The University of Johannesburg and the Centre for Public Authority and International Development at the Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa at the London School of Economics and Political Science are offering early- and mid- career humanitarian and development professionals a free eight week course on public authority and its application to key issues for the sector.
About the upcoming course
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‘Public authority’ refers to any kind of authority - from civil society organizations to community leaders and armed groups - beyond the immediate family that commands a degree of consent.
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The course will cover why you need to be aware of how public authority is created and maintained in the places you work. And the frameworks, techniques and research that can help your programmes to better understand and engage public authority to achieve sustainable outcomes.
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The course’s first 2 days (24th and 25th April) will be held in-person on the University of Johannesburg campus (lunches provided). The course will then move to seven weekly online sessions focussing on different pressing issues.
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The course’s light touch learning materials consist of videos, podcasts and readings. A short essay-based assessment will be given at the end of the course and certificates of achievement awarded. Learning materials will be grounded in the research of course conveners and largely focused on case studies.
To register for the course, please provide us with a CV and a short statement of interest by Wednesday 15th March 2023. Please click here to apply.
Those interested should be able to attend the in-person introductory days on the 24th and 25th April on the University of Johannesburg campus. Lunch and refreshments will be provided.
Upon completion, participants will be awarded certificates of achievement from the University of Johannesburg and the Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa.
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Week, Topic and Facilitators
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What to Expect
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Week 1 - Introduction to Public Authority
Professor Tim Allen
Professor Melissa Parker
Dr Naomi Pendle
Professor Nicoel Stremlau
Samuel Olaniran
Dr Tom Kirk
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During the 2 day in-person part of the course we will explore why humanitarian and development professionals need to be aware of how public authority is created and maintained in the places they work. We will cover ways of thinking about public authority, and efforts to engage it across a range of pressing issues.
Throughout we will encourage participants to share their experiences and insights, with a focus on peer-to-peer learning at the heart of the sessions.
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Week 2 - Grassroots Organizing, Protection and Public Authority
Dr Eliza Ngutuku
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Grassroots and community-based actors are often key to protection against violence. This week will explore these actors' roles in protection and how they interact with other forms of public authority such as NGOs and the state.
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Week 3 - Violence, Security and Public Authority
Dr Rebecca Tapscott
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This week explores local-level security dynamics, including who can use coercion and how in different settings. We will dive into the complex and often murky relationships between state institutions like the police and military, and initiatives like vigilantism, community policing, and militias.
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Week 4 - Epidemics and Public Authority
Dr. Jonah Lipton
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This week explores social and political responses to epidemics, and the workings of Public Authority during times of humanitarian emergency. It will deep-dive into the West African Ebola epidemic and the complex interplay between everyday life, humanitarian intervention, and Public Authority.
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Week 5 - Public Authority in Anticipatory Humanitarian Action
Professor Nicole Stremlau
Samuel Olaniran
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Humanitarian organizations are increasingly using AI and big data to predict crises and plan their responses. We will look at this in relation to two aspects of public authority - how researchers include information from public authorities into their model; and arising responses to crises can be communicated in humanitarian situations to, and through, public authorities.
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Week 6 - Justice and Public Authority
Professor Anna Macdonald
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This week will explore the politics and ethics of transitional justice in the absence of substantive political transitions.We will explore how different ideas and practices of justice, accountability, social order and reconciliation are promoted by a range of public authorities, from International Criminal Court prosecutors and multilateral agencies, to domestic state actors and local cultural and religious leaders.
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Week 7 - Armed Groups and Public Authority
Professor Koen Vlassenroot
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This week will explore how a public authority lens helps us to better understand the ambitions and conduct of armed groups: they respond to collective needs and obligations; they share and reproduce social practices giving meaning to local society; and they are a dominant force in politics, resource control and social relations. We will look into governance mechanisms and strategies of armed groups, their use of a language of stateness to claim power, and their role as power brokers in conflict-affected societies.
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Week 8 - Assessment
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Course participants will be asked to write a 3000-word “policy essay” on how a public authority lens could inform their work.
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To register for the course, please provide us with a CV and a short statement of interest by Wednesday 15th March 2023. Please click here to apply.
