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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.

Civil society is a vibrant ecosystem of interest groups, activists, advocacy groups and organisations delivering a range of social services. These groups are often the first to design and test interventions, learning from their successes and failures, and staying closely connected to the communities they serve. They conduct research, gather evidence, and develop innovative solutions to pressing social issues. In many ways, civil society is the originator of powerful ideas that can lead to significant social impact.

But how do these ideas get taken up by the state? Beyond the usual processes of public participation and opportunities to comment on policy and legislation, how are civil society organisations shaping public policy and perceptions?

In this Deep Dive conversation, we explore the makings of powerful ideas and how they gain political traction and social support. Our guests are Tess Peacock, founder and Executive Director of the Equality Collective, and Phylicia Oppelt, project lead of Change Ideas – a DGMT initiative.

Phylicia Oppelt is a former journalist and national columnist. She is the Project Lead of Change Ideas and is responsible for producing DGMT policy briefs. Change Ideas makes cost-effective and scalable policies accessible to the public, civil society and politicians. These policies, drawn from years of implementation experience, research, and embeddedness in South African civil society, offer opportunities to get South Africa out of the inequality trap.

Tess Peacock is the founder and Executive Director of the Equality Collective. A qualified attorney, she has experience working in education, early childhood development, service delivery and local government at the grassroots, grant-making, and policy levels. She has served on various technical task teams advising the National Department of Basic Education. Her previous roles include work at the Bulungula Incubator, Tshikululu Social Investments, and as a consultant for Ilifa Labantwana, the Children’s Institute and the Nelson Mandela Foundation. Tess is an Atlantic Fellow for Racial Equity, Salzburg Global Fellow, and DGMT Innovation Fellow. She has also served as Treasurer of Equal Education; and is currently an advisory board member of Bulungula College. Tess holds a BSocSci in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics, an LLB from the University of Cape Town, and an LLM from Harvard University.

Here are some complementary bites to make your meal even tastier

DGMT Change Ideas will develop policy briefs and related content. Six policy briefs have been developed thus far. Explore them below.

Implementing the WHO Best Buys

This brief examines the World Health Organisation’s alcohol best buys and explores how they align with some of the proposed changes outlined in the draft Liquor Amendment Bill.

Download brief

Combatting alcohol harms: Introducing a Minimum Unit Pricing

This brief advocates for the introduction of a Minimum Unit Pricing policy as a crucial strategy to combat binge drinking.

Download brief

Closing the early learning gap for 3-5-year-olds

This brief explores universal access to quality early childhood development (ECD) at scale and how it can change the status quo and improve life trajectories.

Download brief

Double-discounted list of 10 budget-friendly food items

In this brief, DGMT and Grow Great focus on one practical intervention – 10 budget-friendly food items – which is about nutritious, cost-conscious foods.

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The Essential Package for Early Childhood Development

In this brief, we look at why an “Essential Package” of ECD services is needed to close the glaring gaps in ECD delivery.

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Children and Nutrition

In this policy brief, we examine the status and circumstances of our country’s children who feel the impact of hunger and malnutrition throughout their lives, starting in the womb.

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Visit the Equality Collective's website to learn more about their work.