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The document highlights the critical but often invisible role of women in Africa's small-scale fisheries, particularly in post-harvest activities. It argues that gender-blind policies and a lack of disaggregated data lead to the exclusion of women from governance and economic benefits. The author recommends context-specific interventions, the collection of gender-disaggregated data, and the promotion of livelihood diversification, such as aquaculture, to improve women's human rights and economic security.

The document examines the intersection of community livelihoods and biodiversity conservation in the Quirimbas National Park (QNP), Mozambique. It highlights the vulnerability of coastal communities to climate shocks and the mixed success of past livelihood projects, which often failed due to a lack of sustainability strategies or failure to account for socio-economic contexts. The author argues for a systems approach that integrates community-led monitoring, sustainable resource use techniques—such as temporary octopus fishery closures—and improved access to finance through Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs).

The paper examines the macadamia nut sectors in South Africa, Mozambique, and Malawi to identify opportunities for regional value chain development and smallholder inclusion. It highlights South Africa's position as a global production leader and potential value-adding partner, while noting that Malawi and Mozambique face challenges such as limited technical knowledge, poor infrastructure, and a lack of extension services. The document recommends establishing a regional industry body for SADC producers and improving economies of scale through collaboration and the creation of local markets for industrialized macadamia products.

On 19 April 2018, the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) and the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) conducted a workshop for over 50 Namibian MPs and staff. The event focused on integrating parliament into the APRM process, sharing lessons from other African nations, and aligning the mechanism with Namibia's national development plans. Discussions highlighted the importance of parliamentary oversight in implementing National Programmes of Action (NPoA) and the need for a formal parliamentary strategy and committee to manage APRM engagement.

The statement describes the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) as a voluntary, African-led self-monitoring tool for promoting democracy, good governance, and socio-economic development. It details Namibia's progress since acceding to the APRM in January 2017, including the establishment of a national Focal Point and the planned creation of a National Governance Council and National Secretariat. The speaker emphasizes the need for inclusive consultations with civil society to ensure the integrity of the review process and highlights continental challenges such as funding constraints and the need for timely peer reviews. Finally, it notes the APRM's expanded role in monitoring the African Union Agenda 2063 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Agenda 2030.

This report evaluates civil society participation within the Open Government Partnership (OGP) across Georgia, South Africa, and Indonesia, highlighting the risk of "open-washing" where governments dominate initiatives and treat civil society involvement as tokenistic.

This research paper evaluates three multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs)—the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), the Open Government Partnership (OGP), and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)—comparing their mechanisms for monitoring, compliance, and impact on governance and transparency.

The report evaluates the APRM, OGP, and EITI, finding that while the OGP and EITI successfully employ peer learning and pressure to enforce standards and protect civil society, the APRM lags behind due to a lack of critical engagement and a failure to implement sanctions for non-compliance.

The report finds that while MSIs like the APRM, OGP, and EITI produce significant research on governance, they remain largely unknown to the general public and are often perceived as esoteric, technical exercises for elites. A media monitoring survey from mid-2016 to mid-2017 showed that the EITI has the highest media footprint, followed by the OGP, with the APRM lagging behind. The authors argue that MSIs struggle with 'open-washing,' where governments join for publicity without intending to reform, and that their reports are often too long and technical for journalists to translate into public action. To increase impact, the report recommends that MSIs move beyond merely informing the public toward mobilizing citizens through strategic alliances with social movements, using local languages and radio, and adopting a more aggressive 'naming and shaming' approach for non-compliant members.

The research paper examines infrastructure financing in Botswana, focusing on the role of multilateral development banks (MDBs) like the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the World Bank. It highlights that while MDBs provide competitive financial terms and valuable non-lending services, their processes are often hindered by slow loan approvals and procurement systems that are not fully aligned with national systems. The paper also explores alternative financing sources, such as domestic bonds and public-private partnerships (PPPs), noting that their current uptake is limited, leaving MDBs as a critical source of external funding for Botswana's energy, water, and transport sectors.

The document analyzes the macadamia nut industry in Southern Africa, focusing on the disparity between the advanced sector in South Africa and the emerging industries in Malawi and Mozambique. It highlights the barriers smallholder farmers face, such as high entry costs, lack of technical support, and poor infrastructure. While South Africa is a global leader in production, the report argues that a regional value chain is hindered by a lack of cooperation, differing national capacities, and a heavy reliance on exporting nut-in-shell (NIS) to China. It recommends establishing regional industry bodies, improving domestic processing capabilities, and enhancing technical support for smallholders to move beyond raw material exports.

