PARI-PSETA Scholarship Programme
About the scholarships
The programme will provide 2 PhD for excellent candidates wanting to do research on the
capacity requirements of the public service, especially as they affect institutional
performance, and students wanting to explore the data requirements and models which can
best support this analysis and future planning for skills development in the public sector.
PARI is interested in a range of topics within this framework, quantitative or qualitative or a
mix of both methods. These include, but are not limited to:

Exploring models that estimate the labour and skills needs of the public sector over
time.

An analysis of approaches to training undertaken in / for different public sector
departments and agencies and their impact on improving public sector capacity.

Research on public servants’ career paths in their public service.

Research on the causes and impacts of high turnover and vacancy rates (some)
public sector departments.

Research which explores the nature of the Human Resource function in government
departments – the factors shaping how human resources are recruited and deployed,
level and extent of career planning and so forth.
The scholarship awards students R150 000 per annum over three years. Research costs will
be paid over and above the annual amount. For continued support beyond six months, PhD
candidates will need to have a strong proposal that is approved both by their teaching
department and by PARI as the co-supervising institution.
Applications will be open from the 1st of December to the 30th of January. This scholarship is
only available to students who will be registered at WITS for their PhD. Preference will be
given to South African candidates, though strong non-South Africans are welcome to apply.
Check the PARI website for more details at www.pari.org.za