Courses

Background

As part of its commitment to capacity building and South-South learning, the Economic Policy Research Institute teaches a variety of social protection courses to policymakers, government officials, programme practitioners and representatives from multilateral agencies and nongovernmental organisations. The courses draw from the extensive social protection work at EPRI and are delivered by a team of international social protection experts, thought-leaders and professionals who have vast experience working in social protection research, policy advisory and capacity-development.

The courses provide participants with an in-depth understanding of the conceptual and practical issues involved in designing and implementing social protection systems. Courses cover a range of topics including social protection programme design, implementation,  issues,  microsimulation, monitoring and evaluation and policy brief writing, and range in duration from day-long seminars to two-week accredited courses.

Annual flagship two-week courses

The annual flagship courses, Designing and Implementing Social Protection Systems has attracted over 1000 participants representing over 72 nationalities, since its launch in Cape Town in 2007. Participants are from diverse backgrounds and fields including government, finance, business, development partners, non governmental organisations and international affairs. The diversity in the classroom enables interaction with a wide range of perspectives and creates a global experience for participants on the programme.

An outstanding team of international experts, skilled professionals and leaders in the field teach the courses. The certificated courses are jointly accredited by the UNU-MERIT/Maastricht Graduate School of Governance and the Economic Policy Research Institute.

The course is offered annually in Cape Town, South Africa and in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in partnership with the Institute for Development Studies (IDS) and United Nations University – Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT).

Executive Online Course

EPRI’s online course, Designing and Implementing Adaptive Social Protection Systems is an executive course for policymakers, government officials, non-governmental organisations and practitioners in navigating COVID-19 with a resilience-building response. This immersive and interactive online course is designed by leading social protection experts working with governments on COVID-19 responses. The course provides fresh perspectives and insights on adapting social protection policies and programmes to better respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and other emergencies to achieve more effective and developmental impact.

Learn about the latest strategic trends and explore how these insights can be applied to achieve your mission-critical priorities, adapting and strengthening a responsive social protection system. The course offers unfacilitated peer-driven discussions around various issues and challenges. Participants will connect with engaged peers to gain first-hand insight from those facing similar challenges.

Upon successful completion of the programme, participants will receive an accredited Certificate of Achievement from the Economic Policy Research Institute.

Specialised, one week courses

These courses have include a five-day specialised module – Evidence-Building for Social Protection Plus. The specialised module can be taken as part of the two-week course, or as standalone, advanced topic course.

Tailor made courses

Courses can also be custom-tailored to meet the needs of specific groups. For more information or to submit a proposal, email us at courses@epri.org.za.To read more about our courses, click on the links below.