Regional integration is being proposed as a means to development in Southern Africa. As a part of the formal agreements regarding this cooperation, a Protocol on Education in the Southern African Development Community region has been signed. This research set out to compare the higher education systems of two Southern African countries and to examine the extent to which this Protocol has had an impact on national policies and practices. The research sought to investigate this by means of exploring the extent to which the Protocol has provided an institutional frame which is guiding the development of higher education policy in each of the two countries. The findings of the study indicate that the Protocol, rather than providing leadership in the area of education policy, is to a large extent a symbolic document, reflective of norms already existent in national policy in the two countries studied.

In August 2008, Heads of State of the Southern African Development Community adopted the ground-breaking SADC Protocol on Gender and Development. This followed a concerted campaign by NGOs under the umbrella of the Southern Africa Gender Protocol Alliance. By the 2013 Heads of State summit, 13 countries had signed and 12 countries had ratified the SADC Gender Protocol. The Protocol is now in force. With two years to go, time is ticking to 2015, when governments need to have achieved 28 targets for the attainment of gender equality. In keeping with the Alliance slogan: "Yes we must", this 2013 Barometer provides a wealth of updated data against which progress will be measured by all those who cherish democracy in the region. The SADC Gender and Development Index (SGDI), introduced in 2011, complements the Citizen Score Card (CSC) that has been running for five years to benchmark progress.