Co-ownership and Collaboration: Insights into the Measurement of Impact and Change from Evidence-Based Community and State Violence Prevention Partnerships

Effective partnerships in community crime and violence prevention interventions are challenging to foster. While this may be the case, their merits cannot be denied, thus it is necessary to involve diverse stakeholders in processes that aim to address violence and crime prevention in order to better approach the causes of crime. However practical experiences have identified the challenges of crime prevention partnerships, particularly in developing indicators that appropriately measure and work to monitor and evaluate progress. It has also been noted that it is difficult to discern which interventions yield success, particularly in partnerships with various stakeholders. This article therefore encourages joint assessments from the onset of crime prevention projects with the development of indicators that are relatable to all partners. The paper will draw on three violence and crime prevention pilot projects, conducted in South Africa. The discussion will focus on the processes of developing performance measurement frameworks and the challenges and successes experienced throughout the monitoring, evaluation and learning process.