Research. Advocacy. Implementation support.

Shaping Change

We are an African institute doing research into the constraints to effective governance, underlining the importance of improved institutional design and performance. We work towards building effective and democratic state institutions, for more equitable policies to reduce poverty and inequality.

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For general enquiries, please email info@pari.org.za; for Human Resources enquiries, please email hr@pari.org.za.

What’s happening?

Recent News

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Statement on the Public Procurement Bill 2023State Reform

Statement on the Public Procurement Bill 2023

The Public Procurement Bill is deficient and dangerous Parliament’s National Assembly has passed the Public Procurement Bill, sending it to the National…
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Statement on the Public Procurement Bill 2023State Reform

Statement on the Public Procurement Bill 2023

The PRWG believes the Public Procurement Bill is flawed and some critical changes still need to be made. "...public concerns must be…
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Press Statement | Civil Society Demands Clarity and Transparency in Emergency ProcurementState Reform

Press Statement | Civil Society Demands Clarity and Transparency in Emergency Procurement

Statement drafted by members of the Procurement Reform Working Group (PRWG). The PRWG was formed in 2020, in response to a sense…
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CSWG | Civil Society calls for urgent government action on NACAC anti-corruption proposalsState Reform

CSWG | Civil Society calls for urgent government action on NACAC anti-corruption proposals

MEDIA STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 08 June 2026 Civil Society calls for urgent government action on NACAC anti-corruption proposals The Civil Society…
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Op Ed | Death of cadre deploy­ment is grossly exag­ger­ated — but can still hap­penState Reform

Op Ed | Death of cadre deploy­ment is grossly exag­ger­ated — but can still hap­pen

Pub­lic Ser­vice Com­mis­sion’s expan­ded role cru­cial to state pro­fes­sion­al­isa­tion By Sarah Meny-Gibert and Ryan Brunette Pub­lic ser­vice legis­la­tion doesn’t usu­ally make head­lines,…
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Submission of Comment | Draft Revised White Paper for Local GovernmentLocal GovernmentState Reform

Submission of Comment | Draft Revised White Paper for Local Government

Submission of comment on the Draft Revised White Paper for Local Government To the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Public…
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Watch | Surviving on Four BucketsJust Transition

Watch | Surviving on Four Buckets

Research videos by Mahlatse Rampedi and Ntokozo Ndhlovu This six-part documentary series examines chronic water insecurity in Mountain City and Phumla Mqashi,…
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Blog | Enhancing Procurement Accountability Through Civil Society EngagementLocal Government

Blog | Enhancing Procurement Accountability Through Civil Society Engagement

PARI State Reform Programme From Mexico to the Philippines, civil society oversight is complementing the work of formal oversight bodies, making citizens…
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Press release | Public Service Amendment Act 9 of 2025State Reform

Press release | Public Service Amendment Act 9 of 2025

Statement on the President signing the Public Service Amendment Act into law Issued by the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI) 9 April…
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Podcast | Just Access: The Real TransitionJust Transition

Podcast | Just Access: The Real Transition

Just Access: The Real Transition is a 10-part documentary-style audio podcast that examines the deep social, economic and political implications of South…
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Op Ed | Tongaat Hulett’s woes expose fragility of smallholder farmers in southern AfricaLand Governance

Op Ed | Tongaat Hulett’s woes expose fragility of smallholder farmers in southern Africa

By Gaynor Paradza The sugar giant’s threat of closure not only risks thousands of jobs, but leaves a diabetic hole in land…
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Blog | Ashes to Ashes: Procurement, Coalitions and the Politics of Neglect in JohannesburgLocal Government

Blog | Ashes to Ashes: Procurement, Coalitions and the Politics of Neglect in Johannesburg

Zain Mayet and Waseem Holland The phrase ‘the country is on fire’ is a historical echo of protest, but in Johannesburg, it…
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Latest

Events

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Latest

Publications

Op Ed | Death of cadre deploy­ment is grossly exag­ger­ated — but can still hap­penState Reform

Op Ed | Death of cadre deploy­ment is grossly exag­ger­ated — but can still hap­pen

Pub­lic Ser­vice Com­mis­sion’s expan­ded role cru­cial to state pro­fes­sion­al­isa­tion By Sarah Meny-Gibert and Ryan Brunette…
Submission of Comment | Draft Revised White Paper for Local GovernmentLocal GovernmentState Reform

Submission of Comment | Draft Revised White Paper for Local Government

Submission of comment on the Draft Revised White Paper for Local Government To the Minister…
Report | Climate Adaptation, Justice and Equity: Conceptualising a ‘Just Adaptation’ in South AfricaJust Transition

Report | Climate Adaptation, Justice and Equity: Conceptualising a ‘Just Adaptation’ in South Africa

By Tracy Ledger This research paper presents a detailed analysis of the linkages between climate,…

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Spotlight on Johannesburg

Some of our work across programmes focuses on the City of Johannesburg, what’s gone wrong and what needs to happen.

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Our Work

PARI Programmes

Current programmes: Land Governance, State Reform, Local Government, Just Transition, Compact – Municipal planning, participation and accountability

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Reform

Local

Government

Just

Transition

Land

Governance

Academic Engagement

Compact

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Programmes

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