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Cultivate and connect imaginative leaders

Passionate, imaginative and critical thinkers are civil society’s greatest assets. To harness this transformative energy, civil society should take its equal place alongside government and business in shaping the social and economic future of South Africa. This requires a pipeline of skilled, confident leaders with a strong sense of identity as public innovators.

Leadership for public innovation is not limited to organisational management, but includes community leaders and mobilisers who drive collective action for change in their communities. We believe that community ownership and participation are fundamental tenets in building a sense of pride and aspiration.

Galvanise and support civil society to have greater influence and participation in twisting our way out of the inequality trap.

Our strategy is to build and expand an influential national network of innovators who will contribute to the successful transformation of society.

We also need to strengthen collaboration and positive engagement between the state, civil society and the private sector. To do this, we need to facilitate the generation of ideas and find ways to connect and collaborate using digital technology and platforms.

Nowadays, even though not everyone has access to mobile phones and connectivity in this country, people are more likely to connect to the Internet using their phones than any other device. Digital technology can be used to drive changes in human behaviour for the benefit of all South Africans, which is why civil society’s effective use of online communication is essential for building support for social movements around new ideas, practices and behaviours.

Our goal is to provide funding and packages of support to civil society organisations to improve their effectiveness as well as expand and deepen their impact. This will build collective action to strengthen community pride and aspiration.

What we are working on…

  • Developing a diagnostic tool that defines and identifies organisational strengths and gaps.
  • Incubating initiatives that address civil society’s most pressing issues.
  • Supporting local initiatives that build collective action and strengthen community pride and aspiration.
  • Championing fundamental services provided by civil society organisations in communities through grants of compassion and care.

Fellows from DGMT’s Innovation Fellowship.

Escaping the inequality trap requires a twist in our thinking.

Click the button above to read our full five-year strategy. Want a shorter version? Click here

Flagship projects addressing this opportunity

Civil society projects addressing this opportunity

These projects are by no means a comprehensive list of the work of civil society. This list represents a small selection of organisations that will be updated from time to time

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Helpful resources related to this opportunity

Opportunities to escape the inequality trap