30 October 2025
Lessons for life: Why Africa’s classrooms must tackle climate change nowThe HSRC’s Developmental, Capable and Ethical State (DCES) division conducts research and provides implementation and advocacy support to build a capable, ethical and developmental state, by strengthening social cohesion, addressing climate change and environmental sustainability and creating safe, secure, inclusive and resilient communities in South Africa and on the continent. Knowledge gained through DCES’s work strengthens participatory democracy, reducing vulnerability, enabling better accountability and active citizenship where people are at the centre of governance, and promoting socio-economic and environmental rights. The division’s work is informed by Agenda 2063 of the African Union, which seeks to establish peace, security and integration on the continent, as well as the Sustainable Development Goals and the South Africa’s National Development Plan.
South Africa is a key player in the quest for peace and sustainable security on the continent and globally. It occupies this position as the world faces climate change, environmental crises, food insecurity, pandemics, energy and water shortages, as well as the changing nature of employment, which all affect sustainable development. South Africa’s own challenges also include climate change-induced hazards, high crime rates, gender-based violence, inequality, poor service delivery and poor governance. The DCES division focuses on three core thematic areas, namely 1) Governance, Accountability and State Capacity for Service Delivery, 2) Democracy, Ethics, and the Digital State, and 3) Human Dimensions of Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management including Mining.
Across these thematic areas, DCES researchers work together to examine social protection measures to address human and social vulnerabilities. The unit's research also investigates economic and political security; health equity; corruption, climate change; disasters; food, water, infrastructure, and energy security; migration, disabilities, violence, accountable governance, ethical leadership, electoral politics, digital democracy and transformation, with a particular focus on generating knowledge that informs policy, programmes and practice.
DCES conducts innovative research to improve governance, strengthen accountability, and enhance the state's capacity for effective, equitable service delivery. Its work focuses on understanding and improving governance systems to promote transparency and responsiveness amid inequality, exclusion, and capacity challenges. Key areas include public sector performance, anti-corruption, service delivery in sectors like water, energy, and waste, as well as citizen-state relations and local governance. The division supports institutional reforms by generating evidence for better service outcomes, monitors public attitudes through surveys and qualitative methods, and engages with government to ensure policy impact. Strategic priorities also include promoting inclusive governance—such as disability-responsive services and insights into public servants' experiences—with the broader goal of building a capable, citizen-focused developmental state committed to social justice and constitutional rights.
Drawing on South African expertise, pan-African partnerships, and global research interactions, DCES conducts rigorous research at the intersection of governance, technology, and ethics, strengthening democratic foundations with locally informed and internationally grounded insights. The division supports institutions, government and communities in navigating the evolving digital state. The aim is to lead cutting-edge research to strengthen democracy, promote ethical governance, and harness digital technologies for inclusive citizen participation in South Africa and across the continent.
The division works together with government at different levels, oversight bodies and civil society to improve and strengthen human and social security and sustainability through participatory democracy and engaged research to ensure sustainable development in an increasingly globalising, urbanising and rapidly changing world. This core theme is guided by three sub-themes: Human Dimensions of Climate Change Disaster Preparedness and Risk Management Mining, Just-Transition and Development
