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SU launches first data centre in SA focused on democracy
Author: Lynne Rippenaar-Moses
Published: 07/05/2018

​The first data centre focused on democracy research and the development of Social Sciences in South Africa will be launched by Stellenbosch University's Transformation Research Unit in May.  The launch will take place today (08 May) at Wits University and at Stellenbosch University (SU) on 10 May. 

According to Prof Ursula van Beek, the Head of Transformation Research Unit (TRU): Democracy Globally, there is no dedicated data centre or training programme for the empirical study of democracy in South Africa. 

“In the course  of our research programme  focused on democracy and stretching back almost two decades it has become increasingly apparent that the abundance of relevant data is poorly utilised. This observation led us to the idea of creating an open access data centre in the form of an Intelligent Node. The objective of the initiative will not be to create yet another archive competing with existing data repositories, but rather to develop research capacity by helping African researchers and postgraduate students locate relevant data needed for their projects on democracy in particular - and in the Social Sciences in general,"  says Van Beek.

The centre will be headed  by a TRU member, Dr Cindy Steenekamp, a senior lecturer in the Political Science Department and the former Director of the faculty's Graduate School. 

The data centre is supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) as its objectives tie in closely with the NRF's own goals. These goals are to remain competitive in the research arena,  internationalise research and innovation on the African continent, further improve  the country's global reputation, and gain access to global knowledge and expertise. 

According to van Beek, “utilising data is imperative to the study of the quality of democracy".

“For example, while we all know South Africa's unemployment rate is very high, we need to know what the unemployed think, what their opinions are  of the elite, what issues they are grappling with, and whether or not they think the government is fulfilling the expectations of this group. To do this, you need data or else you are sucking it out of your thumb. The more data you use to say, yes this is so, the better your findings are."

During the launches in Johannesburg and Stellenbosch  the international expert on democracy study, Prof Hans Dieter-Klingemann, current President of Berlin International: University of Applied Sciences, will discuss how to access data to support the study of democracy.  A leading expert on data archiving and management, Dr Ekkehard Mochmann, the former Director of German Social Science Infrastructure Services, will talk about the dynamics of sharing research data.

Van Beek  adds that while the data centre will help improve empirical research, access to data alone will not suffice. For this reason students and academics will be trained in how to utilise  data effectively at a summer school for Political Science TRU is currently planning. “Apart from postgraduate students we wish to train young academics, particularly those at previously disadvantaged universities, so that they can in turn pass on this knowledge to their own students. In this way we hope to help create  the 'agents of change' in our country".  

Photo: Dr Cindy Steenekamp (left) will head up the first data centre in South Africa focused on democracy research. With her is Prof Ursula van Beek, Head of the Head of Transformation Research Unit (TRU): Democracy Globally, in which the centre is situated.  (Lynne Rippenaar-Moses)