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Strategic planning has become indispensable for organisations that seek to develop and grow, and grassroots football clubs are no exception. As large amounts of money are invested in football clubs, these entities may be prone to substantial financial risk if resources are not effectively deployed, underlining the importance of strategic planning and management. Against this background, this qualitative study explored the strategic planning processes of grassroots football clubs in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Interviews were conducted with representatives of 12 football clubs affiliated with the South African Football Association, and data were analysed thematically. The findings suggest that grassroots football clubs are like not-for-profit community organisations in their strategic planning approach (or lack thereof). Grassroots football clubs still have much to do in developing their strategic planning capabilities to create value and enhance the sustainability of football. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strategic planning is crucial in facilitating sustainable development of schools. It enables schools to survive and cope with changes and challenges from government policies and market forces. There is broad agreement that all stakeholders need to be part of school strategic planning. In response to the lack of evidence suggesting stakeholders' involvement--specifically that of Heads of Department (HOD)--in strategic planning in schools, and its value in ensuring that all stakeholders execute their duties, HODs' experiences regarding their involvement in strategic planning were explored. Qualitative research was undertaken and semi-structured interviews were employed to generate data. The study reveals that the HODs were involved in some form of planning but there is no evidence suggesting their participation in substantive issues on strategic planning. Further, the study reveals that transparency-driven leadership and collaboration are key factors to ensure HODs' participation in strategic planning. The findings suggest that the involvement of HODs is crucial towards improving teaching and learning.

Many schools in South Africa are dysfunctional, or at least do not function optimally. This statement could be substantiated by just citing statistics about failure rates, school drop-out rates, school violence, matric pass rates, learner absenteeism, educator absenteeism or the incidence of discipline problems and the effect thereof on educators. This problem could, to a considerable extent, be addressed by means of proper strategic planning of the education system as such and of particular schools. Educational planning expertise in South Africa, however, is extremely thinly spread, concentrated virtually exclusively in academics at universities specializing in educational planning. The authors who are academics at a university and who are specializing in Comparative Education and in Educational Planning, have for some time, as part of the application of research based developments and community service, been involved in facilitating strategic planning in schools. Based on their knowledge and experience in the field of Comparative Education, and having subjected it to the test of practical implementation, the authors have developed a model for strategic planning to be used specifically in schools. This article gives a theoretical foundation of the model, outlines the model, and describes the researchers'/developers' experience of employing it in strategic planning at five South African schools. (Contains 2 tables and 3 figures.)

The study presented in this article focuses on strategic planning in developing countries, drawing on the author's experiences in a dozen developing countries in Asia and Africa and focus groups in three of those countries: Afghanistan, Madagascar, and South Africa. It looks at the special challenges faced by planners in developing countries and the strategies used to respond. The enormity of the problems, the magnitude of the needs, and the difficult economic environment found in developing countries posed major obstacles. What is striking in a review of these cases is what can be done through careful strategic and budget planning. The creativity, resilience, and genius of many of those involved were remarkable. For most of these nations, strategic planning was a critical catalyst for change. (Contains 12 notes.)

Strategic planning of building information modelling (BIM) adoption has become increasingly important, owing to the need to minimise BIM adoption risks, maximise BIM benefits and ensure successful BIM adoption. Our understanding of strategic planning of BIM adoption in a developing country is limited. Therefore, this study develops a framework for strategic BIM adoption on construction projects. The applicability of the framework was tested by using it to analyse the pattern of BIM adoption on construction projects in South Africa. The findings of the study demonstrate interrelationships between project milestones and deadlines, the extent of use of BIM software platforms used for the BIM-based construction projects (BBCPs) and the extent of collaboration on the BBCPs. The findings also confirm interrelationships between the regulatory system, the extent of use of BIM software platforms, the extent of collaboration and the extent of integration on the BBCPs. This research has shown that the strategic planning of BIM adoption enables the proper management of BIM tools and processes. The research has also provided practical guidelines for strategic planning of BIM adoption in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The concept of 'learner voice' has received global attention in recent years, frequently credited to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The UNCRC recognises that children have (1) the right to express a view and (2) the right to have the view given due weight. However, in many countries, including South Africa, despite legislation that recognises child rights, there is a relative absence of learner voice and participation in school-level decision-making. Setting: The setting of this continuing professional development (CPD) initiative is GADRA Education, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), in Makhanda Eastern Cape. Method: A consultative participation approach was adopted with Grades 2-4 learners, under the auspices of GADRA Education. Eight child participation consultations were held, followed by a further eight feedback sessions 5 months later. All were audio-recorded. Results: The results of the CPD initiative suggest that the model provides a useful framework for increasing child participation in primary schools. However, further deliberation is necessary 'with' learners around choices related to space, audience, and the alternative 'hat' of the facilitating teacher. Conclusion: Building on our learning, we aim to develop these ideas further through a more sustained research project, involving not only consultative participation but also collaborative participation and child-led participation. Contribution: Insight into the extent to which the Lundy model of child participation (Lundy 2007) can be used as a framework to guide researchers and practitioners in assisting primary school learners to develop their voice and exert influence in matters concerning them.

