Purpose of the sub-programme
The purpose of the Strategic Technical Assistance Fund [STAF] was
to provide technical and strategic support to the EPWP Unit through
the undertaking of adhoc assignments and research.
Work undertaken
The original reasoning behind the establishment of
the STAF was that during the process of developing the proposals for
the Support Programme it became evident that there were a number of
issues that the EPWP Unit wanted to investigate. In addition, it was
felt that during the implementation process the Support Programme
might get drawn into a whole lot of activities that were not in its
mandate. Accordingly the STAF was a way of dealing with these, so that
the Support Programme could focus on implementation of its
deliverables. At the time of setting up the STAF it was specified that
assignments would only be undertaken if they clearly contributed to
the acceleration or expansion of EPWP delivery.
The work of the STAF can be separated into two focus
areas:
- Strategic and technical assignments undertaken to accelerate or
expand EPWP delivery and to review the first phase of the EPWP.
These were undertaken in the first four years of the Support
Programme.
- Assignments undertaken to develop and secure approval for the
second phase of the EPWP. These were undertaken in the last two
years of the Support Programme.
Strategic and technical assignments undertaken to
accelerate or expand EPWP delivery
Assignments were divided into two categories namely
strategic and technical. Initially they were categorized by price in
that strategic assignments were above R50,000 and technical
assignments below R50,000. Over time this categorization changed to
strategic assignments are longer term [3 to 5 months] and focus on
investigating or addressing a high level strategic issue, technical
assignments are of shorter duration [less than 3 months] and focus on
undertaking a technical task.
The STAF had a specified operating methodology. Assignments were
identified by the EPWP Unit and approved by the Task Team. A rigorous
process was applied whereby the Support Programme together with the
Official in the EPWP Unit who had requested the assignment (called the
Champion) brainstormed the terms of reference for the assignment and
went through a process of recruitment of an appropriate Service
Provider. In addition, the outputs of the assignment were rigorously
reviewed and debated through workshops and meetings throughout the
process.
The STAF did not recruit service providers using government
recruitment procedures. Rather appropriate service providers were
identified [originally by recommendations from Officials in the EPWP
Unit and staff within the Support Programme and later from a panel of
service providers that was established]. At least three proposals were
required to be received and evaluated with input from both an Official
in the EPWP Unit and the Support Programme. An appointment was then
made. A key emphasis was on a quick turnaround in terms of developing
the terms of reference and making an appointment. The Official in the
EPWP Unit who had requested the assignment (the Champion) was required
to oversee the work undertaken to ensure that it met his/her
expectation. The Support Programme managed the work to ensure high
quality and the meeting of contractual obligations. The service
provider was not paid until both parties were satisfied with the work
undertaken.
Officials in the EPWP Unit were consistently positive about the STAF.
This was both in respect of the fast delivery in respect of procuring
service providers and undertaking the work, as well as the management
by the Support Programme to ensure that a high quality of work was
delivered. The positive reception to the STAF contributed to
developing a positive relationship between the EPWP Unit and the
Support Programme. The EPWP Unit found the STAF to be so useful that
an additional contribution of R10 million was made so that more
assignments could be undertaken.
A key challenge within the STAF was that of monitoring assignments so
as to assess whether they had accelerated or expanded delivery of the
EPWP. This proved to be very difficult and a number of processes were
applied for example quarterly interviews with Champions against a
checklist.
In the first four years 36 assignments were undertaken. These
assignments focused on general issues, as well as on issues within
each of the sectors comprising the EPWP (Social, Infrastructure,
Environment and Economic), as well as training. Many of the
assignments undertaken by the STAF have had a significant impact in
accelerating or expanding the achievement of the EPWP targets. This
impact has resulted in improving operations, changing policy or
accessing funding.
The assignments undertaken can be seen in the Table below.
