Housing in Southern Africa October-November 2016

competent people,” says Sisulu. Adding, “Together with the CSIR and other departments we can find solutions to problems of escalating costs of building and using traditional methods. We can test the viability of our catalytic projects methods, conduct studies of new methods of dealing with old problems and urban planning. The list of possibilities is endless.” This inaugural 2016 National Human Settlements Conference represents another step forward in our journey to professionalise and elevate the human settlements re- search, education and practice. The theme is an interdisciplinary effort for transformation towards sustainable and environmentally-friendly cities and neighbourhoods. It straddles across the social, economic, built and natural environments, calling for immediate action by all role players in providing tangible solu- tions to pressing questions that face all government spheres, cities and neighbourhoods. The conference will explore re- search capacity opportunities that remain untapped. These include the local and international resources for augmenting institutional research capacity that requires collaboration across and between sectors and countries. The aim is to generate pragmatic solutions to challenges facing human settlements in both urban and rural settings. Demonstrate best practice science, technology and building innovations to expedite housing de- livery and sustainable human settle- ments development. Consolidate the key priority research areas for the hu- man settlements sector that should be pursued by all the role-players. Foster strategic partnerships in pursuit of sustainable human settle- ments development across all scale. It is intended to be a catalyst in the realisation of the country’s am- bitious vision of the development of a capable state. In this respect, the capacity of the state will require to be enhanced at individual, institutional and intra organisational level. This is central to the efficient functioning of the state. There is a need to radically scale up and augment the existing capac- ity of the sector. Much of the capacity challenges in South Africa relate to historical under investment in educa- tion, the lasting impact this has had on the education, skills pipeline and economic landscape. The implica-

tions of the current substantial shortage of skilled professionals in the built environment and human settlements sector will severely im- pede South Africa’s ability to plan and deliver infrastructure, which in turn has a constraining influence on economic performance. She notes the challenges how do we strengthen capacity at a sector wide level? How are these initiatives to be implemented? What role can universities play? Historically and currently universities play a vital role in a country’s development. Universi- ties are key institutions or engines of skills, capacity and knowledge gen- eration. The change from Housing to Human Settlements demands a sys- temic response by all actors involved in the sector. The current state of play in South Africa is to ensure processes are in place to support profession- alisation and that these culminate in the passing of legislation governing and regulating human settlements practice in the country. Establishing professional, globally benchmarked, standards have the

Lindiwe Sisulu

review and critique. The Department of Human Settle- ments’ capacity enhancement strat- egy includes: Focusedmulti-disciplin- ary education in the area of human settlements education; Development of a trans disciplinary Research Agenda which responds with an evi- dence based approach to challenges facing the sector; Development of a menu of short courses to support

potential to introduce uniformity in business practices and with it increased investor confidence. This will require the training of professionals to these standards across the range of built environ- ment professions. She encourages in- dustry stakeholders and private sector to work with academic institutions to ensure students receive mentorship or internship opportunities. Saying that the Depart- ment remains committed to facilitating a framework to create opportunities, incentives and rewards for those professionals who

Continued Professional Development of especiallymid-career professionals; and Codification and development of the body of knowledge relevant to Human Settlements Development and Management. Sisulu concludes: “This conference is responding in a practical and meaningful way to the current need for further research into sustainable human settlements development and management. This approach provides opportunities to a number of academic departments and disciplines to contribute to the creation of knowledge.” ■

attain pre-defined professional stan- dards. “Not only will this raise and unify standards, it will increase pres- tige, mobility and status of human settlements practitioners. This will in turn have the effect of boosting consumer and investor confidence in the state and those operating in the human settlements sector.” A crucial aspect of any process of meaningful social and economic change is the collecting of data, re- search methods, techniques of data analysis and dissemination, includ- ing audience of peers for scientific

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