The Public Policy Hub (PPH) at the University of Pretoria (UP) aims to bridge the gap between academic research and government public policy. To achieve this goal, the PPH has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with the City of Tshwane (CoT), the Department of Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation (DPME), and the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) to engage in joint research projects with UP. The MoUs are designed specifically to provide an interface that facilitates collaboration and engagement between academic researchers and policymakers. These research collaborations are designed to support evidence-based policy-making by closely aligning with the public sector's specific needs. By adopting a collaborative model, we ensure that the resulting policies are not only underpinned by rigorous empirical data but also meet the high scholarly standards expected of academic researchers.

These partnerships aim to find innovative ways to connect government officials who are addressing critical public challenges with academic researchers who are investigating potential solutions. The objective is to smoothly link relevant evidence and expertise with policymakers, ensuring timely access to information that is crucial for addressing pressing societal issues.

UP's academic researchers, actively involved with the public sector, have identified three practical avenues for incorporating the research priorities of the public sector into UP's initiatives:

1. Refining topics of interest and integrating them into their postgraduate students’ dissertations/theses (Honours, Masters, and PhD).
2. Incorporating topics into group research work within the context of their postgraduate modules.
3. Undertaking the research topics individually or in collaboration with other colleagues (Academic Research).

Academic staff utilising the first two approaches (1 & 2) are provided with a Google form at crucial junctures to report on progress, anticipated outputs (such as Honours reports, Master’s dissertations, etc.), encountered challenges, and more. For those engaging in the third approach (3), upon finalisation of the research project terms with the public sector, a brief project agreement between UP and the public sector is signed.

In any approach chosen, the public sector stands ready to provide access to data and information resources where available, facilitate data gathering as needed, and facilitate knowledge exchange between our students and their experts through workshops, seminars, presentations of research findings, and more. The public sector is also committed to supporting research ethics clearance where applicable.

This process has so far been applied to the following public sector entities. In line with the goals outlined in the MoUs signed with entities, they have recommended the research areas below for joint research projects with UP this year. These areas are aligned with the themes described in the table below and are of interest to academic staff in various faculties at UP: