Case Studies from around Africa on Governance, Society and Development

The core objective of the Graduate School of Development Policy and Practice at UCT is to provide specialized training for senior public servants and to operate as a centre of excellence in the art of strategic leadership. The Building Bridges programme at GSDPP focuses on connecting political stakeholders and research experts to address so-called “wicked problems” in Africa. In 2014 – 2016 we hosted several events around the first programmatic theme of African Economic Integration.

The Leading in Public Life Young African Leaders Programme has brought together 48 emerging leaders from eight African countries for a two week residential leadership intervention in Cape Town. As part of building the alumni network and broadening the conversation, 2015 and 2016 alumni from Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe were invited to write up original “case studies” related to the work they are currently engaged in around the current Building Bridges theme of Governance Activism for Inclusive Democratic Development. They were also asked to reflect on the following questions:

With civic space on the continent narrowing, is it possible to create opportunities for effective engagement and dialogue between civil society and state actors in order to foster inclusive development? How can one avoid frustration of citizens with poor service delivery spilling over into violence and disengagement from democratic processes? What role can civil society stakeholders play in this regard? How can the governance space for engagement remain open? And can data play a role?

Nine alumni answered the call and presented their original case study/think-pieces at a Research Roundtable in August to each other and to other invited experts on governance and accountability. The roundtable provided an exciting opportunity to pause and critically reflect on the work alumni are engaged with in their respective countries, where they hope to bring about change to enhance inclusive development.