Professor Babette Rabie is the programme head for Postgraduate Programmes in Monitoring and Evaluation in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Stellenbosch University. 

Prof Rabie is an NRF-rated (C2) researcher whose scholarship centres on strengthening evidence ecosystems to improve public decision-making. Her research examines how monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems are designed, institutionalised, and used within government and development contexts, with particular attention to the organisational, political, and behavioural dynamics that shape evidence uptake. Increasingly, her work integrates behavioural insights to explore how nudging, incentive structures, and institutional design can enhance the influence of evidence in complex policy environments.

She is co-editor and contributing author of the fifth edition (2024) of the widely prescribed textbook Improving Public Policy, and lead author of Evaluation Management in South Africa and Africa, a foundational volume in the field. Her work bridges theory and practice, contributing to debates on evaluation capacity development, evidence-informed policy, and systems strengthening across the African continent. She has supervised numerous doctoral and master’s students and regularly serves as examiner for postgraduate research nationally.

She has led and contributed to national and international programme and system evaluations across multiple sectors. She served as a key member of the World Bank technical assistance team supporting the Government of Seychelles in the design and implementation of its national M&E system. Her advisory work spans government, multilateral, and non-profit sectors, supporting institutional reform processes aimed at embedding sustainable evaluation and evidence-use practices.

She previously served as Book Review Editor for Evaluation and Program Planning (Elsevier) and has twice been elected to the Board of the South African Monitoring and Evaluation Association (SAMEA), including two terms as Chairperson (2010–2013; 2021–2023). She is an experienced facilitator and has delivered executive short courses and workshops to senior officials, technical professionals, and implementers to strengthen policy design, evidence generation and use, and strategic system development.