Research Article
Institutionalizing Evaluation as a Governance Capability: Evidence from Agriculture and Economic Policy in Africa
Abdourahmane Ba*
Issue:
Volume 10, Issue 1, March 2026
Pages:
1-17
Received:
25 June 2025
Accepted:
11 July 2025
Published:
7 January 2026
DOI:
10.11648/j.jppa.20261001.11
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Abstract: Public policy evaluation has gained renewed significance as African governments seek to reinforce accountability and improve development outcomes. The institutionalization of evaluation reflects a strategic effort to embed oversight within governance systems and respond to increasing demands for evidence use in Africa. The research examined how 28 countries formalized evaluation functions through legal instruments, administrative procedures, and organizational practices between 2010 and 2024. It focused on agriculture and economic policy, given their role in advancing structural transformation and governance reform. A structured documentary review applied a multidimensional framework grounded in institutional theory and political economy. Four core dimensions informed the analysis: legal mandates, normative alignment, cognitive uptake, and hybrid arrangements. The review covered 306 official documents, including development strategies, budget frameworks, and statutory texts drawn from planning and finance ministries, sectoral agencies, and recognized international repositories. Results revealed divergent national pathways. Some countries established evaluation systems anchored in statutory authority and integrated within planning or budgeting processes. Others relied on frameworks that lacked enforceable mandates or sustained institutional support, often shaped by external interventions. Regional patterns also emerged. Anglophone and Island States more frequently demonstrated operational alignment between evaluation and resource allocation. Francophone and Central African countries often emphasized legal form without consistent implementation. Hybrid systems appeared where normative intent coexisted with partial adherence or tactical resistance. The typology developed through the research identified embedded models with institutional depth, transitional frameworks with uneven alignment, and symbolic systems with limited operational traction. Sectoral integration and political sponsorship consistently acted as enabling conditions. Evaluation systems reinforced state capability when embedded within governance functions and aligned with domestic policy processes. African experiences challenge linear conceptions of evaluation development and reveal adaptive trajectories rooted in national priorities and evolving administrative contexts. The research contributes to a deeper understanding of evaluation institutionalization as a dynamic process shaped through interaction between state capacity, governance reform, and evidence use in Africa.
Abstract: Public policy evaluation has gained renewed significance as African governments seek to reinforce accountability and improve development outcomes. The institutionalization of evaluation reflects a strategic effort to embed oversight within governance systems and respond to increasing demands for evidence use in Africa. The research examined how 28 ...
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Research Article
The Practices of Eco-guards During Patrols in Kundelungu National Park in Haut-Katanga
Sanganiro Koko Merci*,
Umba Kongolo Nathan*
Issue:
Volume 10, Issue 1, March 2026
Pages:
18-26
Received:
19 November 2025
Accepted:
20 December 2025
Published:
16 January 2026
DOI:
10.11648/j.jppa.20261001.12
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Abstract: The protection of natural resources in protected areas is characterized, on the one hand, by the application of legal instruments for environmental protection, and on the other hand, it reveals the hidden side of operations within the various organizations involved. From a criminological perspective, this study offers a comprehensive analysis of the practices carried out by eco-guards during patrols in Kundelungu National Park (KNP), based on an immersion in the daily lives of eco-guards at the Katwe station, which houses the park’s headquarters. The analysis of the collected data reveals two categories of field practices: so-called formal practices and informal practices. These two categories illustrate how field actors can carry out actions tinged with both formal and informal elements, while remaining within their daily duties, thus forming a complex reality of field operations. These practices call into question the effectiveness of public policy on biodiversity protection in the DRC, as outlined in Law No. 14/003 of February 11, 2014, concerning the protection and conservation of nature, as well as the efficiency of the work performed by eco-guards in protected areas. They also raise deeper questions about the challenges and issues surrounding the management of the nature conservation sector, biodiversity, and personnel administration in parks across the DRC.
Abstract: The protection of natural resources in protected areas is characterized, on the one hand, by the application of legal instruments for environmental protection, and on the other hand, it reveals the hidden side of operations within the various organizations involved. From a criminological perspective, this study offers a comprehensive analysis of th...
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