Our Impact

Policy Briefs

2026
S.L. Gordon, G. Pienaar, B. Roberts
Gordon, S.L., Pienaar, G. & Roberts, B. (2026) Tracking social attitudes towards corruption: a bottom-up approach to strengthening accountability. (HSRC Policy Brief, March).
Corruption remains one of the most pressing national challenges and an obstacle to achieving a developmental, capable, and ethical state in South Africa. The National Anti-Corruption Strategy aims to fight corruption through a focused whole-of-society approach and encourage active citizen participation in the fight against…
2026
W. Lunga, J.M. Kaifa, K. Trollip, C. Baloyi, A. Erasmus, M. Maseti, A. Ntemwa, H. Shikongo, L. Immanuel, K. Sobane
Lunga, W., Kaifa, J.M., Trollip, K., Baloyi, C., Erasmus, A., Maseti, M., Ntemwa, A., Shikongo, H., Immanuel, L. & Sobane, K. (2026) Framing futures: transforming climate and disaster risk through documentary storytelling. (HSRC Policy Brief, February).
This brief is directed at senior officials and decision-makers across SADC ministries responsible for environment and climate change, disaster risk management, social development, education, justice, public works, and communication. It also addresses regulatory bodies overseeing public media and communication. These actors are…
2026
Check, N.A. (2026) Urgency of rethinking humanitarian assistance: Mali in the crossfire of international terrorism. (HSRC Policy Brief, April).
This policy brief asserts that the spread of the conflict in Mali is based on the â??ungoverned spacesâ?? theory. A careful examination of the geography of conflict in Mali and the wider Sahel suggests that its epicenter lies in the countryâ??s â??ungoverned spacesâ??. Despite the disintegration of the Libyan state and…
2026
Sausi, K., Khan, G., Gumede, N., Malandela, G., Bohler, N. & Hongoro, C. (2026) Bridging the implementation gap: advancing substantive democracy in the Northern Cape communities. (HSRC Policy Brief, March).
This policy brief examines two communities in the Northern Cape: Galeshewe, a township with predominantly Black residents facing high unemployment, and Platfontein, a community on the outskirts of town with approximately 5000 !Xun and Khwe San residents who struggle with inadequate housing, limited water access and insufficient…
2026
N. Bohler, C. Matseke
Bohler, N. & Matseke, C. (2026) Enforcing executive adaptive measures to secure a developmental, capable and ethical state as envisaged in the NDP Vision 2030, South Africa. (HSRC Policy Brief, March).
Against the noble aspiration of becoming a developmental state, South Africa faces serious structural and institutional challenges that prevent it from fully achieving this goal. South Africaâ??s commitment to becoming a developmental state, as articulated in the National Development Plan (NDP) Vision 2030, now stands at an…
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