A major component of the primary health care (PHC) system is the delivery of health services on a community level, at the core of which is the Home and Community Based Care (HCBC) programme. This study focuses on one element of the HCBC system, namely how those involved in the administration of the community-based health component of primary health care, understand their relationship from the perspective of both the government (WCG - DoH) and the NPO service providers in the Eden District of the Western Cape. Additionally, it analyses the nature and the extent of the collaboration between the two entities. A patient referral tool was facilitated in a collaborative process to assess the ability of the two entities to strengthen their relationship. The study methodology was undertaken utilising Insider Ethnography with the researcher as a participant observer. Ten semi-structured interviews of the key stakeholders and one focus group were conducted with the staff of four non-profit (NPO) service providers operating in the Eden District and with WCG - DoH staff managing the HCBC programme. The findings reflect a substantial disconnect and imbalance in the relationship between the two entities, highlighting a top-down, transactional process at higher levels of management, in contrast to the operational relationships at the local sub-district level which are more collaborative. This disjuncture often disempowers the NPO service providers involved in the implementation of the programme. A number of recommendations regarding communication, advocacy, and innovation are proposed. Regular meetings of government, from district to provincial levels, with the NPO service providers, to strengthen collaboration by all stakeholders, are crucial.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / Emerging contractors play a significant role in the employment and skills development landscape as they are the employers of unskilled and semi-skilled labour in the construction industry (Western Cape Department of Transport and Public Works (DTPW): Contractor Development Policy, 2016; Rass, 2019). In 2004, the National Cabinet approved the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) to encourage job creation imperatives through the provisioning of skills and business enhancement initiatives for the targeted Historically Disadvantaged Individuals (HDIs), specifically the unskilled and semi-skilled labour force of the South African construction industry (Makiva, 2015; DTPW, 2021; DTPW: Contractor Development Programme (CDP) Policy, 2016; Rass, 2019). In response to this call, in 2012 the Western Cape Department of Transport and Public Works (WC DTPW) designed and implemented the Contractor Development Programme (CDP) with parallel aims.

Lifelong learning for adults has almost become compulsory for the maintenance of employability. In the South African context, The National Plan for Higher Education advocated an increase of adult learners entering higher education to facilitate lifelong learning. This study will focus on adult learners returning to institutions of higher education on a full-time basis. The study will determine factors that motivate adults to enter the learning environment, and it will identify inhibitors and contributors during their studies. A qualitative research design has been employed. Analysis of data collected by open-ended questionnaires and in-depth interviews indicated that the motivation to return to higher education was mainly personal and career driven. Students reported on situational, dispositional, and institutional inhibitors they experienced and had to overcome. Contributors identified included various support systems. Recommendations are made in view of the results of the empirical study to assist institutions of higher education in South Africa to meet the unique needs of the adult learner. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Adult Education)

Lifelong learning for adults has almost become compulsory for the maintenance of employability. In the South African context, The National Plan for Higher Education advocated an increase of adult learners entering higher education to facilitate lifelong learning. This study will focus on adult learners returning to institutions of higher education on a full-time basis. The study will determine factors that motivate adults to enter the learning environment, and it will identify inhibitors and contributors during their studies. A qualitative research design has been employed. Analysis of data collected by open-ended questionnaires and in-depth interviews indicated that the motivation to return to higher education was mainly personal and career driven. Students reported on situational, dispositional, and institutional inhibitors they experienced and had to overcome. Contributors identified included various support systems. Recommendations are made in view of the results of the empirical study to assist institutions of higher education in South Africa to meet the unique needs of the adult learner. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Adult Education)