“We have so much valuable research and knowledge in our academic institutions and this initiative is the first to bring together all of South Africa’s public universities at a national level to help inform the Presidency in policy decision-making,” says the University of Pretoria (UP) Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences’ Dr Dominique Mystris about the South African Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Policy Support Initiative (PSI), of which she is the coordinator.

Established in April 2020, the PSI is a partnership between the South African government, led by Policy and Research Services (PRS) in the Presidency; the German government, assisted by its implementing partner Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ); and the South African SDG Hub, which is hosted by UP.

The PSI identifies experts from South Africa’s 26 public universities to support evidence-informed policy decision-making. This takes the form of university researchers being involved in a number of PSI projects initiated by the Presidency that support the achievement of the SDGs, as defined in the UN Agenda 2030 and the National Development Plan.

The German government, which has funded the PSI since inception, recently announced that it will be contributing an additional €2 million, based on the uniqueness of the PSI and the exemplary nature in which it has been managed. This extends the German government’s support of the PSI to September 2025.

“The PSI regularly puts out calls for specific projects that address the SDGs, including health, inequality, gender, economic growth and job creation,” Dr Mystris explains.

“We engage with all the deputy vice-chancellors of research at all the universities who then approach their researchers to submit their applications. Once all the submissions are received, the Presidency chooses the academics.”

The theme of the first project call in 2020 was how to attain the SDGs in the context of COVID-19. The PSI received 30 applications from 13 universities and two were taken forward: one was from UP, on pathways out of street homelessness; and the other was from the University of Johannesburg, on information and communications technology (ICT) in higher education.

Another project required academic expertise in public administration law – the legal and constitutional aspects – as well as comparative political and legal systems. The objective was to look at ways to strengthen efforts in the effective implementation and monitoring of the legislative programme, and the fulfilment of parliamentary responsibilities of members of the executive. Academics from Nelson Mandela University, the University of Cape Town and the University of Limpopo were selected.

Then there was a call for contributions to a macro social trends report on South from 1994 to 2021. Academics from UP and Stellenbosch University were selected to look at how far South Africa has progressed in a range of areas such as race, language, age, gender and disability in order to inform policy.

Since the research already exists, what the researchers do, and what they are remunerated for by the PSI, is to translate their research into a format that is usable by the Presidency’s policymakers and talks to a policy audience, whether in the Presidency or Parliament.

“Part of the work of the PSI is to assist academics to translate their research into policy language, as academics speak a different language to policymakers,” says Dr Mystris.

“One of the aspects I’ve enjoyed the most is coming to understand how much academia has to offer the policymakers and how important this translation is. Understanding the structures of government and how they work, and the practical application of research is essential to influence policy and play a role in policy development.”

The €2 million extension will focus on the Presidency with the aim of enhancing its use of evidence-informed policymaking.

“Going forward, we’ll be introducing dialogue sessions about the latest debates in the SDG field,” says Dr Mystris.

“We are also focusing on attracting a larger group of expert researchers to engage in this space and collaborate with early career researchers to ensure we grow the policy advisory pipeline.”