Ninety years of social science research into poverty: revisiting the HSRC and the Carnegie Commission

The Carnegie Commission on the Poor White Problem in South Africa released its five-volume report in 1932, a project in which the precursor organisation to the HSRC, the National Bureau of Education and Social Research (NBESR), played a major role. As the first initiative of the Carnegie Corporation's study on poverty, the commission focused on poor Afrikaners in rural areas. The findings urged the government to improve the conditions of whites, focusing on improved education. It is important to take a wide-eyed view of the story of the commission and the role of social sciences research in policymaking, writes Prof. Crain Soudien, HSRC CEO.