Reference was made to the hiring of service providers to assist with evaluation and concerns were expressed since that was one of the core functions of the Department. The Committee stated that the Department needed to build its own capacity and expertise in that regard and not rely on service providers. The Department responded that it was international best practise to include external people to be part of the evaluation of performances since it made the outcomes of the process more credible. It was stated that the Human Science Research Council was used to assist with the Department's first evaluation which was on Early Childhood Development. The point was made that 8 evaluations would be conducted during the 2012/13 financial year.