During the RU 2024 graduation week, the ISER was excited to have its second cohort of the 'Honours Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies' graduate across the Humanities and Commerce faculty ceremonies.

Upholding human rights requires effective public service delivery. Various models on how to deliver these services have been experimented with globally. In different parts of the world the experiments, ranging from the use of purely private to completely government instruments, have produced mixed results.

The Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) has learned with sadness the passing away of Eddie Webster.

The Future Earth Africa Hub Leadership Centre (FEAHLC) held a roundtable discussion on Wednesday, 14th of February 2024 for the Rhodes University community.

Threats to the earth’s future sustainability require address from everyone. These threats are multidimensional, and mostly come from social and economic use and misuse of the environment as well as its political (mis)management.

The Future Earth Africa Hub, supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) is pleased to host the 3rd Sustainability Research and Innovation Congress Africa (SRI2024) Satellite Event.

The Sustainability Research & Innovation (SRI) Congress in collaboration with Sustainability Science Days is inviting contributions to the 2024 Congress program. This is an opportunity for anyone working in sustainability – from research, business, government, and civil society – to showcase their work and knowledge to a global audience and generate action around their priority issues. In addition to SRI/SSD2024 in Helsinki and Espoo, Finland, the call for contributions invites proposals for the SRI2024 Satellite Event in Africa.

The research work of Prof. Mbatha of Rhodes University’s Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) has been used and cited in the United States International Trade Commission’s

The US is not willing to lower its democratic and human rights standards for countries seeking preferential access to American markets through the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa).

In 1998, Bill Clinton embarked on the longest and most extensive trip to Africa by any sitting US president in history at the time. His goal? To forge ties with a continent which was viewed as something of a backwater during the Cold War.

South Africa remains Africa’s gateway to both Agoa and EU trade and investment programmes due to the country’s resilient market economy and constitutional democracy

The ISER at Rhodes University invites you to join in on this fascinating research-based discussion of the growing dangers posed by the Fast-Foods industry on the health of South Africa’s majority and on the country’s public finances.

The Institute of Social and Economic Development (ISER) at Rhodes University will co-ordinate an Interdisciplinary Honours Degree in Development Studies in the Faculty of Humanities .

The ISER invites you to join us in this seminar which provides a fresh perspective on South Africa’s educational quality challenges, aimed at contributing constructively to national education policy debates.

ISER Call for Post Docs

The FEAHLC is a Future Earth’s Science Leadership Centre in Africa. The leadership and administration staff of the centre are located at two universities, namely, Rhodes University and the University of Pretoria.

Given the background of general exclusion of women in the economy and the labour force in many African countries (OECD, 2018), the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) promises development that is inclusive and sustainable for women at national and international levels (African Union, 2021). But will the AfCFTA achieve this if enterprises are not able to take advantage of cross-border connectivity because of current challenges on the ground? Is the AfCFTA is effectively gender-mainstreamed?

Rhodes University, in collaboration with the University of Pretoria, will host the Future Earth Africa Hub Leadership Centre from 2023 to 2026.

Rhodes University in collaboration with the University of Pretoria will host the Future Earth Africa Hub Leadership Centre from 2023 to 2026.

This Youth Day we’re looking forward to the publication of a new study conducted by Valerie Møller, Professor Emeritus in Quality of Life Studies at the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), Rhodes University and Benjamin Roberts, Chief Research Specialist in the Developmental, Capable and Ethical State (DCES) division at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and ISER associate Dalindebo Zani

Having survived the Covid-19 pandemic, we are boldly future-oriented, and societies worldwide are seeking to address the many problems facing the planet and the world’s population that have been neglected during the past few years.

A discussion of the study will be broadcast on: SABC News Channel 404, 16 June 2023 at 14h00

ISER - Data Analysis Training Workshop Using MS Excel - 26 - 28 June 2023

In February, the United States noted its concern with the South African government that a US-sanctioned Russian cargo ship, Lady R, had docked at a South African naval base for three days in December.

At this point in history, and like many other developing countries, we in South Africa are at an ideological crossroads and are divided in terms of what to do going forward. The choices to be made are between remaining a part of the established Western democracies versus re-aligning ourselves with an emerging world order, initially spearheaded by China’s economic rise for the last thirty years

Ukraine war: One year on Thirteen months ago, few people would probably be able to pinpoint Ukraine on a map or tell you who the president of that country was.

The biggest way in which the war in Ukraine has affected South Africa's the economy has been through the energy crisis. Other economic effects could still be avoided but only by a sheer stroke of luck, argues Nhlanhla Cyril Mbatha.

ISER Hosted the 2023 Honours class Orientation.

The ISER team travelled to the Western Cape to Finalaize the WRC Project.

The Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) at Rhodes University is looking to appoint a postdoctoral fellow from January/February 2023.

On the 12th October 2022. Dr Reesha Kara of the ISER walks across the stage in a proud moment put together for the deferred 2020 and 2021 graduation ceremonies.

At the Basic Education Sector Lekgotla in 2019, President Cyril Ramaphosa said, “We need a functional leadership and accountability system that involves the school management teams, the teachers, the representative councils of learners, the school governing bodies and the community at large.

The Institute of Social and Economic Development (ISER) at Rhodes University will co-ordinate an Interdisciplinary Honours Degree in Development Studies in the Faculty of Humanities

Quality school leadership and management is an important determinant of quality teaching and learning, especially in low-resourced schools.

