Academic leadership in higher education in the 21st century is very different and more multifaceted than it was just a decade ago. Thus, given the multilayered, dynamic nature of higher education leadership at individual, group and organisational levels, a more nuanced understanding of its role in driving excellent research performance remains paramount. Hence, this study explores the professional and personal nature of research leadership that enables and stimulates high quality research performance. The research explores the research career pathways of ten researchers from various disciplinary fields who had been rated by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa and who were recommended by their education institutions as research leaders. The ten leaders were each interviewed about their research careers. Postgraduate students (47 in total) whom they had supervised were invited to answer an email questionnaire about their personal experiences of the leaders’ mentorship and leadership. In addition, information about the leaders and mentees was obtained from various documents such as curriculums vitae, research training records, institutional annual reports and web sites. The data collected and analysed in the study showed that the research career pathways of the research leaders were highly diverse and were affected in various ways by the historicalpolitical and social context of South Africa. However, across the career pathways, the research leaders had the following features in common: 1) the presence of strong research-centeredness throughout all career phases; 2) they lead by example of personal scholarship and intellectual leadership; 3) their research is locally relevant and globally competitive; and 4) their personal dynamics influence a confident and dynamic people-centred leadership approach. The most notable differences in research leadership across the sample could be traced to disciplinary contexts which ranged from distributed leadership across large teams and entrepreneurial networks to the more prevalent one-on-one mentor-mentee relationships. Leaders who were most influential in driving research performance were highly regarded scholars with extensive academic experience, had served a variety of leadership roles, confidently embraced the complexity of academic leadership and created stimulating research environments. The research also reveals a number of challenges that still remain for research leadership in addressing the human resource transformation requirements of the South African higher education research context. These include issues of 1) individualism and competition; 2) equity and excellence; 3) race and gender; and 4) research career exit and entry paths. The South African higher education system is characterised by pockets of scientific excellence in some disciplinary fields, as illustrated by the career trajectories of leaders in this study, but much work remains to be done in order to build a fully representative research-performing professoriate for South Africa. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) is an important tool to disseminate energy efficiency measures. This study focuses on the main barriers and success factors for EPC market in order to build capacity in this subject. A pilot study of questionnaire took part among the local authorities of four countries within the European Union; Croatia, Denmark, Czech Republic and Slovakia. The results of this pilot study were combined with the results of a literature research to identify common disadvantages and key points of the market. Afterwards, the most important actions to be taken on national and international level in European Union were discussed. According to this study, the supportive legal framework for the energy efficiency measures, access to financial resources, reliable energy consumption data and trust in Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) were remarked as the essential factors for increasing the capacity of the EPC. / Intelligent Energy Europe, ManagEnergy

To strengthen societies and address the increased risks generated by climate change, development projects within disaster risk reduction [DRR] and climate change adaptation [CCA] must ensure the sustainability of capacity development. However, sustainability is currently flawed in such projects, which could relate to the inadequate achievement of empowerment of targeted beneficiaries. Some scholars suggest that vertical collaboration – the collaboration between stakeholders and beneficiaries – is decisive in determining the achievement of community empowerment during implementation. Still, the role of vertical collaboration and the dynamics of this relationship remains unexplored. By comparing a development initiative within climate-smart agriculture [CSA] implemented in two different communities in Eswatini, this thesis aims to evaluate the achievement of vertical collaboration and explore the relationship between vertical collaboration and empowerment. The results show that the achievement of vertical collaboration does covariate with the presence of empowerment and that certain factors are more influential in determining outcomes than others. These factors include the presence of opportunities for all participants to get involved; active, accessible, and participatory communication; bidirectional learning; and providing beneficiaries with voice and decision-making power. The findings support the theoretical argument, demonstrating that vertical collaboration plays a role in determining empowerment, and highlight the importance of considering it as a critical aspect when implementing CSA projects. However, the sustainability of capacity developments could not be identified in either community, suggesting that alternative factors might be essential for long-term outcomes. Further research is required to understand interconnections among identified factors and how they can be leveraged for the success and sustainability of capacity development within this field.

