INSTITUTE OF SOUTHERN AFRICAN STUDIES

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The Institute of Southern African Studies serves as one of the principal research centres for identifying, initiating, promoting, and coordinating interdisciplinary, academic and policy-oriented research.

Its area of interest is the Southern African Region - Lesotho, Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. This region is tied together by historic, cultural, political, and economic forces which have far-reaching implications for all who live in it. It is the aim of the Institute of Southern African Studies to study such forces and make them comprehensible to those policy and decision-makers who deal with the developmental affairs of Southern Africa.

Mission Statement

To initiate, promote, coordinate and conduct basic, applied and participatory research with particular emphasis to national development needs in a regional context.

Objectives

1.         To undertake multidisciplinary research (policy and development)

2.         To plan, encourage and carry out policy-related and development-oriented research

3.         To collaborate and network with other universities, government, communities, institutes and scholars in the region as well as interested organisations elsewhere with similar objectives

4.         To provide training and build research capacity

5.         To provide consultancy services

6.         To collect, document and make information accessible to researchers to publish and disseminate research outputs

7.         To harness information and communication technology for socio-economic development

The Institute of Southern African Studies (ISAS) is composed of two divisions:

a)         The Research Division

Mainly focuses on regional and national development needs including issues of rural development, agriculture, human rights, regional security and conflict resolution. The division has recently diversified into the following fields: environment, social development, health, gender and urban studies;

b)         The Documentation and Publications Division

Focuses on technical support in terms of development of information technology, collection of literature/material, which may be general or project specific, publish and/or disseminate of research findings, and other materials.

And through the Research Division plans to re­alise its objectives by:

(i)                   develop a dynamic research agenda taking the constantly changing situation in the region into account;

(ii)                 further improving and expanding the scope and quality of research projects;

(iii)                develop methodologies that empower poor and disadvantaged people to take development into their own hands;

(iv)               attracting more commissioned research and consultancy in areas of the Institute's competence;

(v)                 involving more students in research activities;

(vi)               training junior academic staff to identify research topics, write proposals and execute research programmes relevant to the country's and the region's development needs;

(vii)              continuing to facilitate research for the teaching staff of NUL;

(viii)            developing an effective financial management plan to work towards achieving greater financial self-sufficiency;

(ix)               and launching a post-graduate programme.

Documentation and Publications Division

• continuing to collect documents relevant to the Institute's areas of interest;
• building up electronic databases;
• training readers in the use of database;
• making documents available to researchers and the general public;
• marketing ISAS publications;
• enhancing the publications programme;
• assisting local organisations in developing documentation centres.

For further information on the Institute, contact: The Director, Institute of Southern African Studies, National University of Lesotho.