What We Do

The Land  Administration and Governance in South Africa (LAGSA) programme focuses on land governance issues in South Africa and beyond. The aim is to contribute to the growing body of work on land governance in South Africa. The specific aim of the PARI land initiative is to contribute to improved land governance through building state capacity, enhancing state–CSO engagements by generating empirical evidence and building the state’s capacity to uphold the South African Constitution.

The State Reform programme is centrally focused on the relationship between politics and the state administration – it aims to reduce the influence of corruption and patronage on South African politics and to develop a public administration that better serves its democratic mandate by providing practical, evidence-based recommendations for reforms in key regulatory and administrative institutions.

The Energy Transition Programme’s overarching goal is to contribute to the successful implementation of a Just Energy Transition (JET) in South Arica; a transition that will contribute both to decarbonisation goals and an equitable energy system that reduces poverty and inequality. We undertake empirical research that contributes directly to national and sub-national energy policy. The Energy Transition Programme is a member of the International Network of Energy Transition Think Tanks (INETTT).

Capable and effective local government is central to the South African government’s developmental agenda. The primary aim of this programme is to investigate the factors that undermine this capability and effectiveness; to understand the day-to-day reality of administration and politics in municipalities and the factors that shape this reality.

COMPACT is jointly implemented by the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI), the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) and Integrity Action (IA). The aim of the programme is to achieve a more responsive and accountable local government and to deepen democracy through enhancing local communities’ pariticipation in the IDP processes. It has a particular emphasis on water and sanitation services. The programme thus aims to improve planning and oversight of service delivery in municipalities. The programme will run over four years, starting in 2022.