Under the Small Enterprise Development (SED) programme, TIPS conducted a number of broad-ranging, qualitative assessments of the outcomes of government's policy, strategy and initiatives in small enterprise development.

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The Southern African Development Research Network (SADRN) was a broad-based policy and research network which aimed to increase the supply of policy-relevant research in the region and strengthen evidence-based policy-making. SADRN focused on two main themes: industrial policy and sector development at the regional level; trade policy and its linkages to pro-poor growth.

The objectives of the Network were to:

• Increase the supply of policy-relevant research in the SADC region by creating a pool of suitably-skilled researchers based in institutions in SADC
• Improve the policy-relevance of research through growing the capacity of policy-makers to be discerning research 'users'
• Develop an appreciation for evidence-based policy making by engaging policy-makers in the design, specification, implementation and review of research projects
• Build institutional capacity in key organizations in SADC via the creation of 'centres of excellence' in focused thematic areas of research.

The Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis (BIDPA) hosted the trade and pro-poor growth thematic group.

BIDPA is a non-governmental research organisation established by a deed of trust. The two key areas of BIDPA's mandate are development policy analysis and capacity building. Its aim is to promote policy analysis through research, capacity building, assisting organizations or individuals where appropriate as well as to monitor Botswana's economic performance. BIDPA also disseminates policy research results.

A team of researchers from the University of Mauritius, Faculty of Business, Management and Law  hosted the Services Sector Development and Impact on Poverty thematic working group. For more about the University of Mauritius, please visit http://www.uom.ac.mu/.

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The South Africa Trade and Poverty Programme (SATPP) provides assistance in a wide range of activities to help South Africa formulate, negotiate and implement pro-poor trade policies. It provides assistance to the private sector and civil society, as well as to government through stake-holder seminars, research and studies, assistance with institutional development within the dti, and capacity-building in a range of trade policy-related areas.

Emily joined TIPS in 2004 and is responsible for office assistance and maintenance. She has two years' general secretarial experience and has completed a number of computer software courses, including Microsoft Word and Excel.

In literature or current economic life, the concept of 'small businesses' often covers different implicit areas of focus. The lack of clarity about what is understood as a small business can affect the reliability of research findings. Not surprisingly, since there are different concepts of businesses, there are also different qualities of data.

Lack of data is particularly acute among unregistered businesses that employ only casual staff or none, are only a minor side occupation of their owner, or operate on an ‘on-and-off’ basis. While in developed countries these cases can be considered as marginal, in South Africa many of these informal and micro enterprises are key to the livelihoods of millions of people.

Generally speaking, the methodology for this Review was defined according to three principles:

• A multiple data source approach
• Minimisation of the effect of short-term fluctuations
• Minimisation of extrapolations.

As part of the DFID-funded South Africa Trade and Poverty Programme and its objective to promote informed dialogue on South Africa's trade policy amongst key stakeholders, TIPS in 2005 implemented a seminar series under the auspices of Nedlac. These seminars provided a platform for government and civil society representatives (business, labour and broader social interest groups) to discuss critical issues concerning the role of trade policy in fostering poverty reduction and human development in South Africa.

The concept of the developmental state has often been invoked in South Africa, especially under the democratic dispensation following the non-racial, non-sexist multi-party elections in 1994. But much of the discourse tends to focus on the expected role of the state and its objectives rather than its institutional architecture.

This workshop examined the concept of the developmental state and set out its structural/organisational characteristics, as well as its role in economic transformation.

The seminar is part of the the South Africa Trade and Poverty Programme (SATPP) funded by the Department For International Development (DFID-SA), and is organised by NEDLAC and TIPS.

More than ten years have passed since the advent of democracy in South Africa. Over this period, economic growth has been robust and employment has expanded. Nevertheless, unemployment has risen substantially and improvements in terms of poverty and inequality have been slow to materialise. It has therefore become increasingly clear that the major challenge facing the country is twofold: to lift the economy onto a path of higher growth and to ensure that the benefits of this growth are enjoyed by all members of society. This notion is encapsulated in the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (ASGISA), spearheaded by the Deputy President of South Africa.

This year's conference will look in detail at the concept of accelerated and shared growth and, specifically, how the poor are to be engaged in development, covering areas ranging from small business development, trade and industrial concentration, to quality education, skills development and youth unemployment.

For more information on the conference, view the following links:

As part of the DFID-funded South Africa Trade and Poverty Programme and its objective to promote informed dialogue on South Africa's trade policy amongst key stakeholders, TIPS in 2005 implemented a seminar series under the auspices of Nedlac. These seminars provided a platform for government and civil society representatives (business, labour and broader social interest groups) to discuss critical issues concerning the role of trade policy in fostering poverty reduction and human development in South Africa.

A team of economic researchers from Stellenbosch University recently attempted to estimate trends on poverty in the post-transition period, focusing particularly on trends since the turn of the century. Using information from more than 30 datasets, they find robust evidence of a strong decline in poverty (both in terms of number of poor people and the proportion they form of the total population), largely due to an increase of R27-billion in public expenditure on social grants since 2000.

Prof. Servaas van der Berg and Megan Louw presented the findings at the eighth SATPP Policy Dialogue Workshop in the series.

The seminar is part of the the South Africa Trade and Poverty Programme (SATPP) funded by the Department For International Development (DFID-SA), and is organised by NEDLAC and TIPS.