The significance of capacity development programmes, as key driver for sustaining development goals, is anchored in all international fora. This research complements and extends our present understanding of the contribution of capacity development approaches to development and achievement of the SDGs. This is achieved by critically assessing the impact of capacity development initiatives sponsored by the World Bank. This thesis has focused on analysis of implementation strategies and critical assessment of the impact of the projects using multidisciplinary approach, utilising a range of quantitative and qualitative methods. It provides a sound empirical basis for assessing the complexities of these projects. This empirical investigation has identified a wide range of disparities of implementation strategies utilised for capacity development initiatives among the major international players (World Bank and UNDP). These findings clearly indicate that there is no single strategy for the implementation of capacity development initiatives. Thus, based on empirical evidence, as well as a critical review of the literature, the study proposes a model for achieving critical sustainable capacity development based on broad and long-term strategies; input, process, output, and outcome which defines the appropriateness of policies and practices that support sustainable development. It is concluded that capacity development initiatives are relevant and essential ensuring national development and sustainable results. The recommendations include the focus on individual, organisational, and societal factors when planning, developing and adopting strategies for implementing all government/national programmes.

Many Low and Middle Income Countries (LAMICs) still lack sufficient health research capacity to build a local evidence-base with which to inform policy and improve population health. Recognising this, The 2013 World Health Report called for all nations to be producers of health research. To achieve this, new strategies that can develop sustainable locally-led capacity are required. Among the health research capacities needed, ability to conduct clinical trials is important. However, there is no evidence-informed guidance on the best ways to develop locally-led trial capacity. This thesis aims to fill this gap. Three cases-studies using qualitative methods to explore the barriers and enablers to locally-led trial conduct were conducted in Ethiopia, Cameroon and Sri Lanka. Current and potential local trial researchers and health research system stakeholders were recruited. A synthesis of the health research capacity development literature was conducted to compare the case-studies’ findings with wider published perspectives. These data permit an examination of the key issues facing the development of locally-led trial capacity in LAMICs. Barriers and enablers to locally-led trial conduct were found at macro, institutional and individual levels. Although different country research systems, and institutions and individuals within them, were variably successful at conducting trials, the key issues and mechanisms influencing successful trial undertaking were largely similar. Agreement among the case-studies and with the diverse literature suggests that many of the findings will be transferable to other LAMICs, and are also of relevance to other health research methods. A conceptual framework explaining the antecedents and consequences of locally-led trial undertaking in LAMICS is presented. This identifies the following factors as important for supporting locally-led trial undertaking: awareness and appreciation for health research and clinical trials; motivation to conduct clinical trials; availability of human resources with trial knowledge and technical skills; research leadership capabilities; ability to form collaborations, effective teams and acquire resources; trial management dedicated to sustainable capacity development and producing useful research; and system-wide prioritisation of health research. The theories of change presented within this framework are used to develop practical recommendations for development of locally-led trial capacity in LAMICs. These recommendations have four inter-related goals: fostering pro-research cultures in stakeholder institutions; developing trial leaders and staff; providing a facilitative operational environment for trials; and ensuring trial research has an impact. However, to create the will to enact change, advocacy from research champions and conducting trials in a way that benefits local institutions and population health is needed.

Many poor households in South Africa rely on social grants for their survival, forcing the government to spend on the programme, to the detriment of other socioeconomic programmes necessary for poverty alleviation and economy growth. This study investigated the impact of the South African social assistance policies and programmes on the human capacity development of beneficiaries, especially households affected by HIV/AIDS, residing in informal settlements. Following a qualitative approach, exploratory and case study techniques were used to collect and analyse data. In-depth interviews and observations at research sites uncovered rich data elucidated by social capital theory and the capability approach. The thesis commenced with social assistance as implemented in OECD and BRICS countries, including South Africa. The notion of human capacity development, as linked to social assistance, poverty alleviation and economic growth, was presented. Conditional social programmes directed at human capacity development via educational assistance were contrasted with universal social assistance systems. Findings revealed that South Africa, despite its low level of economic growth, has a welldeveloped, selective social assistance system. Social grants assist beneficiaries to meet urgent needs, such as food and transport to hospital and for job seeking. It is insufficient to meet other basic needs, including capacity development. There is a shortage of educational facilities and training programmes in poor communities, which sometimes exclude adult men and youth without Grade 12. There is no guarantee of a job or business opportunities for graduates from skills development centres. Many who have completed their training are placed in entry-level jobs that earn salaries below the social grant exit requirements. Recommendations to increase the array of social grant instruments and to introduce conditional grants for vulnerable adults were made. In particular, the provision of scholarships to needy youths and adults was recommended, augmented by more educational facilities in poor communities, more training programmes, and the establishment of structures that will provide decent job placement and business opportunities for graduates. Urgent provision of decent housing for the poor and improvements in public health infrastructure, roads, water and electricity, in order to facilitate the human development of needy people is further needed. / Development Studies / Ph. D. (Development Studies)

