Quick links:
Education
This project for the Department of Higher Education and Training involved writing this report on DHET’s behalf, analysing their own data.
This study was undertaken for Unicef Namibia and the Namibian Ministry of Gender Equity and Child Welfare. Chris van Wyk advised and assisted the Ministry with undertaking the survey and a larger RESEP team analysed the data.
Namibian examination outcomes and trends
This was really two linked studies, looking at all Namibian examinations for which they have data, and at how social and also psycho-social factors influencing such outcomes. It was funded by Unicef Namibia and undertaken for the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture.
What SA-SAMS/Data Driven Districts data reveal about SA school education
This study analysed schools’ administrative (SA-SAMS) data collected on behalf of the DBE by the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation and the New Leaders Foundation, utilising the longitudinal component of the data that has thus far not been analysed. The study was funded by the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation
The Early Learning Programme (ELP)
This programme is funded by the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation Endowment and is renewable for three years. It involves a wide range of research and other activities related to early learning, including workshops, training, policy briefs and other dissemination of research. The main research flowing from that for 2020 is on benchmarking and performance on early learning in African languages. A strong steering committee was formed, with members Thabo Mabogoane (Presidency), Carol Nuga Deliwe, Stephen Taylor and Mamiki Maboya (all DBE), Edward Mosuwe (Gauteng DoE), Penny Vinjevold (EC DoE), Salie Abrahams (WC DoE), Nick Taylor (Joint Education Trust) and Nic Spaull (Funda Wande).
This project for the DG Murray Trust investigated repetition and dropout in South African schools.
Analysis of matric data for the ‘Maths Challenge’
This study for Tshikululu on behalf of the Enoch and Optima Trusts assisted them in identifying schools to support for their ‘Maths Challenge’.
The demand and supply of teachers in South Africa
This study for DHET was held back by the availability of data, but is now nearing completion.
Martin Gustafsson has undertaken work for UIS on the pace of progress in cognitive educational outcomes, looking at both past performance and at future prospects.
Education research with World Bank
Servaas van der Berg undertook a Public Expenditure Review of Education in Botswana and an investigation of educational inefficiency in Zimbabwe for the World Bank.
Labour
Education and skills for the economy and links to labour markets in South Africa
This project for the National Planning Commission is aimed at evaluating education aspects of the National Development Plan and links to the labour market in the light of new information and changed circumstances. It is funded by GIZ and will be completed in early 2020.
Health
Private hospital satisfaction
This joint work with Mediclinic and COHSASA explores the information asymmetries in health visits by analysing a large data set with comprehensive details on 10 years of hospital visits.
Needs and cost of HRH
Ronelle Burger and Kholekile Malindi assisted the National Department of Health with their human resource policy framework and planning.
Development
Roots and wings: Improved quality in subsidised housing
This project is a collaboration between Stellenbosch University, Theewaterskloof Municipality and Western Cape Department of Human Settlements. The aim is to use upward and downward accountability interventions to improve the quality of subsidised housing.
Social divides
We surveyed more than 300 individuals in two busy Gauteng malls to examine giving the relationship between social identities and giving behaviour. To distinguish stated preferences from actual behaviour we included a dictator game with real money. This is joint work involving Ronelle Burger, Mosima Ngwenya, Justine Burns from UCT and Marisa von Fintel.
Life-course analysis using Birth to Twenty+ data
In ongoing work funded by the Centre of Excellence in Human Development at WITS, RESEP researchers are collaborating with Wits, Emory University and the HSRC to investigate linkages of various skills to education and labour market outcomes later in life.
Office of Astronomy for Development and Spatial Economics
RESEP has a memorandum of agreement with the OAD, which allows our researchers to think through overlaps in development work and astronomy. Tawanda Chingozha has completed a joint project using citizen science methods and remotely-sensed data to measure changes in informality in Zimbabwe. We will take part in their workshop with the development community early next year, and continue to explore avenues of collaboration to push methodological boundaries – especially in the use of satellite data for economic analysis.
Food security in Zimbabwe
With difficult economic conditions in Zimbabwe, food security is under strain. The World Food Programme has requested regular updates with newly collected datasets to monitor the situation in that country.
