Phuhlisani is currently working on  an assignment for the Programme for Support to Pro-Poor Policy Development (PSPPD) which is a partnership between the Presidency, Republic of South Africa, and the European Union which aims to improve evidence-based policy making in South Africa.  
PSPPD is working with the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) is a university based policy research organization specializing in issues relating to structural inequality, poverty and marginalized livelihoods to design and and deliver a pilot learning programme.  
Our task is to undertake a training and development needs analysis for the development of a training and learning programme for policy makers and development planners which will:

• build the capacity of policymakers and planners to develop shared conceptual understandings of poverty, and to develop appropriate responses at national, provincial and local level.
• facilitate the development of coherent spatial approaches to pro-poor planning,
• facilitate greater levels of communication and coherence between officials in different spheres and line departments.

We have been conducting wide ranging interviews with selected key informants to gain  different perspectives on government's pro-poor policy agenda and its conceptual underpinnings and to scope the design of the learning approach.