Abstract SEA is currently becoming an important tool for sustainable development. The main principles of SEA are to incorporate environmental considerations to the process of development of strategic documents and to make the process of the decision-making more transparent. Over the past years, there have been an increasing number of countries especially transitional and developing countries such as Belarus that consider joining the international conventions for SEA such as EU Directive 2001/42/EC (the SEA Directive) and UNECE SEA Protocol. This research focuses on the capacity assessment for SEA implementation in Belarus. The benchmarks for SEA capacity assessment were defined. For identifying the approaches for SEA implementation in the countries in transition, the experience of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe was analyzed. The capacity assessment for Belarus was made involved three levels, namely, system level, as well as organizational and individual levels. The paper analyses strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for SEA implementation in Belarus. The study concludes with some suggestions that might help to improve capacity for SEA implementation.

Bakgrund: Människor drabbade av naturrelaterade katastrofer fortsätter att stiga i antal tillsammans med de kostnader som följer i katastrofernas spår. Skadorna fördelas ojämnt mellan länder och samhällsgrupper och utgör både ett humanitärt problem och en fråga om ojämlikhet. Att reducera risker är därmed en förutsättning för att uppnå hållbar utveckling. Sendai-ramverket för katastrofriskreducering 2015-2030 talar om vikten av att riskhantering baseras på en förståelse av risker. Risk- och sårbarhetsanalys (RSA) är ett verktyg för att skapa förståelse av risker och åtgärder att vidta för att reducera dessa. Stöd till att utveckla processer för analys av risker och sårbarheter har identifierats som komparativa fördelar för svenskt bistånd inom de internationella kapacitetsutvecklingsinsatser som Myndigheten för samhällsskydd och beredskap (MSB) bedriver. Trots förekomsten av erfarenheter, lagstöd och vägledningar saknas i större omfattning studier av hur arbetet genomförs och utnyttjas. Forskning om olycksinsatsplanering pekar ut själva processen som viktigare än de planer som produceras. Detta sammantaget visar på ett behov att identifiera viktiga erfarenheter från den svenska RSA-processen, erfarenheter som kan informera MSBs kapacitetsutvecklingsinsatser inom RSA. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att identifiera vad deltagare uppfattar som goda erfarenheter av det RSA-arbete som bedrivs av svenska kommuner med fokus på själva processen Metod: Studien som är av kvalitativ karaktär genomförs med en abduktiv ansats där deltagare intervjuas, inspelningar transkriberas och innehållet analyseras med kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Som teoretiska utgångspunkter att jämföra studiens empiri används Risk Governance, Social Learning och en tillämpning av Design Science. Resultatet: Studiens resultat presenteras i form av tema, kategorier och underkategorier. På latent nivå härleds temat; lära tillsammans till nytta för ett säkrare samhälle, vilket fångar fundamentala tankegångar om att analysarbetet handlar om att lära sig mer, att det behöver göras tillsammans och att resultatet behöver komma till nytta, allt i en strävan mot ett säkrare samhälle. Det manifesta innehållet presenteras i kategorierna; funktionellt lagarbete, lärande och förändring samt främjande strategier och arrangemang. Kategorierna består i sin tur upp av tio underkategorier. Slutsatser: Bland viktiga slutsatser från arbetet med RSA är betydelsen av att forma team av deltagare med varierade roller, kompetens och perspektiv. Vidare att skapa forum och miljöer som främjar tillit och ömsesidigt utbyte. Här är samordnarens roll av avgörande betydelse. Ytterligare en slutsats är att ta vara på drivkrafter om nytta och användbarhet för ett flexibelt genomförande. Behovet av förankring, ägarskap och att bygga på vad som redan finns är andra betydelsefulla slutsatser. Vid stöd till nationell utveckling av RSA behöver lagstiftnings stimulerande men också hämmande effekter beaktas. Hur myndigheters stöd utformas behöver baseras på hur behoven ser ut hos de som ska genomföra RSA.

