Learning and Reflection from World Vision Southern Africa Region’s Greenfield and Development Programme Approach Practices: ‘Why Our Community Based Approach Matters?’

World Vision, a child focused and community based organisation, endeavours to facilitate and implement development approaches that bring maximum benefit to vulnerable children and their communities. With this goal in mind, the Greenfield (GF) approach was implemented in 11 sites across seven national offices. 

This report captures the results from a comparative evaluation between the pilot GF approach and an already existing approach – the Development Programming Approach (DPA). The evaluation was aimed at assessing the potential value-add that specific facets of the GF bring that could then be used to strengthen DPA. Using qualitative methods of investigation at two GF and two DPA sites the evaluation has captured encouraging findings.

This evaluation set out to determine the value-add of the Greenfield (GF) approach to the implementation of World Vision’s Development Programme Approach (DPA) in the Southern African Region (SAR). The investigation compared the potential cost-effectiveness of the GF and DPA sites and the progress made towards the first three sustainability drivers;

1. local ownership,
2. effective partnering and
3. transformed relationships. Additionally the evaluation explored some of the factors and conditions that facilitated or hindered the GF and DPA processes ability to achieve their purposes.

Based on the evidence gathered the evaluation aimed to develop clear conclusions and recommendations on the best way to further develop the GF approach.