can ‘over-share’

• It’s easier to share inputs than it is to communicate the work and results

• Always looking for photo opportunities – interventions are not subtle / complex

School-based EducationCommunication: Practices that should be encouraged

• Wide consultation and involvement of relevant stakeholders, finding common ground among them

• Frequent contact – at all stages of implementation• Mentoring as a best practice way of engaging• Ongoing interaction & consultation during implementation

to adapt intervention to evolving knowledge and needs• Creating awareness – of inputs, outcomes, successes and

failures• Using existing resources better• Having communication expertise within NGOs

School-based EducationCollaboration: Practices holding us back

• Distrust between corporates (competition)• Excessive control of the Department of Education– Red tape holding back progress and slowing achievement

of goals

• Lack of capacity at school administration level• Ill-advised or hasty partner selection• Getting ‘too comfortable’ with the same sources of

input (not looking beyond the usual suspects)

School-based Education Collaboration: Practices that should be encouraged

• Partnerships allowing stakeholders to leverage skills and resources

• Collaboration allowing the pooling of resources to maximise impact (focus on the cause, not competition)

• Working closely with the government• Best practice-sharing forums to build trust and share

strengths• Encouraging employee engagement• Community ownership and enforcement

School-based Education Strategic Alignment: Practices holding us back

• Conflicting visions among stakeholders• Fear of competition between NGOs and businesses (refusal

to share)• Power relationships• Rigid approach to support (“my way or the highway”)• Pre-determined CSI objectives and targets• Short-term perspective and partnerships• Trying to tackle too much in too little time, attempting to

evaluate too soon• Elevating BEE scorecard points above good development

practice

School-based Education Strategic Alignment: Practices that should be encouraged

• CSI should be an agenda item at Board level• Building trust among stakeholders• Fostering positive working relationships• Conducting yourself with openness and honesty• Long-term investment• Align CSI activities to core business and core values• Investigate best practices before structuring the

project

School-based Education Ongoing Learning: Practices holding us back

• Not doing a proper needs analysis (i.e. forcing your own ideas on a project without the comfort of thoughtful planning)

• Unrealistic expectations on how funding can be directly linked to outcomes – cannot discuss the subtleties

• Compartmentalising the work to be done (failure to collaborate)

• Presuming expert knowledge• No self-reflection (M&E)

School-based Education Ongoing Learning: Practices that should be encouraged

• Learn from past experience and share lessons with others – be honest among each other

• Listen carefully to stakeholder feedback• Conduct a needs analysis• Be realistic about your skills and knowledge, and

seek experts to fill specific gaps• Periodic peer/external evaluation