The HSRC was established in 1968 as South Africa’s statutory research agency and has grown to become the largest dedicated research institute in the social sciences and humanities on the African continent, doing cutting-edge public research in areas that are crucial to development.
Our mandate is to inform the effective formulation and monitoring of government policy; to evaluate policy implementation; to stimulate public debate through the effective dissemination of research-based data and fact-based research results; to foster research collaboration; and to help build research capacity and infrastructure for the human sciences.
The Council conducts large-scale, policy-relevant, social-scientific research for public sector users, non-governmental organisations and international development agencies. Research activities and structures are closely aligned with South Africa’s national development priorities.
The HSRC’s integrated research programmes provide single points of entry – complete with a critical mass of researchers – for interdisciplinary and problem-orientated research in the following areas:
Africa Institute of South Africa
Democracy, Governance and Service Delivery
Economic Performance and Development
Education and Skills Development
Human and Social Development
Population Health, Health Systems and Innovation
Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS, STIs and TB.
A cross-cutting entity, Research Use and Impact Assessment, seeks to extend and enhance the use and impact of scientific research from the HSRC and other sources of research; and to manage the HSRC’s relationships, reputation and brand.
Perceptions that South African police treat people disrespectfully, lack impartiality or transparency, and are prone to brutality
undermine public confidence in them.
Learning recovery requires both in-school and out-of-school programmes.
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Much of the commentary on the July riots, which cost over 300 lives and billions of rands in damage to the economy, has neglected the long history of violent protests in the country.
Examining the impact of school closures on educational outcomes.
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More needs to be done to support South Africa's township communities.
Demolition of uninhabited shacks in Bloekombos, Kraaifontein, Cape Town, August 6, 2020. The land, which was to be developed as a community facility for neighbouring communities, has been illegally occupied by people who have been demarcating plots and building informal settlements.
Rodger Bosch/AFP
Despite millions of free homes built since 1994, spatial inequality in South Africa remains high. A study evaluating a programme to boost rentals in well-located areas found mixed results, however.
Démolition de cabanes inhabitées à Bloekombos, Kraaifontein, au Cap, le 6 août 2020. Ce terrain, qui devait être aménagé pour accueillir des équipements collectifs destinés aux communautés voisines, a été occupé illégalement par des personnes qui ont délimité des parcelles et construit des habitations informelles.
Rodger Bosch/AFP
The low levels of familiarity with key historical events indicate that there are serious shortcomings in the development of national collective memory in South Africa.
South Africans wait in a queue for free food. Understanding the social impact has been key to managing the pandemic.
Photo by Luba Lesolle/Gallo Images via Getty Images
The lead role of public health researchers continues to be important. But there is growing acknowledgement that social scientists have to be present from the very beginning.
As technology - and the data that drives it - becomes more integral in education, policies will need to shift.
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By opening data, monitoring and reporting on air quality can be complemented by data from various sources to create more localised and relevant decision-support solutions.
Mining and utilities businesses have low levels of innovation.
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Research Director: Developmental, Capable and Ethical State (DCES) research division, and Coordinator of the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS), Human Sciences Research Council