Staff Writer
More than 140 officials from across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) will meet in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 15 to 17 July for a specialised training programme aimed at helping governments deliver better results with limited resources.
Hosted by the Copenhagen Consensus Center, the three-day seminar will equip government officials with practical tools to apply cost-benefit analysis in policymaking, an approach that compares the full costs and benefits of public investments to identify the most effective solutions.
With many SADC member states facing tight budgets and growing demands in health, education, infrastructure, and economic development, the training focuses on how governments can prioritise policies that deliver the greatest social and economic returns.
“Every government faces tough choices. The key question is not just how much we spend, but how wisely we spend it,” said Dr. Bjorn Lomborg, president of the Copenhagen Consensus Center.
“Cost-benefit analysis helps identify where limited resources can achieve the greatest possible impact for citizens.” The programme combines lectures, hands-on workshops, and case studies tailored to the Southern African context. Participants will work through real policy challenges, ranging from vaccination programmes and early childhood education to infrastructure and climate resilience, and assess which interventions deliver the highest returns,” said Ralph Nordjo, head of the Africa Directorate at Copenhagen Consensus. “By focusing on what works best, governments can significantly improve outcomes in areas that matter most to people’s lives.”
SADC member states are Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The Copenhagen Consensus Center is a global think tank that researches the smartest ways to spend limited resources to solve the world’s biggest challenges.
Using cost–benefit analysis, it works with governments, renowned economists including seven Nobel laureates, and international organisations to identify policies that deliver the greatest social good It was named Think Tank of the Year in International Affairs by Prospect Magazine and has repeatedly been top-ranked by the University of Pennsylvania in its global overview of think tanks.
