Name of Center
Centre for Civil Society, School of Development Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
http://www.ukzn.ac.za/ccs
About the Center
The Centre for Civil Society was established in 2001 with support from the Ford, Atlantic and Mott Foundations as well as other funders of discrete projects, for the purpose of promoting the study of South African civil society as a legitimate, flourishing area of scholarly activity. A related goal was to develop partnerships within civil society aimed at capacity-building, knowledge sharing, and generating reflection and debate. With an excellent start in these directions, we now also aim to work across the African continent and internationally, to advance socio-economic and environmental justice by developing critical knowledge about, for and in dialogue with civil society. Our three core strategies are: independent critical scholarship (including provision of research grants); information dissemination; and teaching/training. Our two-dozen strong community at UKZN's Howard College campus is comprised of academics and research officers, administrators, visiting scholars, and doctoral and masters students. Our colleagues include more than 150 research grantees, Research Associates, community liaisons and other collaborators. The founding director was Adam Habib (2001-03), and he was succeeded by Vishnu Padayachee (2004) and Patrick Bond (2004-present).
Major Education Initiatives:
The Centre has conducted training for community/labour activists in research methods and case study techniques; in post-graduate research (through a masters/research and doctoral programme); and in community advocacy.
Major Research Projects:
The Centre has conducted substantial research - and generated book-length publications - on 'New Social Movements', 'Social Giving' and 'African Integration'. Other major recent or current staff research covers thematic areas such as Durban shack settlement community movements, HIV/AIDS advocacy, initiatives in the water sector, debates over mitigating climate change, and economic justice.