Purpose: A strategic plan is a document used to communicate an organisation's goals and the actions needed to achieve those goals. Strategic planning in public organisations promotes timely decisions, enhances the management of limited resources in a more rational manner, improves service delivery and induces greater satisfaction of customers. The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to critically examine the strategic planning challenges facing the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services (DTPS), and how these impact organisational performance; second, to identify strategies that can be implemented to enhance strategic planning and performance management in the DTPS. Design/methodology/approach: This paper used a qualitative case study design with the aid of document analysis to provide insight into the research questions. Findings: The paper concludes that public institutions such as the DTPS face a plethora of challenges that militate against successful strategic planning and implementation. A major challenge is resistance to change arising from a desire to maintain the status quo. This paper argues that it is important to promote strategic planning, and aligning organisational objectives with performance in public institutions. Research limitations/implications: This study is based on documentary research and therefore its findings may lack current findings that would have emerged from direct interviews. Practical implications: This research contributes towards efforts being made to make strategic planning and implementation effective and credible in public institutions especially in sub Saharan Africa. Originality/value: In many South African public institutions, strategic planning is viewed as the work of top management, a misconception which compromises service delivery. In addition, strategic planning has been implemented as a direct attempt to inhibit poor budgetary planning and corruption in procurement systems, and in order to effectively manage public resources. There is a need for the department to conduct regular skills development programmes, uproot top-level bureaucracy, and increase innovation, monitoring and evaluation of organisational activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schools in the rural context of Limpopo Province, South Africa have a plethora of challenges, which have a negative impact on learner achievement. This paper argues that for schools to triumph over the obstacles, effective school leaders are necessary. Such leaders must define and communicate a clear vision and mission and work with stakeholders to achieve them. With these assumptions, this paper explores how members of the school management team (SMT) of a rural school in the Limpopo Province define and communicate their school's vision and mission. Through the qualitative research method underpinned by the interpretive paradigm, a case research design was adopted and a single high school sampled to participate. Data were generated from semi-structured interviews with seven SMT members, a focus-group discussion with six teachers, and an observation of the research site. The findings revealed that most participants could not articulate the school's vision and mission. In addition, stakeholders were not involved in the processes of defining the vision and mission and communication methods in this regard were also ineffective. Lastly, the SMT viewed the vision and mission as fixed and did not review them. Based on these findings, I conclude that SMT members must understand that the vision and mission could serve more than a visual purpose when designed as guiding principles to direct smaller objectives within the organisation.

Background Conservation relies on the strategic use of resources because monies for conservation action are limited, especially in developing countries. South Africa's Frog Atlas project established a baseline for the country's amphibian data and threat levels in 2004, and in 2009 a prioritisation exercise developed a strategy for conservation research. Objectives In this article, we assess this strategy for conservation research. Method We conducted a quantitative and qualitative assessment of research undertaken since the strategy was developed. Results The strategy has produced a lasting impact on taxonomy, ecological studies, monitoring and capacity building. Publications in all areas have increased, but particularly in conservation ecology. Other indicators are increases in the numbers of locality records for target taxa, species descriptions and postgraduate degrees with amphibians as the principal topic. We document important milestones for South African amphibian conservation, including the first Biodiversity Management Plan for Species (BMP-S) for Hyperolius pickersgilli , a smart device app that uploads locality data to an open access database, 15 years of monitoring data and new amphibian identification books for adults and children. The Red List Index calculated for South African amphibians shows that the country's species are becoming more threatened (a 1% reduction in 10 years), but a hindcasting exercise suggests that most of the damage was already done by 1990. We provide a checklist for 131 amphibian species in South Africa, of which 82 species are endemic. Conclusion A strategy for conservation research was found to greatly augment the focus of research on South African frogs. A new strategy should focus on fewer taxa over meaningful time spans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Universal health coverage (UHC) improves national health outcomes while addressing social inequalities in access to quality healthcare services. The district health system (DHS) is critical to the success of UHC in South Africa through the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme. Family physicians (FPs), as champions of primary care, are central to the DHS operation and implementation of NHI. Methods: This was a qualitative exploratory study that used semi-structured interviews to explore FPs views and engagement on NHI policy and implementation in their districts. Ten FPs were included through purposive sampling. Results: Most of the FPs interviewed were not engaged in either policy formulation or strategic planning. The NHI bill was seen as a theoretical ideology that lacked any clear plan. Family physicians expressed several concerns around corruption in governmental structures that could play out in NHI implementation. Family physicians felt unsupported within their district structures and disempowered to engage in rollout strategies. The FPs were able to provide useful solutions to health system challenges because of the design of their training programmes, as well as their experience at the primary care level. Conclusion: Healthcare governance in South Africa remains located in national and provincial structures. Devolution of governance to the DHS is required if NHI implementation is to succeed. The FPs need to be engaged in NHI strategies, to translate plans into actionable objectives at the primary care level. Contribution: This study highlights the need to involve FPs as key actors in implementing NHI strategies at a decentralised DHS governance level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: South Africa is reporting higher rates of adolescent pregnancy as compared to other countries. There are different types of interventions that are in place to address teenage pregnancy. However, these interventions were developed using top-down strategy without the inclusion of different stakeholders and adolescents which makes it hard to implement those interventions particularly in countries like South Africa. Hence, this study aimed to develop strategies to enhance sexual health education for prevention of teenage pregnancy in Vhembe District, Limpopo Province of South Africa. Methods: The research design of this study will be Co-operative Inquiry.The study will take place in Vhembe District in Limpopo province of South Africa through collaborating with a Non-governmental Organisation (NGO). The study population will be the teenagers and all the different stakeholders caring for teenagers in their areas of specialization. Purposive sampling will be used to sample the targeted participants of the study. The data collection method will be done in phases and focus group discussions will be used to collect data. Content analysis will be used to analyse data. Discussion: This study will add to the body of knowledge regarding the strategies that maybe used to enhance sexual health education for prevention of teenage pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transformative learning theory has been recommended as a pedagogy of uncertainty for accommodating new beliefs that enable humans to thrive amid the challenges and complexity of our world. As higher education institutions embrace new roles and responsibilities, few studies have focused on how the disruptions caused by COVID-19 may facilitate formative learning experiences. This study explored how registrars responded to the challenges facing clinical training during the first wave of COVID-19, and how the impact of these disruptions prompted personal and professional development. Registrars completed an online qualitative SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis of their training experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were thematically analysed. Four hundred and five responses were received from 54 registrars. Themes related to challenges included mental distress, resource constraints, and compromised and inadequate training. Themes related to strengths and opportunities included new learning experiences, resilience, coping strategies, and enhanced graduate competencies related to leadership, collaboration, communication, and health advocacy. The disruptive and disorienting elements of COVID-19, although situated in chaos, aggravating the constraints of training in under-resourced settings, also provided unexpected learning opportunities. These findings highlight the transformative potential of disrupted learning contexts and the need for responsive curricular to enhance graduate competencies, adaptability, and resilience.