The document examines the tension between the high E&S safeguard standards of MDBs and the capacity or sovereignty of borrowing countries in sub-Saharan Africa. It specifically analyzes the World Bank's 2016 Environmental and Social Framework (ESF), which allows for greater use of domestic safeguard frameworks. The author argues that to avoid the dilution of standards, MDBs and governments must move toward partnerships based on country-specific 'E&S safeguard plans' and enhanced capacity building, while ensuring civil society remains an active agent of accountability.

The policy brief advocates for the adoption of ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) to enhance climate resilience in coastal and island regions. It highlights the protective value of mangroves and coral reefs, notes their current underrepresentation in national climate strategies, and suggests using the 2020 NDC revision cycle to mainstream these nature-based solutions. The author emphasizes the need for quantitative data to build a business case for private investment and highlights innovative financing models like debt-for-nature swaps.

The report examines the effectiveness of the APRM, EITI, and OGP in four African nations, finding that while these initiatives create spaces for policy dialogue and transparency, their success is heavily dependent on sustained high-level political will, adequate funding, and institutional capacity. The EITI is identified as the most effective of the three due to its strict compliance thresholds and narrow focus on extractive sectors. Common challenges across all case studies include a significant administrative reporting burden, weak implementation of supporting domestic legislation, and a lack of coordination between different initiatives, leading to duplicated efforts.

The report assesses three multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs)—the APRM, OGP, and EITI—finding that while they provide platforms for transparency and civil society engagement, their ability to drive fundamental governance transformation is limited by varying levels of political will, uneven implementation, and challenges in measuring direct impact.

The report examines how civil society organizations (CSOs) engage with the Open Government Partnership (OGP), a multi-stakeholder initiative (MSI) designed to increase government transparency and civic participation. Through case studies of Georgia, South Africa, and Indonesia, the authors analyze the gap between the OGP's 'co-creation' aspirations and the reality of government dominance. Georgia is presented as a success story where a permanent multi-stakeholder forum fostered genuine partnership, while South Africa is characterized by tokenism and a lack of political will. Indonesia's experience is described as mixed, with active CSOs facing logistical hurdles and a restrictive political environment. The report concludes that while MSIs can open spaces for dialogue, their success depends on political commitment, institutional structures like permanent forums, and the ability of CSOs to form strategic coalitions.

The report evaluates the impact of the APRM, EITI, and OGP, concluding that while these initiatives provide platforms for dialogue and some policy changes, there is little measurable evidence that they consistently drive significant governance reforms. It highlights the challenges of voluntary compliance, the risk of 'open-washing' by governments, and the critical but often tokenistic role of civil society. The document recommends that donors support civil society capacity, invest in impact research, and align funding with MSI action plans to better foster accountability and transparency.

The document examines the global landscape of data flow restrictions, specifically comparing the regimes of BRICS nations. It argues that data localisation—requiring data to be stored or processed within a specific jurisdiction—imposes significant costs on productivity, innovation, and GDP. For South Africa, the author recommends maintaining its current conditional flow regime while pursuing further liberalisation at a regional level to become a data processing hub, rather than adopting the strict localisation policies seen in China and Russia.

Morocco re-joined the African Union on 30 January 2017 after a 33-year absence caused by the admission of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). The paper argues that Morocco used extensive economic diplomacy and bilateral agreements to secure support for its return, aiming to cement its leadership in Africa and eventually secure AU recognition of its control over Western Sahara. The author highlights a tension between Morocco's rhetoric of African unity and its history of border disputes, suggesting that the AU lacks a strategy to manage the agendas of powerful member states.

The policy brief examines the intersection of the extractive industries, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It argues that 'social risk' arises from a failure to achieve 'shared value'—where communities, governments, and companies all benefit from resource endowments. The authors propose the Socio-Economic Technology Initiative (SETI), an open data platform designed to aggregate structured quantitative and unstructured qualitative data to improve development planning and community engagement. Using South Africa as a case study, the document highlights failures in integrated planning and the risk of 'post-mining ghost towns' due to maturing ore bodies and increased mechanisation. It concludes that big-data analytics can reduce transaction costs for collaboration and ensure more equitable socio-economic outcomes.