The University of the Free State’s (UFS) Prof Narnia Bohler-Muller has been appointed to a Panel of Experts to service the South African Presidency’s Policy and Research Services Branch.

Independent academic expertise continues to play an important role in informing public policy, and Prof Bohler-Muller, Research Theme Leader for Flourishing Life in the UFS Directorate Research Development, is among the scholars contributing to that work through her appointment.

Constituted by the Albert Luthuli Leadership Institute as part of the Sustainable Development Goals Initiative partnership, the panel provides independent, evidence-informed advice to the Presidency on a range of policy-relevant themes. Prof Bohler-Muller’s one-year appointment runs until 31 July 2027.

While the appointment recognises Prof Bohler-Muller’s longstanding contribution to constitutional and socio-legal scholarship, she believes its significance extends beyond personal recognition. “There is the honour of having been selected, but what moves me more is the invitation itself – the fact that the Presidency is asking the research community to think with it. Democracies everywhere are under strain, and much of that strain is administrative before it becomes political,” she said.

Prof Vasu Reddy, UFS Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies, said, “This appointment demonstrates the critical role that universities play in generating independent, evidence-informed knowledge that contributes directly to national development and public-sector transformation. Prof Bohler-Muller’s expertise in constitutional law, democracy studies, gender equality, and African thought exemplifies the interdisciplinary scholarship needed to address complex societal challenges. Her contribution to advancing the professionalisation of the public service aligns closely with our institutional commitment to ethical leadership, accountability, social justice, and inclusive development.”

Where scholarship meets public policy

Prof Bohler-Muller’s appointment falls under the Panel of Experts’ thematic area on Professionalisation of the Public Service, which supports the Presidency’s Policy and Research Services Branch. This reflects the Presidency’s ongoing focus on strengthening ethical leadership, accountability, and institutional capability across the public sector. At its core, the work seeks to ensure that public administration is guided not only by competence and professionalism, but also by the constitutional values that underpin democratic governance.

As part of the panel, Prof Bohler-Muller will draw on her expertise in constitutional law, democracy studies, gender equality, and African philosophical traditions to support evidence-informed policymaking. Her role, she explained, is “to bring constitutional and socio-legal expertise to bear on the questions the Branch places before us”, ensuring that policy advice is both rigorous and practical.

The appointment also speaks directly to the University’s ‘Flourishing Life’ research theme, which explores the conditions that enable individuals and societies to thrive. “A public service can be seen as a web of relationships that holds a society together, and through which each of us is recognised as someone who counts,” she said. “When that service is captured, hollowed out, or staffed through favours rather than competence, what breaks is not only efficiency. The relationships themselves tear.”

For Prof Bohler-Muller, this is what “flourishing denied” describes: a breakdown in the relationships that sustain trust, dignity and the common good. It is this understanding that shapes her approach to public policy, seeing strengthening institutions as ultimately about creating the conditions for people and communities to flourish.

She views this appointment as a natural extension of her work to date. “I have spent the better part of my career in the space between the academy and the policy world, and I have never regarded that as a compromise of scholarly seriousness. Quite the opposite: the discipline of having to say something useful to someone who must act on Monday morning is a rigour of its own.”

For Prof Bohler-Muller, professionalising the public service reaches far beyond systems, structures, and administrative processes. It is fundamentally about strengthening democratic institutions and restoring public confidence in government. “Professionalisation is not only a technical and managerial project. It is a constitutional and an ethical one.”

She points to the National Framework Towards Professionalisation of the Public Sector, introduced alongside the President’s response to the recommendations of the State Capture Commission, as an important milestone in strengthening institutional integrity. Ultimately, she believes the success of those efforts will be measured by the everyday experiences of South Africans. “Citizens do not assess democracy in the abstract. They assess it by whether the water runs, whether the clinic has stock, whether the official at the counter treats them as a bearer of rights.”

Advancing scholarship beyond the academy

For Prof Bohler-Muller, the appointment also reflects the increasingly important role universities play in shaping public policy through independent research and critical scholarship.

“The University of the Free State has committed itself to scholarship that does not stop at the campus boundary, and appointments of this kind are one measure of whether that commitment is real. It places UFS research directly in the room in which national policy is deliberated.”

She believes policy engagement also strengthens the University’s own research, by exposing scholars to the realities of implementation and the complex questions that emerge beyond academic debate. In turn, those experiences enrich research, teaching, and future collaborations, while demonstrating the value of scholarship that responds directly to societal challenges.

“The recognition of UFS research at the highest levels of public policy engagement reinforces the value of partnerships between government, academia and society in building capable and responsive institutions,” Prof Reddy added. “In fact, it does more. We are proud that Prof Bohler-Muller’s work continues to showcase how research excellence can help shape a flourishing society, strengthen public trust, and contribute to a more effective and citizen-centred state, aligned to our responsible societal futures commitment.”