South Africa has achieved a lot on its path to socioeconomic transformation since the beginning of democracy in 1994. While the triple challenges of unemployment, poverty, and inequality remain, some innovative approaches have been used to build more inclusive public institutions. These have helped to enhance the accessibility and quality of service delivery and improve the lives of millions of South Africans. Although much is known about the motivation and nature of the policies and institutional changes that drove this transformation, little is known about how they were executed. Making It Happen: Selected Case Studies of Institutional Reforms in South Africa offers a selection of twelve case studies to illustrate how policies and institutions were developed and implemented to improve specific public services. Tracing a twenty-year journey of transformation, the book captures the how-to of designing and executing these policies in a variety of strategic areas, including intergovernmental relations, budget transparency, tax administration, M&E and statistics, HIV/AIDS, social security and national ID services, biodiversity, national roads, renewable energy, and the constitution-making process, among others. Based on interviews, including with senior policy makers who shaped the transition from apartheid to democracy, this book places particular emphasis on recording the design of these reforms and endeavors to illuminate the decision-making processes that took place. Making It Happen: Selected Case Studies of Institutional Reforms in South Africa finds transformational leadership; inclusive institution-building, with an emphasis on transparency and accountability; the adoption of pragmatic and innovative solutions, based on international experiences; effective consensus-building and virtuous cycles of quick wins ; and the focus on results as among the key drivers in implementing these changes.
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