|
Sector |
Assignment Name |
| Strategic reviews and general assignments |
Mid-term Review (Synthesis report, Analysis and Review, International Comparative
Study and Social Survey) |
| Investigation and proposal to incorporate National Youth Service into the
EPWP |
| Quantification of Demand for labour in South Africa |
| A concept paper on a demand driven EPWP |
| Supporting Local Government capacity for implementing the EPWP |
| Strategic Review of capacity within the EPWP Unit |
| Annual strategic reviews and planning for the EPWP (four reports) |
| Supporting provinces to apply for NSF funding |
| Support to the restructuring of the EPWP unit |
| Breaking down EPWP targets to Provincial and Municipal level |
| Economic |
Review of Venture Learnership Programme |
| Identification of Opportunities within the Public Sector Procurement Framework
for the Venture Learnership Programme |
| Environmental |
Strategic Review of EPWP Environmental Sector Programmes |
| Documenting Community Based Domestic Waste Programmes |
| Infrastructure |
Review of the Vukuphile Programme |
| Practical guidelines for replicating the Zibambele Workshop |
| Strategic and Operational Review of Conditional Grants |
| Provision of Assistance to the EC DoT in the development of a multi-year
strategic plan for community-based transport (Sakha isizwe) |
| Large contractor – position paper |
| Large infrastructure projects – scaling up the EPWP |
| Treasury Conversion Tool |
| Social |
Investigating Non-Delivery in the Social Sector |
| Technical Support to the National Department of Social Development |
| Technical support to provinces to develop business plans to access funding
|
| HCBC Harmonisation Workshop |
| Training |
Development of a Framework for aligning EPWP with the NSDS |
| Technical support to prepare provincial applications to the National Skills
Fund |
| Development of an EPWP Training Policies & Procedures Manual |
| Guidelines for implementing training in the Social Sector |
| Determining the status quo of the EPWP Training Plan |
Assignments undertaken to review the first phase of
the EPWP and develop and secure approval for the second phase of the
EPWP
In the final two years the STAF was instrumental in
supporting the EPWP Unit to develop proposals and secure approval for
the second phase of the EPWP (EPWP 2). A total of 16 assignments were
undertaken. These are summarised in the table below.
|
Category |
Assignment Name |
| Securing approval |
A geographically based investigation into the feasibility of
significantly increasing the scale of the EPWP |
| Interrogation of the existing data of the EPWP and the existing budgets
of public entities |
| Development and submission of EPWP 2 business plan to Cabinet (Jan 2009)
|
| Development of the Cabinet Memorandum requesting approval for EPWP 2
|
| MTEC submission to secure funding for EPWP 2 |
| Development of the fiscal mechanisms for EPWP 2 |
| Investigation into the feasibility of EPWP initiatives to remove litter
and erect fencing on road reserves |
| An assessment of the minimum wages and employment conditions for the EPWP
2 |
| Setting the purpose and targets |
Logical Framework for the EPWP 2: 2009 – 2014 |
| EPWP Phase 2: Targets and target setting process (national, provincial and
municipal) |
| Increasing understanding |
EPWP Phase 2 core messaging and initial communication strategy |
| Development of presentations on EPWP 2 |
| Non state sector |
Investigation into the nongovernmental sector |
| Concept note on the non state sector |
| Implementation capacity |
Assessing EPWP Units capacity to implement EPWP 2 and developing short term
organizational proposals |
| Assessment of the national technical team and development of a high level
scope of technical support required to enable effective implementation of Infrastructure
programme |
Achievements
Through the STAF a total of 52 assignments were
undertaken. The assignments had a significant impact in expanding
and/or accelerating the achievement of the EPWP targets. This was in
respect of:
- Increasing understanding of reasons for blockages in
implementing the EPWP and developing innovative proposals as to how
these should be addressed.
- Increasing funding for the EPWP.
- Increasing understanding as to how the EPWP should be
implemented and identifying new areas for implementation.
In addition the STAF commissioned and managed the
Mid-Term Review of EPWP Phase 1 and was instrumental in supporting the
design, approval and development of EPWP 2.
Lessons learnt
Over the four and a half year implementation period
of the STAF, its usefulness was its ability to strategically determine
and scope assignments, to procure service providers quickly, (in an
environment where there is a long and protracted process) and to
manage assignments in a manner where they are well integrated into and
benefit the work of the EPWP.
A number of aspects of the STAF methodology
contributed to the quality of assignments:
- The joint scoping process undertaken by the EPWP Unit and the
Support Programme was very valuable as the engagement process helped
to define the purpose of the assignment and to consider the
respective value of different assignments, so as to select those
assignments that have the potential to have the maximum impact.
- The manner in which this was translated into a Terms of
Reference also added real value as it ensured that the discussion is
translated into a clear brief which can form the basis for the
securing of service providers to undertake the assignment.
- The role of the Support Programme in rigorously managing the
quality of the assignment.
- The role that the Champions played in steering and supporting
the assignments ensured that it was useful and assisted in the work
being integrated into the EPWP Unit.
Challenges experienced was ensuring that the
findings of the completed assignments were circulated widely and
linking new assignments with previously completed ones to ensure that
they effectively drew on previous work and extended this further.
Also some Champions participated more than others and this impacted
directly on the extent to which the findings of the assignment were
used by the EPWP Unit.
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