SAQA

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SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY

REGISTERED UNIT STANDARD THAT HAS PASSED THE END DATE:

Direct, coordinate and conduct research into government communication

SAQA US ID	UNIT STANDARD TITLE
12160	Direct, coordinate and conduct research into government communication
ORIGINATOR
SGB Government Communication and Information Stms
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY
-
FIELD			SUBFIELD
Field 04 - Communication Studies and Language			Communication Studies
ABET BAND	UNIT STANDARD TYPE	PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL	NQF LEVEL	CREDITS
Undefined	Regular	Level 7	Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L7	3
REGISTRATION STATUS		REGISTRATION START DATE	REGISTRATION END DATE	SAQA DECISION NUMBER
Passed the End Date - Status was "Reregistered"		2018-07-01	2023-06-30	SAQA 06120/18
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT		LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2024-06-30		2027-06-30

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.

This unit standard does not replace any other unit standard and is not replaced by any other unit standard.

PURPOSE OF THE UNIT STANDARD

This unit standard is for people who:

coordinate, direct and/or conduct research into government communications activities in national and community media to assist in the promotion of government policies and objectives.

Persons credited with this unit standard are able to:

direct, coordinate and conduct research.

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING

The credit calculation is based on the assumption that learners are already competent in the following areas of learning when starting to learn towards this unit standard:

Experience in print, radio, television and film or general
communications; or research in any of these fields.

Experience in the field of media monitoring or audience research.

Qualification or experience in Public Relations, Advertising and Marketing.

Basics in or experience, or qualification in Research methodology.

Communications, language or journalism at a minimum of NQF Level 6.

UNIT STANDARD RANGE

The following scope and context applies to the whole unit standard:

The term "media" in this unit standard refers to press, radio, television, film, and magazines, and encompasses print, graphic, electronic, computer, and telecommunications, in the following contexts: public, private and community.

Communication Officers refers to ordinary Communication Officers, Journalists, Public Relations Practitioners, Media Researchers, and Media Marketing Specialists, communicating on behalf of government.

Specific range statements are provided in the body of the unit standard where they apply to particular specific outcomes or assessment criteria.

Specific Outcomes and Assessment Criteria:

SPECIFIC OUTCOME 1

Direct research into government communication.

OUTCOME RANGE

Directing includes initiating, developing and overseeing

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 1

1. Research takes into account an analysis of communication environment and the media in terms of their impact and effectiveness, and their strengths and weaknesses.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 2

2. The research methods used are in line with communication research conducted by governments internationally.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION RANGE

Research includes commercial research specific to serving government departments.

Understanding the ethos of government communications shaped by the Constitutions, the Acts of Parliament and by policies and practices within government.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 3

3. The research is in accordance with government policies for developing communications.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 4

4. The research is directed in such a manner as detect areas for improvement in order to promote the image of government.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 5

5. The research makes allowance for key stakeholders and role players to discuss and examine the methods and findings of the research.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION RANGE

Stakeholders and/or role players include government departments, their leaders and communications personnel

SPECIFIC OUTCOME 2

Coordinate research into government communication.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 1

1. Common standards and uniform methods of research are ensured to be used by researchers.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 2

2. Research is coordinated in line with standards developed and adopted by various government departments.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 3

3. Researchers are ensured to achieve their research objectives according to their specific briefs.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 4

4. Mechanisms for monitoring and analysing government communication and information activities are developed in accordance with specific requirements.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 5

5. A departmental strategy for production and delivery of research findings is developed and implemented within agreed time frames and procedures.

SPECIFIC OUTCOME 3

Conduct research into government communication.

OUTCOME RANGE

Research includes: conducting field research, surveys and facilitating focus groups and/or meetings

Communication includes: Mass, developmental, government and community media

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 1

1. The research is conducted based on an evaluation and assessment of the quality and impact of government communications and outputs by the media.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 2

2. The research is conducted in accordance with development communication principles.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 3

3. The research records the results of the media publication in terms of public awareness of government policies and programmes.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 4

4. The research provides feedback regarding the effectiveness and impact of media and government communications in terms of public awareness.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 5

5. The research outcomes have the potential to enable government to address its communication needs and improve its information delivery strategies and systems in terms of public requirements.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 6

6. Government's communications strategy and image are enhanced by the results of the research in terms of a standard.

UNIT STANDARD ACCREDITATION AND MODERATION OPTIONS

Accreditation Options:
Providers of learning towards this unit standard will need to meet the accreditation requirements of the Public Sector ETQA.

