The Africa Institute of South Africa (AISA) draws strategic guidance from Agenda 2063, South Africa’s NDP: Vision 2030, the Department of Science and Innovation’s Strategy for Africa, and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation’s African Foreign Policy objectives.
Our work
AISA undertakes basic and applied policy-relevant research addressing the development challenges and opportunities across the African continent. It seeks to provide leadership and harness African agency to transform African societies into dynamic, peaceful, and prosperous spaces.
The institute:
• Acts as a hub for Africa-centred knowledge production, policy engagement, and implementation support;
• Provides thought leadership on critical continental issues and serves as a catalyst for transformation;
• Drives the intellectual project toward a ‘Better Africa’;
• Collaborates with and convenes African scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and civil society, amplifying African voices and leveraging capacities to improve knowledge, policy, and practice; and
• Builds capacity by training young scholars, future leaders, and women throughout Africa
The BRICS Research Centre positions the HSRC and South Africa at the forefront of knowledge production, policy engagement, and science diplomacy within a rapidly evolving multipolar world.
As BRICS increasingly shapes global economic, scientific, and development agendas, the research centre enables the HSRC to generate evidence-based insights on social, economic, health, and governance issues affecting the Global South, establishing South Africa as a thought leader and knowledge broker within the bloc.
The centre supports comparative research, facilitates science diplomacy, and deepens partnerships and research fellowships with leading institutions across BRICS countries, thereby enhancing South Africa’s capacity to influence global policy debates, leverage collaborative innovation, and advance inclusive development priorities aligned with national interests and continental aspirations.
