Hold My Hand Policy Brief: The case for a maternal support grant
This policy brief presents the case for introducing a Maternal Support Grant (MSG) – a monthly cash transfer initiated in the second trimester of pregnancy and automatically transitioning to the Child Support Grant (CSG) after birth. The grant would fill a critical gap in South Africa’s social protection system, protect mothers during pregnancy, and improve […]
The impact engine
The Learning Lunch podcast explores ideas, approaches and social innovations – creating opportunity for non-profit organisations’ teams to discover what others are learning and space to reflect on what these insights might mean for their own strategy and programme implementation. Download takeaway instructions Civil society organisations, particularly community-based organisations, are often on the frontlines of […]
Hands-on Learning Issue 31
Through the Hands-on Learning publication, we hope to play a helpful role in synthesising information from innovators and implementers in civil society, supporting them to share what they have learnt so that others can draw from and build on their experiences. How our unsung heroes can reduce stunting The care and nutrition that mothers and […]
Learning Brief – DGMT’s approach to scaling and the lessons along the way
Scaling, expanding impact to reach more people, influence systems or shift norms, is not just making projects bigger. In complex South African contexts, it demands new thinking, strategic partnerships, and readiness to adapt to shifting politics and economics. For DGMT, scaling is core to its mission: unlocking the “10 opportunities to escape the inequality trap” […]
The Perspectives Series: Turning development on its head
Many of South Africa’s most pressing challenges are structural — but their impact is felt most deeply in people’s everyday lives. While reforms are often pursued at a national or provincial level, they don’t always translate into meaningful change for communities. What if transformation could also start from the ground up? “Place-based approaches” offer bottom-up, […]
Thinking on the edge
The Learning Lunch podcast explores ideas, approaches and social innovations – creating opportunity for non-profit organisations’ teams to discover what others are learning and space to reflect on what these insights might mean for their own strategy and programme implementation. Download takeaway instructions South Africa has a constitutional responsibility to uphold children’s rights. The government […]
Case Study: Mainstreaming scaling
The Scaling Community of Practice (CoP) launched an action research initiative on mainstreaming scaling in funder organisations in January 2023. This initiative has three purposes: to inform the CoP members and the wider development community of the current state of support for and operationalization of scaling in a broad range of development funding agencies; to […]
Article: Community trusts are greening the future
Community trusts linked to renewable energy projects are designed to ensure a portion of profits benefits the locals. Otsile Bokamoso is an after-school educational organisation whose name means “The future is bright”. Based in Dealesville, a small mixed-farming town in Free State province, it provides academic support to learners in the foundation phase (grades one […]
Hands-on Learning Issue 29
Through the Hands-on Learning publication, we hope to play a helpful role in synthesising information from innovators and implementers in civil society, supporting them to share what they have learnt so that others can draw from and build on their experiences. Data-informed arguments for investment in children In 2024, analysis of routine data revealed that […]
Learning Brief – Learning to lead in fellowship: Approaches to leadership development for civil society
DGMT has set three goals to help South Africa escape the inequality trap, and has identified 10 powerful opportunities to realise each goal. This forms the guiding framework for everything the organisation does. The first goal is an innovative and inclusive society, which can build the scaffolding for human and knowledge capital to thrive and […]