Concerted efforts have been geared towards development in the South African Post-apartheid era at local level. Studies have shown that local governments have recognized local economic development as a crucial tool for addressing development-related challenges. The extent to which the municipalities have ingrained the local economic development goal, however, has received little to no attention. Hence, this paper intends to fill the missing gap and answers the following questions: what are the key components of economic development at the local level in the post-apartheid era? To what extent has the local economic development stimulated growth and development with particular reference to small and medium scale enterprise? What are the donors’ approaches to local development and their critical challenges? Using the secondary sources of data collection, this paper reviews current level of economic development at local municipalities in South Africa. Thereafter, it examines the impact of the municipal government strategies designed to stimulate political and socio-economic development agenda at the local level in South Africa. This paper identifies strategic planning and local resources needed to address the local economic development in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the findings from a study on the dynamic and nuanced relationship between strategy theory and strategy practice in a South African context. Grounded in a strategy-as-practice perspective and based on an abductive analysis of sixteen semi-structured interviews, the empirical findings deepen our conceptual understanding of how the relationship between strategy theory and strategy practice is constituted. The findings further reveal how practice environments influence the effective use of academic knowledge and skills by graduates in the workplace. Primarily, strategy theory is foundational to effective strategy practice. We theorise that strategy practitioners construct the relevance of strategy theory through adaptation and bricolage to suit complex and eclectic practice contexts. The study findings confirm that strategy theory plays a critical role in shaping and guiding strategy practitioners' praxis. As the ontic sites of knowledge and skills application, practice contexts are important for testing and validating academic knowledge and skills. In this relationship, strategy practitioners are the primary actors who transpose knowledge and skills from academe to business. What they become after completing a qualification is critical.

Successful SMEs in KwaZulu-Natal do not all follow formal or 'classical' strategic planning methodologies taught by most business schools. While many SMEs collapse within the first year of operation, others become successful in their endeavours to firstly make a living for themselves and secondly to employ others in order to improve and uplift the economy of South Africa. In this qualitative study, four business models were selected which are taught at most business schools. All SMEs engaged in this study acknowledged the value of using business models to support strategic planning. The medium size enterprises did prepare formal strategic plans and monitored all their activities on a regular basis. Small size SMEs use a mixture of business 'creativity' to accommodate uncertain economic conditions and make quick decisions and have been able to succeed even during poor economic times. A new concept called 'extremely flexibile' strategic planning was introduced to enable smallsize SMEs to consider an alternate method of making strategic plans in a less-structured manner.

Abstract: The concepts of a water resources modeling approach which caters for the varying levels of modeling detail required for broad strategic planning through to the short-term operation of reservoirs have been described by Mallory and van Vuuren [Mallory, S.J.L., van Vuuren, S.J., 2007. Integration of water resources modelling approaches for varying levels of decision-making. In: Fourth International Conference on Water Resources Management. WITPress, Wessex, UK]. This paper addresses the application of this approach in practice on South Africa’s Algoa system, a complex and strategically important catchment within South Africa. The Algoa system was modeled, firstly in reconnaissance mode to gain a broad understanding of the water requirements and the available water resource, then in systems analysis mode to take into account the actual operating rules applied in the catchment, and thirdly in short-term operation mode, to determine when restrictions should be imposed in order to avoid catastrophic failure of the system. The conclusion reached in this paper that this multi-tiered modeling approach is a useful tool for enhancing the understanding of decision makers and stakeholders of how the water resources in a catchment are managed and offers a considerable improvement in terms of the time and effort expended on setting up, running and maintaining several models each supporting it own niche in the decision-making framework. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study was designed to explore the academics' experiences of the performance management system (PMS) at a university and to understand which of their performances enhanced the achievement of the university's strategic goals. Furthermore, the study sought to establish the support required by the academics to achieve the performance as captured in their key performance indicators (KPIs) within the faculty. A qualitative research design was adopted using semi-structured, in-depth, individual interviews to collect data from 18 academics, coded L1 to L18. Interview questions revolved around the participants' four KPIs, namely quality teaching and learning, research productivity, community engagement and participation in management activities. Through content data analysis, participants' experiences were highlighted. It was revealed that PM at the institution revolved around predetermined KPIs that were given to the academics in advance before the exercise. The four KPIs later came out as the key PM practises applied by the university to enhance the achievement of its strategic goals. It was also possible to establish the participants' performance, the support given by the university and the gap between the participants' performance and the institution's expectations, as captured in the KPIs. It emerged that whilst the participants had the needed competencies to ensure quality teaching and learning, they also required, among others, a mechanism to assess the impact of teaching on the students' performance. It further emerged that little was done in terms of research productivity; and that participants required enormous support from the university, and rewards to enable them to publish and supervise. Regarding community engagement and participation in administrative activities, participants indicated that it was more challenging due to pressing teaching loads. Based on the findings, recommendations to enhance all the identified KPIs were proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ubiquitous political interference, especially from the governing African National Congress through cadre deployment practice of patronage, has undermined strategic and operational efficacy within state-owned entities such as ESKOM, contributing to loadshedding due to the unavailability of electricity for many hours daily. A critical analysis is undertaken through desktop literature review and document analysis to juxtapose institutional performance between ESKOM as a non-performing state-owned entity and TELKOM as a performing state entity in meeting performance objectives and strategic goals to contribute to the National Development Plan of creating an economically viable and capable state in South Africa. The study aims to contribute to deepening debates and public discourse about strengthening performance efficacy within public sector institutions and entities and towards achieving the strategic goals of the National Development Plan of building a capable and capacitated South African developmental state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to explore the pathways to mitigate challenges of learner academic (LAP) performance in a Grade 10 economics class in South Africa. The challenge of poor LAP has ushered a myriad of predicaments in schools globally. These predicaments include lack of teacher inclusion in decision making, inability to work cooperatively together, and lack of professional development opportunities geared towards LAP. The study was qualitative, with 15 participants chosen through purposeful sampling from one rural school in the Thabo-Mofutsanyane education district. This paper is couched in critical emancipatory research with emphasis on the emancipation of the teachers regarding pathways they can self-develop to mitigate the challenges of LAP. The focus group discussions were used to gather information regarding pathways to mitigate the challenges of LAP in schools. The study revealed that teachers possess a very equivocal and varying experience regarding the pathways to use to mitigate the challenges of LAP. The findings suggest that for successful implementation of pathways to mitigate the challenges of LAP, schools need to invest in training teachers for team-teaching and avail the necessary resources (both human and physical) to ensure effective quality teaching and learning exist in the school. The article recommends that schools should develop policy frameworks, together with relevant stakeholders, to guide novice teachers on the strategies they can use to mitigate the challenges of LAP in their classes.

Institutional research management (RM) is increasingly seen as a strategic force, not only to raise the research output per academic, but also the quality thereof. RM, therefore, has to attend to researcher development (RD). How RD is achieved, as part of RM, is still viewed as an embryonic field with attendant calls for additional research. Often, criticisms of RM's researcher support efforts come from the academy itself. These drawbacks, perhaps, originate from the nature of research, in that advanced scholars gain strategic research identities through deep positioning within disciplinary specificity, embedded in knowledge-based and methodological originality. This then creates a disjuncture between academia, as researchers, and RM, as support services. Academic staff 's perception of the value of RM may be filtered through how well RM speaks to epistemological, academic fields, while inculcating the same in RD. RM's chances of gaining support and traction for their work from the researchers they support, may well be gained through "speaking within the remit of disciplinary languages". Yet, how might this be smartly achieved in the intensely active and respective roles of the two parties? We present a novel RD model, which has been shown to boost credible conversations between researchers and research managers. The research novelty is expressed through a model of social innovation, which brought methodology into the heart of RM's support and received traction from researchers, who perceived RM as "speaking their language", while triggering conceptual thresholds. The findings extend an under-studied area of social innovation within an empirical setting in a mega-university and theorise how conceptual thresholds spur on social innovation.

This paper discusses strategies to improve the application process for drones and Part 101 of the regulations for the approval of applications. Drones have the potential to transform the world by doing things differently and improving technology in the future. The use of drones is growing fast, and the need for control is important for reasons of safety and privacy. A qualitative method of data collection and analysis was used in this study, using the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) as a case study. Telephonic interviews were conducted to collect data from participants and to understand the issues affecting the drone application process. Drone operators were interviewed to collect data on the drone application process and the regulations. The researcher discovered that there were issues affecting the existing drone application and approval processes, such as restrictive regulations, the inclusion of manned aircraft requirements, slow issuing of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems operators' certificates, and the capital needed to enter the drone business. Recommendations are made to improve the drone application and approval processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been particularly challenged by the COVID pandemic, the climate crisis, war and political tensions including the fuel price crisis. Strategic responses to crisis including cost-cutting as retrenchment in the short run, debt financing to preserve the status quo and exit. However, perhaps the most positive is to innovate for renewal. The paper considers how working with an approach to futures and foresight learning, three different SMEs during the COVID pandemic and beyond formed action learning groups and were able to find future opportunities from which innovation ideas for action in the present could be undertaken. The paper considers the meaning of innovation including what Revans saw as an 'Innovation Paradox' as a gap between invention and innovation. In SMEs, the importance of informal innovation and an innovation orientation are identified. The meaning futures and foresight learning is considered and the focus on the identification of new opportunities for products and services, delivered by a process of action learning. Findings from three SMEs are presented from meetings that took place during 2021 to 2022, when COVID restrictions were partly in place. They show how each programme begins with opportunity questions for the future which then lead to ideas after a consideration of trends and patterns. Further methods of futures thinking are presented which allow further ideas to be developed for innovation. In each case, ideas are selected for business planning after approval. Discussion of the findings considers the importance of futures and foresight learning combined with action learning for SMEs to become more strategic, future-oriented and creative in seeking opportunities for innovation.

The purpose of the study reported on here was to explore the extent to which the role of the principal as ex officio member of the School Governing Body (SGB) facilitated or hindered the development of strategies that are effective and sustainable for the maintenance of school facilities. The rationale for this study was that the South African Schools Act No. 84 (Republic of South Africa, 1996a) regards the maintenance of school facilities as a school governance function and hence under the legal purview of the SGB. This view could limit the role of the principal concerning this aspect of school management. For this research project, semi-structured interviews were conducted with school principals from primary and secondary schools drawn from both historically disadvantaged and privileged schools in one school district in South Africa. It was found that the principal's role is compromised, especially concerning the development of effective and sustainable facility maintenance strategies, as SGBs are inclined to give due consideration to this aspect. The nature of the benefit of the maintenance of school facilities is intricate and is not understood by school stakeholders. As a result, the overall maintenance of school facilities receives less attention and leads to difficulty in defending the cost-benefit ratio thereof against equally competing priorities. We, therefore, recommend that a whole-school approach be embarked upon. The leadership role of the principal may have to be at the centre of this strategy for the maintenance of school facilities.

This action research project describes the application of a large-scale collaborative learning design method to a major educational transformation programme at a South African university. Our findings determined that Carpe Diem learning design was an appropriate methodology for contributing to and creating key moments and movements ("watersheds") in educational transformation in the South African context and beyond. We demonstrated that the impact of an original one-week collaborative intervention, covering all faculties and 10 major degree programmes, was sustained over the following three years. It created acceptance and strong interest across the campus in transforming learning and proved a fitting catalyst for programme renewal initiatives. It placed the university and the service to its students in a much stronger position in unexpected circumstances. We offer suggestions for those who would like to try a collaborative design approach for transformation.

This paper explores stakeholder engagement in the strategic management process for service delivery in government. The main objective is to determine the factors influencing insufficient stakeholder engagement of strategic management processes for service delivery by a government department. The four moments of translation concept of Actor Network Theory (ANT) was utilised as a theoretical framework to understand and explain the interplay between the initiator of the network of service delivery and other actors in the network in aligning diverse interests to achieve service delivery goals. The assumption was that the phenomenon was ontologically subjective and that it was appropriate, epistemologically, to adopt an interpretive paradigm as the leading research philosophy, using a mixed approach of qualitative and quantitative elements wherein quantitative data was used to test the reliability of the qualitative data. Using the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) as a case study, a sample of 26 participants included 11 managers of WCED and 15 Khayelitsha Education Forum (KEF) members representing the community, school governing bodies and school principals and educators of 64 schools around Khayelitsha township. The study revealed that stakeholder engagement could address non-service delivery during service delivery strategy formulation and implementation. The findings suggest that a network of aligned interests should be established for continuous engagement in implementing strategic plans and service delivery in line with the mandate of Government departments and entities. The results imply that intense arrangements and relationship building between government departments and citizens are needed to improve stakeholder relationships and alignment of service delivery expectations to reduce service delivery challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autism spectrum disorder is a growing public health concern in low-and middle-income countries that has prompted a World Health Organization resolution on ' comprehensive and coordinated efforts for management of autism spectrum disorder'. Despite being a signatory of the resolution, South Africa does not have any national policies to guide the management of autism spectrum disorder services. This study explored the perspectives of key government stakeholders on educational and other services for children with autism spectrum disorder in the Western Cape Province of South Africa and their proposed solutions to meet the needs of autistic children and their families. The overarching theme that emerged was 'We are doing damage control'. Government stakeholders acknowledged that autism spectrum disorder services were falling between the 'cracks' caused by competing societal demands on government resources. Participants shared perspectives about autism spectrum disorder services in three categories: a cracked society, siloed service systems and gap-filling strategies. Findings from this study highlighted the need for collaborative efforts between government departments and civil society to develop a strategy for autism spectrum disorder in line with the World Health Organization resolution. Multistakeholder engagement to break down barriers, strengthen systems and develop innovative solutions to improving services for children with autism spectrum disorder and their families is recommended. Autism spectrum disorder is a growing public health concern in low- and middle-income countries like South Africa where there are no plans or policies in place for autism spectrum disorder management. Many children with autism spectrum disorder in South Africa are out of schools and waiting for school placement to become available. This study explored the perspectives of key government stakeholders on educational and other services for children with autism spectrum disorder in the Western Cape Province of South Africa and their suggestion for improving services for these children and their families. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with government stakeholders from the Western Cape Department of Education, Department of Health and the Department of Social development. The main theme that emerged was 'We are doing damage control'. Government stakeholders acknowledged that autism spectrum disorder services were being overlooked because of other demands on government resources. Finding from this study highlighted the need for government departments to work together to develop a strategy for autism spectrum disorder management. Engagement between government and civil society to break down barriers, strengthen systems and develop solutions to improving access to services for children with autism spectrum disorder and their families is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As we approach the deadline for achieving the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is less than a decade away, it is crucial for researchers and research institutions at both national and international levels to conduct rigorous scientific assessments of the progress made towards these goals. The assessment is of utmost importance as it will provide valuable insights and information to political leaders and other stakeholders, guiding their actions and efforts towards successfully attaining the SDGs by the year 2030. This study aimed at providing vivid descriptions of the SDG 2 – zero hunger-related research endeavour. It employed bibliometric analysis and geographical patterns of SDG 2-related publications extracted from Scopus database from 2015 to 2023. A total of 397 documents were extracted where Sustainability journal ranked 1st among the journal outlets of zero hunger-related publications. The publication of zero hunger-related documents grew from 1.5% in 2016 to 29.7% in 2022. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and Chinese Academy of Sciences were the top 2 institutions publishing zero hunger-related documents while the lead article was published by Journal of Cleaner Production with 128 citations. The funding sponsors of SDG 2-related publications were dominated by sponsors from developed countries (such as China, Belgium, United States, and United Kingdom) while no funding sponsors from developing countries were among the top 10. The United States and United Kingdom were the two most productive countries while only one African country (South Africa) made the list of top 10 countries publishing zero hunger-related documents. This study provided political leaders and key stakeholders with in-depth understanding of the SDG 2-related research activities and highlighted research funding and collaboration gaps facing the developing nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The HIV response in the African continent over past decades demonstrates the potency that the words and actions of political leaders have in either expediting or impeding the implementation and adoption of preventive measures at the individual and community levels. The article explores the health communication approaches employed by two South African past presidents (Thabo Mbeki and jacob Zuma) in responding to the HIV epidemic, and contrasts these with the communicative approach of President Cyril Ramaphosa during the COVID-19 pandemic. Approached from this understanding, this article provides a comparative analysis of the communication approaches of these three presidencies across the two pandemics, and considers the variously trusted sources of top-down, government-driven and bottom-up, community-informed approaches to health communication. Critical lessons that emerged in South Africa during the HIV epidemic regarding the need to include communities in communicating about risks and behaviour change have not been adopted into the COVID-19 response. Political leaders are not best placed to communicate about these issues, and, in the context of pandemics, there is a clear need to reconsider top-down communication approaches that are designed without the participation of communities and ignore the interconnected nature of health and other social determinants of health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa has the largest population of children under the age of five and experiences the highest number of child births per annum in the country. Its population has also been ravaged by the dual epidemics of HIV and TB and it has struggled to meet targets for maternal and child mortality. In South Africa's federal system, provinces have decision-making power on the prioritization and allocation of resources within their jurisdiction. As part of strategic planning for 2015-2019, KwaZulu-Natal provincial authorities requested an assessment of current mortality levels in the province and identification and costing of priority interventions for saving additional maternal, newborn and child lives, as well as preventing stillbirths in the province.Methods: The Lives Saved Tool (LiST) was used to determine the set of interventions, which could save the most additional maternal and child lives and prevent stillbirths from 2015-2019, and the costs of these. The impact of family planning was assessed using two scenarios by increasing baseline coverage of modern contraception by 0.5 percentage points or 1 percentage point per annum.Results: A total of 7,043 additional child and 297 additional maternal lives could be saved, and 2,000 stillbirths could be prevented over five years. Seventeen interventions account for 75% of additional lives saved. Increasing family planning contributes to a further reduction of up to 137 maternal and 3,168 child deaths. The set of priority interventions scaled up to achievable levels, with no increase in contraception would require an additional US$91 million over five years or US$1.72 per capita population per year. By increasing contraceptive prevalence by one percentage point per year, overall costs to scale up to achievable coverage package, decrease by US$24 million over five years.Conclusion: Focused attention on a set of key interventions could have a significant impact on averting stillbirths and maternal and neonatal mortality in KwaZulu-Natal. Concerted effort to prioritize family planning will save more lives overall and has the potential to decrease costs in other areas of maternal and child care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 6 November 2020, the "Policy Framework for Internationalisation of Higher Education in South Africa" was promulgated. It provides high-level principles and guidelines for the internationalisation of higher education in South Africa, lays down specific rules for certain aspects of the process and aims to shape the process of internationalisation at South African higher education institutions, redressing past inequalities whilst addressing policy imperatives of higher education in a democratic South Africa. In this paper, we analyse the context and content of the Policy Framework. We first explore the context by discussing the historical background leading to the development and drafting of the Policy Framework, whereafter we analyse the substantive content of the Policy Framework. We consider its suitability for advancing the South African higher education system's internationalisation objectives, interrogate whether it can provide direction for comprehensive internationalisation of higher education in the country and provide recommendations on the way forward devoting attention to strategies for successful policy implementation.

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Globally, the importance of sustainable development is recognized due to a number of interconnected social, environmental, and economic challenges. One of the key tenets of sustainable development is the introduction of clean energy, and specifically renewable energy technologies (RETs). To accelerate the adoption of RETs, however, requires the rate of commercialization of such technologies to increase; classified as multitechnology renewable energy systems (MTRESs) due to the hierarchical nature of such systems, with differing commercialization-based needs. A strategic management framework was subsequently developed as a means to support the establishment of strategies for increasing the commercialization rate of MTRESs, and applied to the case of concentrating solar power in South Africa. The framework serves as a proof-of-concept, given the current industry constraints due to political uncertainties in the energy sector of the country, as well as the type of validation process followed, with the framework yet to be practically implemented. This article encourages dialogue on how different stakeholders may be mobilized in the interests of a given technology, while continuing a recent trend in literature, which seeks to move the conversation from energy analysis to practical measures, aimed at hastening efforts towards a sustainable energy transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Lexikos is the property of Bureau of the Woordeboek van die Afrikaanse Taal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: Policy analysis is an important tool to ensure that policies are rights-based and socially inclusive. The aim of this study was to assess the level of commitment to core concepts of human rights and the inclusion of vulnerable groups in five national mental health policies across low-, middle- and high-income countries. Method: Policy documents were evaluated using EquiFrame, a systematic policy content analysis framework. Policies were examined with regard to their coverage of 21 core concepts of human rights (Core Concept Coverage), their quality of commitment to these core concepts (Core Concept Quality), and their inclusion of 12 vulnerable groups (Vulnerable Group Coverage). An Overall Summary Ranking was also assigned to each policy with regard to it being of 'high', 'moderate', or 'low' quality. Results: Each of the policies scored 'high' on Vulnerable Group Coverage and Core Concept Coverage, although there were notable omissions. All policies, with the exception of Ireland, scored below EquiFrame's criteria for Core Concept Quality. The Irish policy produced a 'high' Overall Summary Ranking; while the Liberian, Kenyan, South African, and Indian policies each received a 'moderate' Overall Summary Ranking. Conclusion: All policies received their lowest scores for Core Concept Quality, signifying a need for policymakers to ensure specific policy actions and monitoring mechanisms to address human rights in mental health policies. EquiFrame offers a constructive tool for mental health policy analysis in relation to core concepts of human rights and inclusion of vulnerable groups, which are considered key in successfully realising the Sustainable Development Goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to healthcare is a fundamental human right for all people, including refugees and asylum seekers. Despite the provision in the Refugee Act of South Africa, which allows refugees to enjoy the same access to health services as the citizens of the Republic, refugees still encounter challenges in accessing such services in Gauteng province. This protocol aims to develop strategies to improve access to health care services for refugees and asylum seekers in Gauteng province, South Africa. The study will be conducted in three phases. An exploratory sequential mixed methods design will be employed in phase 1 of the study; the initial study will be based on a qualitative approach followed by a quantitative approach. Phase 1 (a) of this study will employ a qualitative approach in Gauteng province among conveniently sampled health practitioners as well as purposively sampled refugees and asylum seekers. Interviews will be used to collect data that will be analyzed thematically. Phase 1 (b) will adopt a quantitative approach based on the findings from the initial qualitative study. The ethical principles of informed consent, anonymity, privacy, confidentiality, and avoidance of harm will be adhered to throughout the research process. Phase 1 (c) will be meta-inference and conceptualization. Phase 2 will focus on the development of strategies using strength, weakness, opportunities, and threats analysis and a build, overcome, explore, and minimize model to guide the process. In Phase 3, the Delphi technique will be used to validate the developed strategies. The conclusion and recommendations will be based on the findings of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the home-grown sport with a regular occurrence as equal opportunities for strategic planning. This study employed a qualitative research design which featured in-depth, semi-structured interviews with key industry stakeholders involved in sport event and tourism and destination branding organisations. A thematic analysis of the results revealed the imperative of events of the home-grown nature to contribute to the continued benefits relating to tourism and destination branding. The results further revealed the importance of including other tourism and destination branding offerings as part of the strategic planning and implementation of destination branding which consequently lengthen visitor stays. Moreover, stakeholders emphasised the importance of strategic planning through leveraging activities that underpin authentic destination brand awareness. The results of this paper add significant contributions to destination branding theory by investigating the role of sport for destination brand development. This paper further contributes to stakeholder policy and practice through its empirical findings that outline stakeholder views and strategies of planning home-grown events for brand-related benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universities can play a key role in contributing to a sustainable future for our planet and its inhabitants. In times of constant changes, there is a growing urgency to reflect on the vision of universities as well as their respective practices and projects that can promote the creation of sustainable societies. As is evident in scholarly literature, there is a need to empower universities and enhance their ability to prepare individuals who can confront global sustainability challenges and pursue sustainable development. The United Nations' adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015 recognised that societal problems were territorially blind, meaning that no country has sufficient knowledge or research capacity to solve all challenges on its own. To that end, this qualitative, comparative research study represents the unified effort of two very different countries to explore the topic of education for sustainable development (SD) at universities. The study employed a document analysis of selected publicly funded universities in Canada and South Africa. Gathered documents are from the past seven years and include the universities' mission and vision statements, annual reports, and strategic plans. The three main questions addressed in this work are: (a) What is the status and role of higher education for SD in Canada and South Africa? (b) What areas of SD are on the agenda of universities under investigation in Canada and South Africa? (c) What are the main similarities and differences between the two contexts under investigation? Findings indicate that universities focus on several aspects of SD, namely sustainable education, sustainable relationships, and sustainable initiatives. The paper discusses these areas for each country in connection to their contextual setting. Although the study's findings cannot be generalised, they can be informative for other universities and contexts and thus contribute to the body of knowledge about education for SD in higher education.

The growing perception of professional learning communities as an effective professional development approach needs to be supported with knowledge of how such communities create learning opportunities for teachers. Activities in professional learning communities are underpinned by collegial conversations that foster learning, and in this article we analysed such conversations for learning opportunities in one professional learning community of mathematics teachers. Data consisted of audio-recorded community conversations. The focus of the conversations was to understand the thinking behind learners' errors, and teachers engaged in a number of activities related to learner errors and learner reasoning. Our analyses show how opportunities for learning were created in identifying the origins of learners' errors as well as learners' thinking underlying their errors. Results also showed that the teachers had opportunities for learning how to identify learners' learning needs and in turn the teachers' own learning needs. The teachers also had opportunities for deepening their own understanding of the conceptual meaning of ratio. The learning opportunities were supported by the following: having a learning focus, patterns of engagement that were characterised by facilitator questioning, teacher responses and explanations, and sharing knowledge. Such mutual engagement practices in professional learning communities resulted in new and shared meanings about teachers' classroom practices. Our findings also show the critical role of a facilitator for teacher learning in professional learning communities.

There are growing calls for a decolonised curriculum. With the study reported on here, I offered an understanding of this critical topic through student voices. In this study, I illustrated how super heroes and their stories could contribute to decolonised teaching informed by the findings of the research. I specifically used the views of 30 final-year students enrolled in a strategic management course at a rural university in South Africa. Data were collected using a focus-group technique relying on group interviews. Students were asked to evaluate their experiences during the semester-long course, focusing on their understanding of aspects that could be improved given the decolonial tide. Two narratives emerged from the analysis as crucial findings. Firstly, the students expressed a desire for super heroes in the form of individuals that they can relate to to feature in higher education teaching. Secondly, related to the first request, the students also needed stories relatable to their context as a dominant feature in such teaching. I interrogate the role of the 2 findings in informing a decolonised curriculum and improving my teaching practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of strategies to enable primary health care nurses, social workers, and psychologists (referred to in this article as health and social care professionals) to improve care and support for children who have become AIDS orphans living in township communities in South Africa. Method: Developing these strategies comprised four steps; 1) A scoping literature review was undertaken to establish the legislative and policy frameworks that inform the South African Government's policy directives concerning children living in South Africa, 2) Secondary data analysis of 24 scoping interviews with primary health care nurses (n = 10), social workers (n = 8) and psychologists (n = 6), was undertaken by (SF) to identify strategies and recommendations made by these participants to improve care and support for these vulnerable children. Steps 3 and 4 were conducted using the results from the literature review and the results from this secondary data analysis, 3) The development of a conceptual framework, and 4) the development and population of the strategies. Results: The following strategies were identified, developed, and reviewed by an expert panel comprising academics and professionals from psychology, social work, and primary health care nursing. The grand strategies identified were 1) Strengthening existing legislative and policy frameworks, 2) Enhancing the resilience of professionals, 3) Developing interdisciplinary collaborations and 4) Facilitating an empowering environment for professionals. The expert panel appraised these strategies as having clarity, being comprehensive, implementable, and generalisable, in township communities in South Africa, and being significant. Conclusion: Comprehensive and implementable research-based strategies were developed which could be implemented to improve care and support for these vulnerable children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite several strategies in place in South Africa and globally to prevent maternal mortality and morbidity, maternal deaths remain high, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and lower to middle-income countries. The aim of the study was to identify the challenges that lead to pregnant women's delays in seeking antenatal care (ANC) early and to find strategies to prevent such delays, contributing to a reduction of maternal deaths in South Africa. The study was conducted in two phases. Phase one analysed data on maternal deaths collected by the District Health Information System (DHIS) of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health from all 11 districts over a 10-year period (2009-2019). The data on maternal deaths revealed that there was a very high maternal mortality rate; between 800 and 1 780 per 100 000 live births. This correlated with very low antenatal visits; between 695-895 per 100 000 live births. In phase two, a literature review was conducted using several computer-assisted databases, bibliographies and websites to identify and source current policies. The literature review presents causes of delay in seeking ANC and strategies to prevent maternal deaths. Recommendations were made to consider strengthening education and awareness related to family planning; women empowerment through community health programmes and change in healthcare providers' behaviours and attitudes; ensuring availability of maternal health resources; and developing strategies to ensure that the ANC services delivered are in line with the South African Department of Health Guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This research aims to characterise the landscape and factors for successfully implementing Systems Engineering (SE) and Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) in the enterprise. Research methodology - The study investigated the factors across different industries that affect the success of MBSE in an enterprise using a survey questionnaire. The research focussed on the uptake and implementation of MBSE in Small and Medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa. More than 100 industry professionals participated in the study. Findings - The survey revealed that SMEs have trouble adopting and implementing MBSE because they are unaware of its applicability and lack economic justification and support from upper management. Quantitative data analysis assessed how factors such as MBSE training, existing SE processes in the enterprise, and how long the company has been using MBSE contribute to the success of MBSE adoption in SMEs. Research limitations - The population size limited the study reached and the time available to conduct the research. However, it does not reduce the results' strength and validity. Practical implications - The analysis showed that training and an existing SE structure are highly significant, while the age of MBSE in the enterprise does not correlate with its success. Therefore, these results proposed an adoption framework for SMEs in South Africa to aid MBSE adoption by incorporating training and a clear uptake and implementation process. Originality/Value - This research builds on the growing body of literature about implementing MBSE and enterprises. The conclusions provide valuable insights and guidelines for implementing MBSE in SMEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]