THE PAPER: In 2016, 15% of the world's 240 million births were to never-married mothers. This global increase in non-marital fertility is characterized by variations across countries and regions. Levels of non-marital fertility in South Africa are far higher than the global average.

Training on basic Ms Excel functions, analysis of public-use data and interpretation of results for evidence-based decision-making.

On 25 May, Rhodes University joined the rest of the continent in the commemoration of Africa Day.

Prominent quality of life researchers Valerie Møller, Professor Emeritus at the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), Rhodes University and Benjamin Roberts, Chief Research Specialist in the Developmental, Capable and Ethical State (DCES) division at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) will discuss seminal research focused on youth wellbeing

The South African government’s hesitancy to react strongly and appropriately to Russia’s aggression on Ukraine is both morally questionable and economically imprudent.

The ISER hosted its first training workshop on data analysis at the end of 2021.

The Journal of Contemporary African Studies (JCAS), hosted at the Institute of Social and Economic Research, will be appointing a new Chief Editor to start in January 2022.

The Institute of Social and Economic Development (ISER) at Rhodes University will co-ordinate an Interdisciplinary Honours Degree in Development Studies in the Faculty of Humanities from 2022

This Colloquium is hosted jointly by the African Humanities Programme (AHP) Book Series, the Centre for African Studies (CAS) at the University of Cape Town, the Journal of Contemporary African Studies (JCAS) and the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS). It brings together a scholarly discussion of the politics of global knowledge production in African Studies with the practicalities of publishing, since this is where the asymmetries are sharpest and have real consequence. The Keynote Speakers are current Minister of Higher Education in South Africa, Dr Blade Nzimande, and former Minister of Tertiary Education in Ghana, Prof Kwesi Yankah.

In these times of great mental health challenges, the ISER presents a newly published and important book resource that discusses issues of quality of life and human well-being in sub-Saharan Africa

Many studies identify issues including, limited access to markets and capital, lack of technical and marketing skills, among the important explanations of why projects to develop small

While grappling with the global Covid-19 pandemic, South Africa is also going through a sociopolitical and economic nightmare.

Dear colleagues, Professor Yusuf Sayed, visiting professor at the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at Rhodes University, has worked with universities across South Africa to produce an evaluation report: ‘Embedding Inclusive Education in Teacher Professional Development in South Africa: An evaluation of the impact of the Teaching for All project’.

The Water Research Commission (WRC) is leading a component of the GEF6 Ecological Infrastructure for Water Security Project (EI4WS) focused on developing strategies to support social learning, knowledge mediation and management for deepening capacities in existing organisations and networks to address issues in the water and biodiversity sectors.

Some 36 years ago I invited onto the Wits campus the recently elected general secretary of the newly launched National Union of Mineworkers, Cyril Ramaphosa.

On Thursday, the 15th of April, Rhodes University Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) hosted a live webinar that focused on the meaning of ‘home’ in the context of the urban housing crisis. Chaired by ISER Director, Professor Cyril Nhlanhla Mbatha, the webinar saw close to 100 participants registered across the country.

As Joe Biden steps into the US presidency, America has now surpassed 400 000 Covid-19 related deaths and mainstream news reports are that many locations are running low on vaccine supplies

I am writing this comment in the wake of the very tight lockdown imposed on South Africa between 17th March and 30 April 2020 in response to COVID −19

Rhodes ISER visiting research fellow Steffen Otterbach conducted this innovative study with Rhodes University’s Professor Michael Rogan and other research colleagues. Their research findings should influence policy and practice in addressing one of South Africa’s major health issues – obesity.

The British Council has launched a research report evaluating the impact of the Teaching for All project, focused on embedding inclusive education in teacher professional development in South Africa.

We have Lawrence Schlemmer to thank for launching South Africa’s social indicator movement and applied quality-of-life studies on the African continent.

Rhodes University’s Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) is pleased and excited to welcome its newly appointed board members.

The Covid-19 pandemic sweeping across the globe has put older people most at risk – physically, but also emotionally.

Following the announcement of the national lockdown by the President of the Republic of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, most workplaces were forced to halt all operations, leaving many South Africans without jobs.

Every year, more than 300,000 pupils drop out of South African schools after Grade 9. The average age at this level of schooling is 15 years old. Some of them aren’t academically prepared to progress to the next grade; some leave because of financial difficulties. Many of the pupils who leave school at that stage remain unemployed for years. Around half of the population under 25 years old is unemployed, in an economy that’s barely growing and lacks skilled workers.

Professor Cyril Nhlanhla Mbatha - Director of the ISER (Institute of Social and Economic Research) - outlines some key production and marketing strategies to help promote the economic sustainability of smallholder farmers, and therefore more successful land reform in South Africa.

The key challenges to fair and timeous land reform in this country include poorly implemented administrative processes, inadequate capacity and an astounding lack of government support, including financially, as illustrated by comparative fiscal budget allocations.

Successfully implemented in Kenya and in East Africa in general, these link smallholders throughout the supply and marketing chain

Rhodes University’s Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) has welcomed its new Director, Professor Cyril Nhlanhla Mbatha, who assumed duties last month

The Rhodes University community is deeply saddened by the passing of Dr Allan William Buchanan Gray. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his wife, Gill, daughter Jennifer, and his two sons, William and Trevor.