In South Africa, conservation and tourism planning that incorporate local communities, has a greater significance today than before given the historical Apartheid legacy, which marginalised the majority of the population from democratic processes and economic opportunities. Community participation in the critical facets of conservation and tourism, that is planning, decision-making and management has been an object of research discourse for a long time. Issues around sustainability, governance, employment opportunity and equity, cost and benefit-sharing, land rights, capacity-building, active participation and conflicts have received great attention from scholars throughout the world. Externally-generated (observer) views on the nature and extent of local community participation in conservation and tourism management, more often than not, fail to depict the perceptions of the local residents. Explanations tend to be more prescriptive and are forced onto the stakeholders, who are directly affected by the circumstances around them. The voice of the local residents clearly articulates their views and attitudes much more than any other external views. The goal of this research study is to investigate the perceptions of local community on their participation in wildlife conservation, ecotourism and social development and the information gathered will be used to develop a new model for enhanced private sector-community collaboration and communication for sustainability. The study interrogates factors constraining collaboration, which include organisational culture, power differentials and communication, from the perspectives of stakeholders, especially the grassroots community. It engages with the community for its views and opinions and as a result, delivers valuable criticisms of and suggestions for the improvement of the process followed. A qualitative approach was adopted. Data collection and analysis methods were identified, explained, justified and implemented. This project is a Case Study, carried out in Umkhanyakhude District of KZN, in which Phinda Game Reserve and the surrounding local communities are located. Makhasa and Mnqobokazi are situated about 30-40 kilometres north-east of Hluhluwe, on the R22 Road that links the town with Sodwana Bay. Semi-structured individual and group interviews allow the study participants to identify and describe concerns or concepts that may not have been expected or considered by the researcher Interviews are of particular importance to ensure honesty and impartiality. Documentary analysis allowed to generate inferences through objective and systematic identification of core elements of a written communication. Observation was used to capture situations of interest not readily volunteered by the participants due to notable different views among members of the particular community. The Adapted Nominal Group Technique workshop was prepared and conducted, to augment the other methods. A multi-method approach ensured the reliability of the findings and the validity of both the approaches and the data collected. The historical background of &Beyond, its philosophy and journey towards sustainable wildlife conservation, tourism and social development was discussed. It was evident that due to the proximity of Makhasa and Mnqobokazi, activities of Phinda directly affected the communities and the same applies to those of the communities in Phinda. There was an apparent need to carefully and properly manage the cultural, socio-economic, political and spatial relationships to build a common understanding about roles and responsibilities of stakeholders in a mutually beneficial manner. The findings of the study illustrates that the perceptions and attitudes of the local residents on their participation in decision-making and management of conservation, tourism and social development are important for sustainability. The understanding of land rights issues was restricted to a few. While there was general appreciation for the activities of Phinda and Africa Foundation, the participants expressed their unfulfilled expectations, concerns and also made suggestions for a way forward to prevent conflict and ensure sustainable conservation and tourism. Skewed power relations, lack of participation in decision-making, poor governance, employment opportunities and equity, lack of transparency and poor communication strategies were among the main issues raised by the participants. Constructive criticism and recommendations, together with the Bending the Curve Model could serve as a valuable community engagement framework for private sector tourism companies and private game reserves to involve and work with surrounding communities to ensure more sustainable private game reserves in the future. The study recommends the model with some concrete, practical measures adapted from ideas of collaborative theory, for sustainable development / School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences / Ph. D. (Environmental Management)

International development aid is one of the main elements of international relations and politics. It has taken place since the 1950's through great international organisations and institutions. Nevertheless, the international approach towards development has been considerably criticized. Critics have pointed out the generality of methods of development and the "one size fits all" paradigm. These programmes did not reflect and adapt enough to the conditions of specific areas, and preferred centralised approaches. At the same time a range of regional and local development initiatives has emerged. Despite the great success of local forms of aid, the international aid is still widely in demand and not decreasing. The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate the advantages of international presence in developing education programmes, with the following research question: What benefits do international organisations or institutions bring to national education programmes? Based on participatory observation of education systems in the Philippines and Myanmar, the thesis assesses the main advantages of international development programmes and the benefits for their participants. On the example of two international non-governmental organisations, namely Asia South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult...