South African water infrastructure learning after delivery: Benchmarking post project evaluation in Gauteng

Africa Zamageda.Zungu@wits.ac.za Post project evaluation is promoted as a mechanism for accountability, learning, and performance improvement in infrastructure delivery. However, limited empirical evidence explains how such evaluation is institutionalized in South African water and sanitation delivery, or the extent to which existing practice aligns with recognized evaluation frameworks. Informed by organizational learning theory and institutional theory, this study examines post project evaluation as a learning practice shaped by organizational routines, formal mandates, capacity, and governance arrangements. The study benchmarks post project evaluation practice in the Department of Water and Sanitation National Office and Gauteng Regional Office against the OECD DAC criteria, ISO 21500 guidance, and the World Bank Implementation Completion and Results approach. A quantitative survey design was used. An online questionnaire was distributed to departmental personnel involved in planning, implementation, oversight, close out, or evaluation of water and sanitation infrastructure projects. The final analytic sample comprised 35 respondents. Survey items were aggregated into indices measuring institutionalization, stakeholder inclusion, confidence in evaluation effectiveness, and awareness of benchmark frameworks. Descriptive statistics and regression modelling were used to assess reported practice and examine associations between perceived enablers, barriers, and post project evaluation outcomes. Findings show that post project evaluation remains weakly institutionalized, with limited stakeholder inclusion, low confidence in evaluation effectiveness, and limited awareness of benchmark frameworks. Reported constraints include time pressure, limited capacity, compliance-oriented routines, reputational concerns, and weak systems for capturing and retrieving lessons. The study contributes a context specific South African empirical baseline for PPE alignment in water and sanitation infrastructure delivery and identifies practical reform priorities for strengthening evaluation governance, lesson management, stakeholder participation, and future project delivery. Assessme