Moderation Option:
The moderation requirements of the Public Sector ETQA must be met in order to award credit to learners for this unit standard.

UNIT STANDARD ESSENTIAL EMBEDDED KNOWLEDGE

Essential embedded knowledge will be assessed through the specific outcomes in terms of the stipulated assessment criteria. This includes the direct assessment of knowledge.

Critical Cross-field Outcomes (CCFO):

UNIT STANDARD CCFO IDENTIFYING

Identify and solve problems:

Planning for contingencies that might arise; identifying challenges related with research and correcting them

Understand the world as a set of inter-related parts of a system:

Acknowledging findings that might contradict other research findings.

UNIT STANDARD CCFO WORKING

Work effectively with others and in team:

Interacting with client departments and the public as well as media in the public and private sectors

UNIT STANDARD CCFO ORGANISING

Organise and manage oneself and one's activities responsibly and effectively:

Ensuring uniformity when conducting research; guaranteeing confidentiality of information collected

UNIT STANDARD CCFO COLLECTING

Collect, analyse, organise and critically evaluate information:

Analysing collected information critically; ensuring validity and reliability of information; ensuring research was coordinated and conducted according to sample

UNIT STANDARD CCFO COMMUNICATING

Communicate effectively using visual, mathematical and/or language skills:

Interacting with target audience; soliciting their approval; communicating with stakeholder departments

UNIT STANDARD ASSESSOR CRITERIA

Assessors should keep the following general principles in mind when designing and conducting assessments against this unit standard:

Focus the assessment activities on gathering evidence in terms of the main outcome expressed in the title to ensure assessment is integrated rather than fragmented. Remember we want to declare the person competent in terms of the title. Where assessment at title level is unmanageable, then focus assessment around each specific outcome, or groups of specific outcomes.

Make sure evidence is gathered across the entire range, wherever it applies. Assessment activities should be as close to the real performance as possible, and where simulations or role-plays are used, there should be supporting evidence to show the candidate is able to perform in the real situation.

Do not focus the assessment activities on each assessment criterion. Rather make sure the assessment activities focus on outcomes and are sufficient to enable evidence to be gathered around all the assessment criteria.

The assessment criteria provide the specifications against which assessment judgements should be made. In most cases, knowledge can be inferred from the quality of the performances, but in other cases, knowledge and understanding will have to be tested through questioning techniques. Where this is required, there will be assessment criteria to specify the standard required.

The task of the assessor is to gather sufficient evidence, of the prescribed type and quality, as specified in this unit standard, that the candidate can achieve the outcomes again and again and again. This means assessors will have to judge how many repeat performances are required before they believe the performance is reproducible.

All assessments should be conducted in line with the following well documented principles of assessment: appropriateness, fairness, manageability, integration into work or learning, validity, direct, authentic, sufficient, systematic, open and consistent.

REREGISTRATION HISTORY

As per the SAQA Board decision/s at that time, this unit standard was Reregistered in 2012; 2015.

QUALIFICATIONS UTILISING THIS UNIT STANDARD:

	ID	QUALIFICATION TITLE	PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL	NQF LEVEL	STATUS	END DATE	PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QA FUNCTIONARY
Core	50585	National Certificate: Public Service Communication	Level 6	Level TBA: Pre-2009 was L6	Passed the End Date - Status was "Reregistered"	2023-06-30	PSETA
Elective	58012	National Certificate: Disaster Risk Management	Level 7	NQF Level 07	Passed the End Date - Status was "Reregistered"	2018-12-31	CHE

PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS UNIT STANDARD:

This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.

1.	Mgwezane Training and Management cc
2.	South Africa School of Diplomacy, Protocol and Public Administration