Curriculum Vitae
Mike Leslie
Address
Phone: +27 21 671 1402
PO Box 46830, Glosderry, Cape Town, 7702
Fax: +27 21 671 1409
Cell: +27 76 912 4767
South Africa
mike@pdg.co.za
Personal
Date of birth:
3 June 1983
Language:
English
Education



BA Humanities (Cum Laude), Stellenbosch University, SA, 2006
MPhil in Community and Development (Cum Laude), Stellenbosch
University, SA, 2010
Postgraduate Diploma in Monitoring and Evaluation, Stellenbosch
University, SA, 2011
Field of Specialisation
Mike is a monitoring & evaluation specialist with public sector experience across
local, provincial and national government. He has a background in community
development and applied social research. He is passionate about evidence-based
planning, monitoring and evaluation for improved developmental outcomes.
Mike’s research areas of interest include public policy, local government,
intergovernmental relations, and results-based monitoring & evaluation systems.
Mike is currently an active organiser within the South African monitoring and
evaluation community and serves on the Board of Directors of the South African
Monitoring & Evaluation Association (SAMEA).
Work experience
Dec 2012- Present
Palmer Development Group (PDG)- Researcher, Evaluator & Consultant, Cape
Town, South Africa
1
Curriculum Vitae: Mike Leslie
May 2011-Nov 2012
Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) Advisory- Consultant: Monitoring & Evaluation,
East London, South Africa
Jan 2009- Apr 2011
Postgraduate & International Office (PGIO) Stellenbosch University- Coordinator:
Student Life & Integration, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Jan 2006- Dec 2009
American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS) Stellenbosch University- Assistant
Director: Study Abroad, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Jan 2004- Dec 2008
PGIO Stellenbosch University- Student
Programmes, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Assistant:
Coordinator
Volunteer
KEY PROJECTS
2014/present
Implementation
Performance Assessment Tool
Monitoring & Evaluation
Evaluation
of
the
(MPAT)- Department
Management
of Planning,
Mike is part of the team of evaluators currently finalising the implementation
evaluation of MPAT. As one of the evaluation specialists on the team Mike’s
contributions began at the evaluation design and clarificatory review stages,
through the development of data collection instruments. He led the findings and
analysis of the data included in drafting the evaluation report.
2014/present Evaluation of the Frontline Service Delivery Monitoring
(FSDM) Programme in Gauteng- Gauteng Office of the Premier
Mike is the lead evaluation specialist on the team responsible for the evaluation
design, clarificatory review and development of the data collection
instrumentation. He was responsible for establishing the FSDM programme theory
and using it to guide a theory-based approach to the assessment on the request
of the Gauteng OtP.
2013/present Assessment of Government Evaluations Rounds 2 & 3Department of Performance Monitoring & Evaluation
Mike is part of the team of evaluators currently undertaking quality assessments
of national and provincial evaluations identified or completed since 2011. His
responsibilities include project management, team communication and
moderation of quality assessments, which includes National Evaluation Plan
evaluations. Round 3 of the project has also introduced research into the
arrangements for peer review during the evaluation process as well as the
development of an online improvement plan tracking system integrated with an
evaluation management system and the quality assessment system designed
during Round 1.
2013/present Urban Settlements Development Grant Design
Implementation Evaluation- Department of Human Settlements
and
Mike is part of the team currently finalising a design and implementation
evaluation of the Urban Settlements Development Grant (USDG) transfer from
the Department of Human Settlements to Metropolitan Municipalities. He has
responsibilities for overall evaluation design, and specifically the design review
2
Curriculum Vitae: Mike Leslie
and implementation assessments in the City of Cape Town and Buffalo City
Metropolitan Municipality. The project serves as one of eight evaluations
undertaken nationally as part of the Department of Performance Monitoring &
Evaluation’s (DPME) National Evaluation Plan 2012/13.
2013/2014 Rapid appraisal of Outcome 8: Output 1- Department of
Human Settlements
Mike was the project manager and lead evaluation consultant for this project
overseeing the design, data collection, analysis and drafting of the final report.
