Research to Repair the Fabric of Society
As a Research and Policy Institute, SPII's Focal Areas are:
- Understanding Inequality
- Anti-Poverty Policies and Strategies
- Promotion of Public Participation.
Our approach:
- Recognises peoples efforts to improve their lives
- Designs strategies based on peoples reality that work in ending poverty
- Monitors the spending and allocation of resources
- Promotes peoples participation in decision-making that affects them
- We are learning all the time and we share the lessons with those who need to know.
In addition, SPII provides consultancy services in respect of process facilitation, research and policy analysis and project management.
Over the past 3 years SPII has developed research and policy alternatives for civil society organisations on poverty measures, social security reform, basic needs, food inflation and the national anti-poverty strategy. We have worked at local community level, in national forums and with institutions as diverse as NEDLAC, Parliament and the SA Human Rights Commission.
The vision to change
Building up necessary information, working with communities and testing our ideas in practice is an iterative, time-intensive process. SPII has a strong track record of quality research and policy development, as ably demonstrated by our Director, Isobel Frye, a leading expert on human rights and social policy. The team of young, passionate and vibrant researchers compliment the diverse experience of our Trustees, who are keen and active participants in the work and life of the organisation.
Using the research work of the last three years, SPII's focus will be on the following:
- Foster a better understanding of the dynamics driving poverty and inequality in South Africa and to contribute to empirically based policy interventions to eradicate the causes and effects of poverty
- Facilitate the participation and consensus-building around empirically based policy development in South Africa
- Develop processes to monitor and evaluate poverty eradication programmes
- Participate in building partnerships to disseminate innovative practices focussed on fighting poverty and inequality
- Build links with community based organisations to strengthen their own research capacity
- Develop a new modality for communities to work with local government to ensure that the available resources are used to meet their own developmental needs and build community assets
