Social Transformation specialises in the creation, development, management and evaluation of the transformational and social development roles and responsibilities of the government, the business sector and communities in developing societies, thereby contributing significantly towards social transformation within these societies. Through different modes of research, the mission is to render a meaningful contribution towards the improvement of a sustainable quality of life and transformation in South Africa and other African countries.

The Research Focus Area: Social Transformation encompasses the fields of public management, political science, history, sociology, social anthropology, philosophy and communication, thereby serving as a nexus where divergent disciplinary trajectories of social sciences converge.  These disciplines are represented in the following research groups:

• African Modernities Past and Present (AMPP): Dr Gift Mupambwa
• Corporate Communication: Dr Lucinda Sutton
• Deepening Democracy in a 21st-Century World: Dr Pieter Heydenrych
• Development Communication: Dr Louise Bezuidenhout
• Journ21: Ms Cornia Pretorius
• North-Western Regional and Local Histories: Prof Elize van Eeden
• Philosophical Research:  Prof Chantelle Gray
• Public Administration: Prof Luni Vermeulen
• Social Resilience, Change and Sustainability: Prof Johan Zaaiman
• Media and Communication Research: Dr Mooki Lobelo

A dedicated team of more than 60 researchers contribute to the high level of research outputs generated from the focus area Social Transformation. Many of these researchers also lecture at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, and present professional training sessions.

Postgraduate support is provided to those students pursuing their postgraduate studies through any of the involved and/or contributing schools and entities.