Advancing the research and application of data science tools to improve policymaking in South Africa.
We work alongside policymakers and societal actors to identify high-impact applications of data science tools that could accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in South Africa.
The
CHALLENGE
South Africa faces serious and complex developmental challenges. Using the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as framework, South Africa’s recent SDG Report provides a snapshot of the scale of the challenges.
Our
CONTRIBUTION
The Policy Innovation Lab explores the ways in which data science tools can improve policymaking in South Africa across all phases of the policymaking cycle. We do this through dialogue with experts at South Africa’s 26 public universities and stakeholders from the private sector and civil society organizations and leveraging data science to enable the identification and analysis of public datasets for more impactful policies.
The Lab uses a range a methods to help understand the underlying causes of policy challenges and solutions:
Current
projects
The Policy Innovation Lab works with a network of experts from universities in South Africa and globally as well as with non-academic entities. Our partnerships are centred around the topic of policy innovation. Our projects include research, training and initiatives aimed at achieving social impact. Through this multifaceted approach, we want to support policy innovation to ultimately accelerate the achievement of the SDGs in South Africa and beyond.