The appraisal relied on existing performance information and financial data as
supported by key informant interviews to provide a rapid assessment of the
intention to ‘accelerate delivery of housing opportunities’ under the National
Outcomes Approach.
2013/2014 Monitoring and Evaluation Sectoral Survey- Department of
Performance Monitoring & Evaluation
Mike was part of the team that developed a framework and assessment tool as
part of a sectoral survey of state and use of M&E systems in five government
sectors nationally. His responsibilities included key preliminary research,
development of the assessment framework and tools, as well as responsibilities
for surveying the human settlements sector.
2012/2013 Assessment of Government Evaluations- Department of
Performance Monitoring & Evaluation
Mike contributed to the development of an evaluation quality assessment tool
aligned to DPME’s Standards for evaluation in government. He worked as part of
the team of evaluators quality assessing 93 government evaluations conducted
from 2006-2012 and contributed to the development of a web-based platform for
future assessments of government evaluations. He also developed guidelines for
the web-based tool and helped draft the overview report of the assessed
evaluations.
2012/2013 Infrastructure Progression Model – National Treasury
Mike identified existing performance indicators and collated data from various
state sources for National Treasury’s Technical Assistance Unit towards the
development of the performance component of an infrastructure progression
model for provinces in the health and education sectors. He helped refine the
performance framework developed for the infrastructure progression model,
assisted in the development of a web-based platform and database and facilitated
trainings on the use of the web-based tool.
2012/2013 Assessment of the linking of fixed-term contracts for
Municipal Managers to the municipal electoral term- Department of
Cooperative Governance
Mike developed the assessment framework and data collection tools for the 26
municipalities sampled as part of the project. He interviewed respondents at
sampled municipalities and undertook quantitative data analysis for the project,
contributing to the overall findings and recommendations in the report for the
Department of Cooperative Governance.
Other relevant projects Mike played a role in with more information available on
request include:
Evaluation of Environmental
Environmental Affairs
Programmes
(2014)-
Department
of
3
Curriculum Vitae: Mike Leslie
Breede Valley Long Term Financial Plan 2015-2024 (2014)- Breede Valley
Local Municipality
Development
of
the
Intergovernmental
Planning
(2013/2014)- Department of Cooperative Governance
Framework
Research into the functionality of the National and Provincial
Intergovernmental Relations Structures (2013/2014)- Department of
Cooperative Governance
Review of District Municipalities
Cooperative Governance
(2013/2014)-
Department
of
Professional membership
Mike is on the Board of Directors of the South African Monitoring and Evaluation
Association (SAMEA) for the 2012-2015 term.
Publications
A brief summary of conference papers and presentations:
Developing evaluation standards and assessing evaluation quality
(forthcoming), co-authored the paper with Ian Goldman, Nishendra Moodley,
Christel Jacobs, Donna Podems, Mark Everett and Terence Beney for the Special
Edition of the African Evaluation Journal dedicated to the National Evaluation
System in South Africa.
Quality assessment of government evaluations in South Africa – some
initial findings, co-authored the paper with Ian Goldman, Christel Jacob, Rosina
Maphalla, Nishendra Moodley and Nazreen Kola, 4th Biennial South African
Monitoring & Evaluation Association Conference, September 2013, Sandton,
Johannesburg. Awarded Best Conference Paper.
Stimulating demand for better performance information: How to leverage
the planning, monitoring, and reporting cycles of Provincial and National
Government, half-day presentation co-presented with Barry Morkel and Riaan
van Vuren at the Annual General Meeting and Workshop Series of the South
African Monitoring and Evaluation Association, September 2012, Durban
A clarificatory evaluation of a volunteer-based community engagement
programme at Stellenbosch University: Results and utilization of findings,
sole author, 3rd Biennial South African Monitoring and Evaluation Association
Conference, September 2011, Kempton Park, Johannesburg
Improving service delivery through strengthened monitoring and
reporting in the public sector, co-authored paper with Barry Morkel, 3rd
Biennial South African Monitoring and Evaluation Association Conference,
September 2011, Kempton Park, Johannesburg
4