Saving South Africa’s Social Sector

There’s an increasing sense of concern, disconnect, desperation and even hopelessness among the stakeholders that make up South Africa’s humanitarian sector – and with good reason. The sector is facing numerous challenges that not only hamper its current efficiency but also threaten its future sustainability.

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Social Innovation: beyond the buzz

From organ transplant deliveries by drone to smartphone apps that help diagnose eye disease and plant-based burgers that taste just like meat right through to entrepreneurship programmes that aim to build thriving early child development centres – the social innovation sector is a varied and dynamic one that aims to find innovative solutions to some of society’s most pressing problems. …

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5 Things We Have Learnt About Measuring Social Impact

Over the past seventeen years we’ve assisted numerous social investors, philanthropists, grantmakers and development organisations to not only become more sustainable, but to also create greater social impact.In the process, we’ve collected many insights into social impact innovation, social investment and development.  In this article we aim to share some of our insights in the hope that it’ll contribute to …

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Social Innovation to Drive Shared Value

Social innovation is becoming a buzzword which is discussed around the world. There’s a surge in attention and government support for social development and social innovation, because it’s seen to be providing effective ways for addressing societal challenges and possible pathways towards more sustainable, inclusive and resilient societies.Today’s global challenges in line with the Sustainable Development Goals – from climate …

Understanding the concept and value of social innovation

The term social innovation has been used in a number of ways. Some of the earliest references, dating back to the 1960s, use it to refer to experimental research in the social sciences and humanities. Since then, the term has been used in reference to social enterprise and social entrepreneurship, technological innovations which yield social benefits, corporate social responsibility and …

In social investment, it’s now about hard evidence and measured impact (2018 CSI trends media release)

2 April 2018 Social and impact investors no longer just want to know that they’ve attempted to change the world for the better. They want to know if their investment meant something. They want detailed evidence that their investment led to large-scale, significant impact, whether it contributed to sustainable change, and if there was significant return on their investment. They …

Social sector needs to up its game to keep receiving financial support (2018 CSI trends media release)

12 April 2018 Today’s philanthropists, grantmakers, social and impact investors want more control over their giving and they want evidence of the scale and sustainability of the impact they make. They demand greater transparency and accountability from the organisations they invest in and hold them to account. They want quick results and return on their investment, and therefore prefer to …

Social investors now want to see impact, sustainability – and ROI (2018 CSI trends media release)

12 April 2018 Investing in social and developmental causes has become increasingly innovative lately, moving away from one-directional donations and suchlike. Social investors now use a mix of finance models to put their money where it has the potential to grow substantially. They are looking for opportunities where their investment will have considerable long-term impact, while contributing to sustainable, meaningful …

Creating shared value – because companies cannot succeed in a failing society

Too many companies are still trapped in an outdated approach of focusing solely on short-term financial performance while mostly ignoring the well-being of their customers, the availability of natural resources and the needs of the communities in which they produce, sell and deliver services. It’s no wonder that dismay to the point of aggression has been mounting against big corporates, …