The Laubscher Institute for Research

How Distant Agricultural Policy Transfers Cost, Risk, and Responsibility to Producers A t TLIR, we recently conducted a structured interview with a highly regulated agricultural producer operating in a controlled-crop environment. The purpose was simple: to understand how regulation is experienced on the ground , not how it is described on paper. The findings were consistent and revealing. Regulation Written at a Distance The producer indicated that none of the individuals or institutions...

J anuary marks a period of focused inquiry at the Laubscher Institute for Research. This month’s work centres on assessment governance, curriculum standardisation, and market dynamics as interconnected features of South Africa’s schooling system, rather than as isolated policy concerns. A key area of attention is the growing circulation of commercially produced, CAPS-aligned assessment and memorandum resources. These materials are increasingly positioned as practical solutions to workload,...

January marks a period of focused inquiry at the Laubscher Institute for Research. This month’s work examines agriculture, policy, and power structures not as separate domains, but as interconnected systems through which authority, cost, and responsibility are distributed. Rather than approaching these areas through outcomes alone, TLIR’s focus is on the structures that shape decision-making, compliance, and long-term system stability.