Join us for the inaugural webinar hosted by the HSRC’s Longitudinal Studies Hub – an exciting new platform bringing together researchers, policymakers and practitioners to explore how longitudinal data of different types can help us better understand and respond to South Africa’s most pressing social challenges.
This inaugural session will introduce two of the latest South African Population Research Infrastructure Network (SAPRIN) urban nodes: GRT-INSPIRED, based in Gauteng, and USINGA, located in KwaZulu-Natal. These sites are part of a growing national effort to generate high-quality, longitudinal data that shines a light on the lives of ordinary South Africans, especially those in rapidly changing urban communities.
Why are these demographic surveillance site nodes important? What do they tell us about how cities are transforming – and how households and individuals are adapting? How can regular tracking of households over time help us design better policies on population health, housing, migration and inequality? And what new opportunities do these studies create for researchers and decision-makers?
We are delighted to welcome two leading voices to guide the discussion: Dr David Everatt, who will share insights on the Gauteng Research Triangle–INSPIRED node, and Dr Nompumelelo Nzimande, who will introduce the Durban-based USINGA site. Their presentations will highlight how these nodal sites have been set up, what they aim to achieve, emerging insights from the research conducted so far, and how the wider community can engage with the data.
The session will be hosted by the HSRC’s Longitudinal Studies Hub team, who will also explain how the Hub will connect different longitudinal initiatives, encourage collaboration, and make findings accessible to a wider audience.
Don’t miss this chance to learn more about these new developments in South Africa’s social sciences longitudinal research infrastructure – and to ask your own questions about how these studies can shape the future.
Moderator: Musa Mabaso and Ben Roberts
Presenters: Dr David Everatt and Dr Nompumelelo Nzimande
Monday, 29 September 2025
12:30 to 14:00
To register click the link below:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/I19IPYttSJGtb6UcO4QAiQ
For more information contact:
Musa Mabaso at mmabaso@hsrc.ac.za.
Ben Roberts at broberts@hsrc.ac.za
HSRC LONGITUDINAL STUDIES HUB
Professor David Everatt is a leading South African scholar with over 30 years’ experience in socio-economic research, governance reform, and M&E across Africa. A former Executive Director of CASE and founding Director of the Gauteng City-Region Observatory, he has shaped research on youth marginalisation, political violence, poverty, and inequality. He has served as chief evaluator of the Constitutional Assembly, chaired the Statistics Council, and held leadership roles in global sociological associations. Former Head of the Wits School of Governance, he now leads the GRT-INSPIRED urban demographic surveillance site node (Hillbrow, Atteridgeville west, and Melusi) under the Gauteng Research Triangle.
Dr Nompumelelo Nzimande-Mbele is a lecturer and demographer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in the discipline of Population Studies at the School of Built Environment and Development Studies (SoBEDS). She has played a leading role in advancing population studies through her service on numerous national and international bodies. She has chaired the Census 2022 National Advisory Committee, led the Population Association of Southern Africa, and currently serves as Chair of the Statistics Council. Her research focuses on population dynamics in sub-Saharan Africa, with interests spanning mortality and epidemiology, early childbearing, family demography, migration, and urbanisation. She has published widely on fertility transitions, the effects of family-structure changes on youth outcomes, poverty, internal migration, and provincial demographic profiles. Dr Nzimande-Mbele holds a PhD in Population Studies from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and is actively involved in collaborative research, including leading the Umlazi-based (Wards 79 and 82) USINGA SAPRIN nodal site.