Three 'Nodes' to stimulate research on Poverty and Inequality, HIV/AIDS, and Migration and Urbanisation, were established in 2001 at the Universities of Cape Town (UCT), University of Natal Durban (now known as the University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN)), and University of the Witwatersrand (WITS) respectively. They were supported with generous grants from the Andrew W Mellon Foundation. The funding enabled them to invest in capacity building by funding projects with potential for both good quality research and strengthening capacity.
 
The three Universities were also funded by the Andrew Mellon Foundation to establish centers of training in population studies. The tri-nodal investment was also hosted at these three universities. The three areas; poverty and inequality; HIV/AIDS; and migration and urbanisation were seen to represent sources of the most enduring challenges to population policy and development in the region. The primary purposes of the Nodes were:

1. To establish a network of first-rate researchers in demography and population studies through a number of South African Universities, with the ultimate goal of extending this structure to the wider region of the sub-continent.
2. To foster collaboration and communication among all parties engaged in research and training in demography/population studies in South Africa.
3. To stimulate research, leading to publication, in a few key areas that are critical to population policy in South Africa, viz. migration, HIV/AIDS, poverty and inequality.

 
 
 
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