About us

While the poor and the socially excluded in Western societies are likely to be found in towns and cities, in South Africa, and indeed in most African countries, they are more likely to be found in rural and far flung areas of the country and are also most likely to be women. Processes that respond to poverty and social exclusion thus have to take cognisance of not only the spatial aspects but also the gender dimension of poverty and exclusion. Although NGOS and the private sector play a role in addressing the phenomenon of poverty and social exclusion, the role of the state is quintessential in bringing about meaningful change in that respect. This is particularly pertinent to the South African context where the many years of colonial and apartheid policies advanced rural subjugation with women bearing the brunt of these policies.

Against this backdrop, it is critical to question the extent to which the nature, as well as the structure of the public sector’s service delivery system, is cognisance of the rural-urban divide. More particularly, it is also important to question the extent to which the public sector is accessible to the rural based and the socially excluded populace. Answering these questions is essential to designing long-term interventions for addressing social inclusion and rural poverty. The Chair in Sustainable Local (Rural) Livelihoods is posited in the theory and practice of Public Administration and focuses on the public service delivery system as critical to reducing social exclusion and poverty among the rural, mainly women populace. It examines the forward and backward linkages between the state and agencies and/or individuals responsible for implementing public services and anti-poverty programmes in rural areas.

Theoretically, the work of the Chair draws on three distinct (though interrelated) theories – organisational theory, intergovernmental relations (IGR) theory and institutional theory. The Chair is geared towards unpacking how policy is understood, interpreted and delivered by public officials (and the partners) in the context of rural poverty reduction and women empowerment. More specifically, it will examine the policy processes with a view to establishing those criteria that facilitate optimal implementation of policy in a manner that is gender sensitive, rural-friendly and prop-poor. In doing so, the work of the Chair will support the capacity of researchers and public administrators to formulate and support effective public administration processes in responding to poverty and social exclusion within the framework of sustainable livelihoods.

OBJECTIVES OF THE CHAIR

FRAMEWORK DEVELOPMENT

Developing a framework to examine how pro-poor and rural friendly policy goals are understood, interpreted and delivered by officials and their partners in local contexts and providing a public policy assessment framework with criteria that aid effective pro-poor service delivery mechanisms

EMBEDDING A STRONG GENDER DIMENSION

The work of the Chair will support the capacity of researchers and public administrators to formulate and support effective public administration processes in responding to poverty and social exclusion within the framework of sustainable livelihoods.

CROSS-COUNTRY PRO-POOR SERVICE DELIVERY

Facilitating the development of a cross-country pro-poor service delivery research infrastructure with local knowledge and expertise applied to local policy contexts.

POCKETS OF EXCELLENCE

Identifying criteria for determining pockets of excellence in the public service and understanding the features that make pockets of excellence perform better than other public units in the neighbourhood

INTER-INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH

Strengthening inter-institutional research relationships to develop research synergies and complementarities to support and sustain effective policy analysis in all partner institutions

PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERY

Examining the structure of public service delivery in rural areas and determine what fundamental issues lead to the poor state of service delivery in rural areas and, by extension, the reason for persistent social exclusion of the rural populace

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