SOCIAL INNOVATION IN SOUTH AFRICA

Dr Lindi van Niekerk

12 November 2014

PROMISE OF FREEDOM

POVERTY & EMPLOYMENT

EDUCATION

HEALTH

We are continually faced with a series of

great opportunities, that are brilliantly

disguised as insoluble problems

John W Gardner

LENS OF SOCIAL INNOVATION IN SOUTH

AFRICA

CORRECTIVE

PARADIGM

TRANSFORMATIVE

PARADIGM

PROBLEMS POSSIBILITIES

GAPS STRENGTHS

SERVICE CO-CREATION

DEVELOPMENT EVOLUTION

PRODUCTS & PROCESSES PATTERNS

EXTERNALIZED INSTITUTIONS INTERNALIZED INSTITUTIONS

Nilsson, Bonnici, Nwosu 2012

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUSHIP IN SA

Shonaquipemployment through empowering those with disabilities

Open Africarural jobs & environmental conservation through tourism

Soul City & Heartlines health and values through mass media communications

Johannesburg Housing Companyaffordable low cost housing & building economically active

neighbourhoods

The Hope Factory creating sustainable livelihoods through business, technical & life

skills

The Big Issueemployment, skills targeting those who are homeless

Cause Activation

Universities

Networks

EDUCATION INNOVATION IN SA

Ikamva Youth

Iifa Labantwana Initiative

Tsiba

HEALTHCARE INNOVATION IN SA

SUPPORT FOR SOCIAL INNOVATION

THE UCT BERTHA CENTRE FOR SOCIAL

INNOVATION & ENTREPRENEURSHIP

First academic centre in Africa dedicated to social innovation. We use academia and on-the-ground action to address needs and pursue a more fair and inclusive world.

Established in partnership with the Bertha Foundation in 2011.

AIM: Social Impact Catalysts

Key Focus Areas

• Type of Innovation

– Innovative Finance

• Sector & Outcome areas

– Education Innovation

– Inclusive Healthcare innovation

• Models for impact

– Scaling social innovation

• Policy & Ecosystems

through Teaching, Research, Dialogue, Action

VIS

ION

MIS

SIO

NWe strive for a fair and just world, in which all people, most notably on the African continent, are united by a sense

of belonging and accountability towards the communities they live in and where all feel empowered to achieve their full potential

RO

LES

& V

ALU

ES

Pathways to Transformative Innovation & Change

REIMAGINEsystems & solutions

DEMONSTRATE & TESTnew solutions

EMPOWERagents for change

ADVANCEsystems & solutions

PERSON & COURAGEOUS & COLLABORATIVE CONSIDERATECOMMUNITY FOCUSED ENTREPRENEURIAL & INCLUSIVE & HUMBLE

KEY

ASS

ETS

ON THE GROUNDin Africa and

communities in need

ACADEMIC RIGOURrooted within the

University of Cape Town

DELIVERY CAPACITYin innovation, programs

& collaboration

NETWORKEDacross issue areas, sectors

& geographies

At the Bertha Centre, we are on a journey towards transformative social innovation and change: We seek to inspire and challenge individuals, organizations, and systems, to question what is, reimagine what can be, and to get

behind and deliver those solutions that have the potential to transform the world we live in

13

BERTHA CENTRE ENTREPRENEURSHIP

• Raymond Ackerman Entrepreneurship Academy

EDUCATION INNOVATION

Southern Africa Center for Education Innovations – South Africa & Zambia

-> Change Agents – education practitioners

Focuses on quality education for learners from disadvantages communities through

1. Identification of new innovations

2. Analyze innovation that works & understand why why

3. Connect stakeholders through dialogue circles & broker relationships

New focus areas

– Pathways to employment (linked to Philipi)

– Exploring a SIB in ECD

INNOVATIVE FINANCE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE

EDUCATION

• Creating an Impact Investing executive education course

• Teaching at UCT’s GSB, Oxford’s Saïd Business School, Central European University

RESEARCH & PUBLICATIONS

• Commissioning series of Impact Investing case studies with Skoll Centre

• Investing for Impact Barometer, Inside | Out magazine, World Economic Forum Impact

Investing publication, Impact Investing Policy Collaboration Global Policy Report, Business

Model Innovation Landscape (South Africa)

• Survey of Southern African Social Enterprise funding needs

DEMONSTRATING FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

• Developing an ECD Social Impact Bond Innovation Fund with the Western Cape

Government (funded by LEGO)

• Stakeholder education, feasibility & advisory work (funded by the EU, Flanders Government,

SA National Treasury, Wallace Global Fund)

INCLUSIVE HEALTHCARE INNOVATION

HealthInnovationProject.or

g

Re-imagine Supporting Change Agents Research

Demonstrate & Test Public

Sector Innovation

SCALING IN ECOSYSTEMS

• Social Franchising Accelerator

• Scale-shift community

• Research

• Policy development

SOCIAL INNOVATION HUBS

University-based Hub

Sector-specific Hub

Context-specific Hub

POTENTIAL OF SOCIAL INNOVATION

“Difference in a society is not necessarily an obstacle to national reconciliation. To the

contrary, it can be one of its greatest assets. However, when difference and a skewed

distribution of power combine, it is likely to result in inequality and exclusion, which

hampers the broader objectives of a society in which justice is a prerequisite for

reconciliation. Reconciliation requires the building of bridges of understanding

across lines of difference, especially where they have been reinforced by an

unjust distribution of power.” SA Reconcilliation Barometer 2013

THANK YOU

Visit our website on www.gsb.uct.ac.za/berthacentre for more information

and join us here for regular updates: