Research and Documentation

State of Local Governance Review Project

The State of Local Governance (SoLG) Review is the flagship research project of the network and is intended to produce an annual civil society-based assessment of the key challenges, debates and areas of progress with regard to governance and development at local level in South Africa, and to provide local government policy-makers and practitioners with practical recommendations to improve policy, guidelines, systems and interventions where necessary. Through the member organisations of the GGLN, the project will involve extensive consultation with communities and representatives of organised civil society to collect information and experiences and to verify the findings of the research.

The first report of the SoLG project (2008) was entitled "Local Democracy in Action: A Civil Society Perspective on Local Governance in South Africa." The second report (2009/2010) of the SoLG was on the theme of leadership;  “Ethical Leadership and Political Culture in Local Government: A Civil Society Perspective on Local Governance in South Africa”. 

The theme of the third and current report is ‘Citizen Voice and Dissatisfaction’, which provides a useful analytical lens through which to view a changing context and current challenges in local government.

Call for contributions from Members

The GGLN is inviting applications from members to make contributions to the third SoLG report. Please click here for more detail on the call for abstracts, the application process, assessment criteria, and funding conditions and restrictions. The deadline for applications is 23 July 2010.

Research grants

The purpose of this grant is to support the generation and documentation of knowledge that supports the objectives of the network. Full member organisations are invited to submit reserach proposals on topics within or across braod thematic areas related to local governance. The research activities that will be eligible for support include, but are not limited to, action research, surveys, case studies, and popularising research findings.

Please click here for full details on the research grant which includes the application process, assessment criteria, and funding conditions and restrictions. The deadline for applications is 23 July 2010. 

All publications emanating from from these projects are published on this website.