Indlulamithi South Africa Scenarios 2030 is a cross-sector initiative designed to stimulate a national strategic conversation about the future of social cohesion in South Africa. It seeks to interrogate the question, “What would a socially cohesive South Africa look like and to what degree is it attainable by 2030?”

Resurgent Resource Nationalism is a qualitative study, undertaken by MISTRA for SASOL Ltd, that looks at the resurgence of resource nationalism over the past ten years. It discusses the concept of resource nationalism and its manifestation in public policy and identifies the concerns, drivers and instruments through which resource nationalism is pursued by various mining jurisdictions across regions.

MISTRA jointly undertook a study with Resource Watch that aimed to track the implementation of the African Union’s Mining Vision 2050. The study examined measures that have been introduced by the various African countries towards realising the Vision. The collaborative exercise between research institutions and scholars was drawn from four countries: South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Ministerial Special Project on the Future of the Humanities and Social Sciences (MSPFHSS) identified a project on converting Heritage Sites into Centres of Knowledge as one of its catalytic projects.  MISTRA was selected, along with the Universities of Venda and Limpopo, to lead the feasibility study for this project.  The feasibility study sought to identify the conceptual approach, the methodology as well as the processes that should inform a full-scale research on this theme, leading to the policy and programmatic desired intervention.  The Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape and Richterveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape were chosen as the case studies for this project.

MISTRA was appointed to conduct a study that will inform the organisational renewal of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). The overall aim of the study was to identify the exact nature of the problems and make recommendations that will enable NUM to undertake a process of renewal. The study employed a sociological and organisational approach with the researchers analysing the current problems that face NUM within a historical context. The study entailed a desktop study and focus group meetings for ordinary members and office bearers. Some interviews were also conducted with a sample drawn from the leadership structures of the union.

MISTRA conducted a desktop analysis of social compacts globally, for the National Planning Commission (NPC). The study selected a few case studies for illustrative purposes, to examine how the various compacts were forged, why they work, and also why they do not work. Existing social compact-type arrangements in South Africa were also analysed to determine their effectiveness.

In March 2014, Harambee hosted a learning session on youth employment and MISTRA assisted with organising this session. The purpose of this learning session was to share empirical knowledge and insights across key organisations involved in gathering and analysing empirical data on youth employment in South Africa.

MISTRA was commissioned by Sasol to assist in positioning the company as a partner with its stakeholders, particularly government at the national, provincial and local levels, as well as community organisations as appropriate. In addition to this, MISTRA was requested to facilitate engagements with the relevant officials as means of improving trust levels and relations between Sasol and the state. Coupled with this, MISTRA was to continuously engage with Sasol to assist Sasol officials to better understand South Africa’s policy trajectory. A number of strategies to address the needs of Sasol were agreed upon by the two parties and these formally began on 11 July 2016.

MISTRA was commissioned by PEU Utilities Africa to bring a deeper understanding, backed by research capacity, on PPPs, particularly their ability to meet the development needs of the country. The report provides a brief comparative analysis of the mechanism of PPPs in South Africa to create an understanding of the PPPs as a mechanism for the delivery of services, to assess the performance of TUMS, against two PPP case studies: Gauteng e-Tolls and the Gautrain and to assess whether something beyond PPPs can be imagined – using the TUMS case study as an assessment tool.

Understanding South Africa’s Democratic Trajectory: A comparative analysis of post-colonial societies is the product of a research project undertaken by MISTRA on behalf of the Open Society Foundation for South Africa (OSF-SA).