The New South Institute has published its 2025/2026 Annual Report, covering a defining period in the Institute’s development and in South Africa’s wider debate on capable, accountable and professional public institutions.

The report reflects on a year in which NSI’s work moved across research, policy engagement and public debate. Most notably, it records the passage of the Public Service Amendment Act, signed into law on 26 March 2026, and the Institute’s sustained contribution to the argument that political and administrative authority must be clearly distinguished in a democratic state. It also documents the growth of NSI’s five programmes, its widening continental and international engagements, and its recognition by On Think Tanks among the “100 Think Tanks to Watch”.

Across public service reform, migration governance, South–South dialogues, anti-capture research and institutional histories, the report tells a broader story: that rigorous research, patiently engaged with reformers, legislators, officials, civil society and the public, can help shape institutional change.

The 2025/2026 Annual Report is available in NSI’s Newsletters and Annual Reports archive, alongside previous editions of the Institute’s quarterly dispatches and annual reviews.

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