PARTNER PROFILE

Africa Centre for Evidence | South Africa

A research centre with a mission to contribute to the reduction of poverty and inequality in Africa and South Africa by increasing the use of evidence in decision-making.

Overview

Learn more about about the Africa Centre for Evidence team and how PEERSS supports their work.

Team members

Meet the experts that make up the PEERSS team in South Africa.

Research

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Partner team overview

Africa Centre for Evidence Logo with Slogan

The Africa Centre for Evidence (ACE) is a research centre based at the University of Johannesburg that was formally founded in 2016 but has conducted projects to support evidence-informed policymaking in Southern Africa since 2006. ACE’s mission is to contribute to the reduction of poverty and inequality in Africa and South Africa by increasing the use of evidence in decision-making (EIDM).

To achieve this mission, ACE works to promote the following strategic goals: 

  • Greater understanding of the art and science of using evidence
  • Stronger evidence capacities.
  • Meaningful evidence communities.
  • Rigorous and relevant evidence synthesis.

The ACE team is multi-disciplinary and provides the secretariat to the Africa Evidence Network, a network of over 3,000 decision-makers, researchers, and knowledge brokers interested in supporting evidence-use on the continent. ACE’s work is motivated by methodological rigour, innovative thinking, reflective practices, and transparent practices and reporting. Some examples of ACE’s work include pioneering methods for developing responsive evidence-bases such as policy-relevant evidence maps and rapid response services in social systems, developing tools and approaches for EIDM mentoring and capacity-sharing, emphasizing the central role of relationships and evidence networks to make EIDM a reality, cultivating the design of embedded co-production and resilient evidence ecosystems, and experimenting with structures and processes to support the institutionalization of EIDM across government levels.

    Since joining PEERSS in 2018, ACE has worked with a range of national government departments to provide responsive evidence synthesis services in six policy sectors: human settlements, land reform, environmental change, gender, small- and medium enterprises (SMMEs) support, and COVID-19. All of these policy engagements were implemented in a co-production approach led by the demands of policymakers.

    With PEERSS funding and support:

    The Africa Centre for Evidence has produced work ranging from policy-relevant evidence maps, to rapid synthesis, evidence databases, knowledge hubs, and tools for organisational facilitation and embedding of evidence use. 

    Results from ACE’s responsive evidence syntheses have, for example, informed the recommendations of the presidential advisory panel on land reform and agriculture, the national government’s COVID-19 response efforts, the policy and legal input on the draft White paper on Housing and Human Settlements, and the design of a National Gender Knowledge Hub.

    ACE has also collaborated closely with the Presidency and the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation in designing organizational and cross-departmental systems for the institutionalization of evidence-use across all parts of government and policymaking processes.

    With continued PEERSS funding and support, ACE plans on:

    Formalizing the model of co-producing responsive evidence synthesis with government partners and further institutionalizing structures and systems that incentivize the use of evidence in South Africa’s policy development process.

    Continuing to collaborate closely with the Ethiopian, Ugandan, and Burkina Faso PEERSS partners as a member of the Synergy Support Team (SST). This work has facilitated collaborative learning on the different mechanisms used to support evidence-use.

    Meet the experts from South Africa.

    Role
    Co-Team Lead
    Areas of Expertise
    General expertise: Evidence synthesis, Evidence networks, Evidence capacities, Evidence-informed policymaking, Co-production, Evidence systems, Embedding & institutionalization of evidence-use. Specific interests: Stakeholder engagement, art and science of evidence use, evidence for development
    Country
    South Africa
    Role
    Co-Team Lead
    Areas of Expertise
    General expertise, Evidence synthesis, Evidence networks, Evidence capacities, Evidence-informed policymaking, Co-production, Evidence systems, embedding & institutionalization of evidence-use. Specific Interests: EIDM Mentoring, Moral Case for EIDM, Behavioural Science
    Country
    South Africa
    Role
    Senior Researcher
    Areas of Expertise
    General expertise: Evidence synthesis, Evidence networks, Evidence capacities, Evidence-informed policymaking, Co-production, Evidence systems, Embedding & institutionalization of evidence-use. Specific Interests: Capacity Development, Society-nature relations, Environmental evidence
    Country
    South Africa
    Role
    Researcher
    Areas of Expertise
    General expertise: Evidence synthesis, Evidence networks, Evidence capacities, Evidence-informed policymaking, Co-production, Evidence systems, Embedding & institutionalization of evidence-use. Specific interests: Economic development, Health economics, Education
    Country
    South Africa
    Role
    Researcher
    Areas of Expertise
    General expertise: Evidence synthesis, Evidence networks, Evidence capacities, Evidence-informed policymaking, Co-production, Evidence systems, Embedding & institutionalization of evidence-use. Specific interests: Inclusive growth, Digitisation in EIDM, Knowledge translation methods
    Country
    South Africa
    Role
    Researcher
    Areas of Expertise
    General expertise: Evidence synthesis, Evidence networks, Evidence capacities, Evidence-informed policymaking, Co-production, Evidence systems, Embedding & institutionalization of evidence-use. Specific Interests: Gender in EIDM, Social Justice, People-centred EIDM approaches
    Country
    South Africa

    Publications, policy briefs and other resources from the Africa Centre for Evidence

    PEERSS Site Icon

    Institutionalizing evidence-based policymaking in South Africa

    On 2 December 2020, Cabinet approved the National Policy Development Framework. This is a major milestone for the institutionalisation of evidence-based policy-making in South Africa. ‘Evidence’ is mentioned 116 times in the 33-page document and Appendix E ‘The Practice of Evidence-based policy-making’ outlines a range of institutional procedures to implement in order to enhance evidence-use. ACE compiled an input chapter on evidence-based policy-making in South Africa for the development of the framework. The chapter and associated resources for evidence-based policy-making can be accessed below.
    Language

    English

    Year Published

    2021

    Type of Resource

    EIDM Guide

    A policy relevant evidence map and rapid synthesis on land reform in South Africa (combined as a 30-day response)

    Few policy issues in South Africa are as controversial and emotive as the issue of land reform. This was particularly so in the months leading up to the 2019 South African national elections. The expropriation of land without compensation became one of the key election promises of some parties with others fiercely rejecting it. With the issue often a proxy for opposing ideological positions, land reform is a challenging area for evidence-based policy-making: what do evidence and data have to offer when faced with a century-old structural injustice, with an open national wound that continues to undermine social cohesion and reconciliation? In March this year, our team at the Africa Centre for Evidence (ACE) had the privilege of looking into this question when we responded positively to partner with the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation’s (DPME) research unit, in providing technical support to the Presidential Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture.
    Language

    English

    Year Published

    2019

    Type of Resource

    Evidence Map

    Benchmarking the national government COVID-19 response in South Africa

    The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown measures adopted across the globe not only affect the health sector but similarly impact all of society including the economic sector. The South African economy is strongly affected as business activity across all spheres have largely come to a halt. One of the key economic effects of the pandemic is on the small, medium- and microsized enterprise (SMME) sector, which have been left vulnerable and reeling with a need for government and institutional support. Given the crucial importance of the SMME sector in the South African economy, urgent policy measures need to be explored to ensure that SMMEs withstand the impact of the current lockdown and effects of the broader pandemic.
    Language

    English

    Year Published

    2020

    Type of Resource

    Policy Response

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    southafrica@peerss.org

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