Institutionalising the use of evidence in environmental policy decision-making in South Africa: process, structures, and good governance of evidence

This presentation will assess the status quo of the institutionalisation of the use of evidence in environmental policy decision-making in South Africa. Based on nine years of supporting the center of government and environmental ministries in the country, we will unpack the history and politics of the process of institutionalising evidence use for environmental policy decision-making. This will include case studies of major institutional developments such as the formation of the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, the design and implementation of the National Evaluation System, the introduction of the Socio-Economic Impact Assessment System (SEIAS), and the development of responsive evidence management and embedded co-production in the public sector. Using a new checklist for assessing the level of institutionalisation of evidence use, we will then provide a transparent account of the current extent of institutionalisation within the environmental evidence ecosystem in the country. By doing so, we will highlight gaps and best practice in the use of evidence and recommend steps towards ensuring a sustainable system of evidence use at all levels of policy decision-making.