The MTN Awards for Social Change, a collaborative initiative between the MTN SA Foundation and Trialogue, contributed positively to monitoring and evaluation (M&E) practices in South African NPOs. Launched in 2019 and concluded in 2022, the annual competition aimed to encourage and reward good M&E practices in the nonprofit sector, offering generous prize money to winning NPOs across different size categories.
The awards were structured to accommodate NPOs of varying sizes, categorised as small (annual income less than R5 million), medium (annual income between R5 million and R15 million) and large (annual income exceeding R15 million). Each category winner received R300 000, with an additional R100 000 awarded to the organisation demonstrating the most advanced M&E practices in a bonus category.
The competition garnered significant interest from the NPO community, with participation peaking at 141 entries in 2020. However, the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic led to a steep decline in entries in subsequent years.
Entrants were evaluated based on their general M&E practices, project design, outputs and outcomes. The bonus category assessed factors such as ethical considerations in M&E activities, theory of change, identification of unintended outcomes, understanding of long-term systemic changes, exploration of causality and addressing findings that impact success.
To assess the impact of the awards on M&E practices within participating organisations, Trialogue conducted a comprehensive review combining quantitative analysis and qualitative research methods. This review included an analysis of the judges’ scores for shortlisted organisations, a survey of competition entrants and in-depth interviews with competition judges.
| The review revealed several noteworthy trends: |
| Improved M&E practice scores: Entrants generally demonstrated improvement in their M&E practice scores over the years, with large organisations consistently scoring higher than smaller ones. |
| Enhanced project design: Small and large organisations showed consistent improvement in project design throughout the four years. |
| Limited project output improvement: Average scores for project outputs across all organisation sizes increased dramatically between 2019 and 2020 but decreased significantly in 2021, likely reflecting the impact of Covid-19 on the sector’s output capacity. |
| Consistent improvement in project outcomes for small organisations: Small NPOs were the only category to show a consistent increase in average scores for project outcomes across all years. |
The qualitative evaluation revealed that participation in the awards positively influenced organisations’ M&E practices:
- Improved knowledge of M&E: More than half of the respondents (57%) reported that the awards influenced their internal M&E knowledge, with small organisations showing more significant improvement
- Broader application of improved M&E knowledge: 87% of respondents who acknowledged improvement in M&E knowledge indicated this improvement was applied more broadly within their organisations, leading to enhanced overall M&E processes, improved project designs and better stakeholder reporting.
Additional benefits of participation included implementation of new organisational processes, generation of publicity and additional funding, strengthened credibility with funders and enhanced funding applications.
Winners who responded to the survey reported using their prize money to strengthen their M&E systems and processes, expand data collection methods, scale up projects, increase sustainability funds and bolster general M&E programmes within their organisations.
The MTN Awards for Social Change provided a valuable opportunity for participating organisations to reassess their M&E efforts; it fostered a drive for continued improvement in this critical practice. The application process helped participants evaluate their M&E frameworks, improved their awareness and understanding of the significance of M&E, and highlighted the importance of integrating it into organisational strategy and project design.
The competition not only benefited the participating NPOs but also reinforced the MTN Foundation’s dedication to development, garnering positive media attention and enhancing its credibility in the sector. Participant feedback underscored the value of MTN’s support for M&E, affirming its role in advancing developmental efforts in the nonprofit sector.
With the curtain drawn on this impactful initiative, its legacy lives on in the improved M&E practices of scores of NPOs, setting a new standard for accountability, efficiency and impact measurement in the sector.
NOAH’s M&E transformation
The journey of Neighbourhood Old Age Home (NOAH) through the MTN Awards for Social Change provides a compelling case study of how participation in such initiatives can transform an organisation’s approach to M&E.
NOAH, a Western Cape-based NPO, provides safe, affordable housing to the elderly poor through a holistic support model. Operating in six communities across Cape Town, the organisation focuses on six key areas: home, health, happiness, social enterprise development, sustainability and organisational development. NOAH serves over 730 pensioners, managing 12 communal houses and two clinics that offer psychosocial support and community-based care.
When NOAH first entered the Awards in 2019, the organisation was shortlisted as a potential prize winner. The judges’ feedback acknowledged NOAH’s well-designed programme logic with clear activities, outputs and outcomes. They noted the organisation was still in the initial stages of its M&E journey. The judges recommended strengthening NOAH’s M&E practice by improving its theory of change to reflect the quality and broader impact of the organisation’s work, extending beyond monitoring service access to assessing community impact.
NOAH’s 2021 entry showed less progress than anticipated. While the judges found the logical framework comprehensive, they identified confusion between outputs and outcomes, and between outcomes and impact. This feedback highlighted the need for further refinement of NOAH’s M&E approach.
The turning point came in 2022 when NOAH was adjudged the winner in the medium NPO category. The organisation’s application showcased a unique M&E model that focused on a comprehensive approach to its work and demonstrated an improved implementation of its M&E framework. NOAH had successfully identified methodologies that best suited its unique approach, drawing on management data from its M&E system to enhance programme execution. The organisation’s logic framework had been practically applied to ensure improved adaptability and responsiveness, with a shift in focus from delivery outputs to achieved results.
NOAH Director Anne Dobson reflected that completing the competition application helped acknowledge gaps and “brought about a determination to do better”. This gap analysis facilitated several significant shifts for the organisation:
| Recognition of the need for a dedicated M&E function, leading to the hiring of an M&E consultant in 2020 using unattached donor funding |
| Transition from inconsistent monitoring to streamlined data collection processes embedded in overall management processes |
| Integration of formal evaluation learnings into planning processes |
| Use of monitoring data to inform strategic planning, with M&E becoming integral to organisational development rather than an add-on |
| Increased internal awareness of the value of good M&E practices |
| Creation of an enabling environment for M&E within the organisation. |
Dobson noted how the practical and meaningful integration of data into the organisation’s work contributed to shifting NOAH’s organisational culture. This cultural shift was exemplified by the experience of the organisation’s health manager in running a diabetes support group. Initially resistant to M&E as an additional administrative burden, the health manager reluctantly began collecting health data. As the data began to indicate improvements in the group’s health outcomes, the manager had an “aha” moment, exclaiming, “I finally get M&E!”
NOAH’s investment of the R300 000 prize money into M&E further underscores the organisation’s commitment to improving its practices. The funds were used to retain an M&E consultant and conduct several surveys, enabling NOAH to “tighten up what we were looking for, and really focus on what was relevant”, said Dobson.
Dobson acknowledged the pivotal role the competition played in accelerating NOAH’s adoption of stronger M&E practices, noting the organisation “probably would have taken much longer to get to where we are now without the competition”.
NOAH’s journey through the MTN Awards for Social Change illustrates the potential for such initiatives to drive meaningful change in NPO practices. By providing a structured framework for assessment and improvement, coupled with tangible rewards for progress, the competition motivated NOAH to critically examine and enhance its M&E processes. The result is a more effective, data-driven organisation better equipped to serve its beneficiaries and demonstrate its impact to stakeholders.
Source: The original version of this article was published in the Trialogue Business in Society Handbook 2024 (27th edition).
