ATAF reaffirmed its member-centric approach by convening Training Managers and Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) specialists from across the continent for a five-day strategic workshop held in Pretoria, South Africa, from 23–27 February 2026.
Officially opened by ATAF Executive Secretary Ms Mary Baine, the workshop brought together 70 participants from 25 member countries with a clear objective: move beyond participation in training programmes towards measurable institutional impact.
In her opening remarks, Ms Baine emphasised the importance of demonstrating tangible outcomes from capacity-building initiatives.
“The message is simple: participation is not impact. If we cannot credibly show changes after the training in terms of what improves, what gets implemented, and what becomes institutionalised, then we risk losing the very space that capacity building needs to thrive.”
Throughout the programme, participants explored practical approaches to strengthening the link between training, behavioural change and institutional reform. Central to the discussions was the concept of Return on Training Investment (RoTI), which encourages tax administrations to move beyond counting attendance and activities, and instead measure how training translates into improved organisational performance.
Training Managers were encouraged to align learning interventions with real institutional challenges and systematically track post-training results. Monitoring and Evaluation specialists focused on embedding ROI reporting into performance systems and generating evidence that senior leadership can use to guide strategic decision-making.
A key outcome of the workshop was the validation of two continental tools: the ATAF Monitoring & Evaluation Framework and the ATAF Curriculum Development Framework. These instruments are designed to institutionalise evidence-based learning and strengthen revenue performance across member countries.
In her closing reflections, Ms Baine reinforced the central message of the programme:
“Training without measurable impact is expenditure. Training with demonstrated performance improvement is investment.”
She concluded with a clear call to action for participating administrations: “Measure. Track. Analyse. Report. Improve.”
