What comes to mind when you hear the term ‘social protection’? For many, it’s social grants or government assistance programmes. But at its core, social protection is a safety net that keeps people from falling deeper into poverty, benefiting individuals and society.

In South Africa, even though this principle is embedded in the Constitution, there are still gaps in our social protection system. Pregnant women living in poverty are falling through the cracks. Without financial support during pregnancy, women living in poor communities face greater economic hardship, limiting their ability to work and making it harder to afford nutritious food and healthcare. Right now, South Africa doesn’t have a dedicated social grant for expectant mothers living in poverty. Yet research shows that providing financial assistance during pregnancy leads to healthier babies and better long-term outcomes.

This matters for NGOs working on the frontlines of social development. The people most in need of social protection are often the very same communities that NGOs serve — whether in maternal health, early childhood development, or food security.

A Maternal Support Grant (MSG) wouldn’t just change lives at an individual level; it could also ease the burden on NGOs because stronger state support for pregnant women has the potential to break cycles of intergenerational poverty.

In this Deep Dive conversation, we look at what a Maternal Support Grant could mean for South Africa, why it’s a social justice issue, and how NGOs can help push this conversation forward. We speak to Wanga Zembe-Mkabile, senior specialist scientist at the South African Medical Research Council; Julie Mentor, Project lead of Embrace and Daniel McLaren, a public finance economist at Ilifa Labantwana.

Visit www.dgmt.co.za/maternal-support-grant-its-social-justice to read more and access the takeaway instructions.

The Learning Lunch podcast features three types of episodes: Deep Dives; Nourish & Flourish; and Best Bites.

Each podcast/learning lunch session is structured as follows:
The Main Meal - A ±30-minute podcast
The Takeaways - Instructions for a ±30-minute group reflection based on what you listened to.

To learn more about the work that we do, go to www.dgmt.co.za

Strategic litigation is a tactic that involves going to court to promote social change or human rights. This approach targets specific legal barriers that affect entire communities, aiming to reshape laws, policies or practices.

But when is strategic litigation the right tool for an NGO? In some cases, it's essential when there's a clear legal violation that requires judicial intervention to effect change — such as when governments fail to uphold constitutional rights. On the other hand, it may not be the best strategy when the legal system isn’t the right forum for the issue at hand, or when the political or public momentum is still building, and a different kind of advocacy could be more effective.

In this Best Bite podcast, we break down the factors that determine whether strategic litigation is the right course of action for NGOs by drawing on the experience of DGMT’s Alcohol Harms Reduction campaign (relaunched as Rethink Your Drink). We speak to the campaign’s lead Zimasa Mpemnyama about why they’ve decided that the courtroom is the best place to effect change.

Visit www.dgmt.co.za/litigate-to-advocate to read more and access the takeaway instructions.

The Learning Lunch podcast features three types of episodes: Deep Dives; Nourish & Flourish; and Best Bites.

Each podcast/learning lunch session is structured as follows:
The Main Meal - A ±30-minute podcast
The Takeaways - Instructions for a ±30-minute group reflection based on what you listened to.

To learn more about the work that we do, go to www.dgmt.co.za

In the world of policy change, timing is everything. According to political science scholar John Kingdon, a significant policy shift happens when three things are in place. First, the problem must be well understood. Second, there must be a viable and feasible solution ready to address that problem. And third, there must be political will to deal with the problem.

When these conditions are met, a policy window opens, sometimes unpredictably. Having solutions ready at the right time is key to taking advantage of these opportunities. This could mean working for several years, even decades, building a body of evidence for your solution before an opportunity reveals itself.

For NGOs who have long been lobbying for systemic reforms to improve the accessibility and quality of early learning programmes in South Africa, a radical shift in the landscape presented itself in early 2024 when the minister of education called for an urgent push to register approximately 22 000 unregistered early learning programmes. Only registered programmes can access state subsidies for children in poorer communities.

Today, the mass registration drive (as it’s known to those involved in its design and implementation) is a collaborative effort between government and its social partners.

In this Nourish & Flourish conversation, we talk to Kayin Scholtz, process design lead for the mass registration drive about how social partners are rallying to support the Department of Basic Education’s efforts to expand access to early childhood development subsidies and the conditions that made all this possible.

Visit www.dgmt.co.za/what-are-policy-windows to read more and access the takeaway instructions.

The Learning Lunch podcast features three types of episodes: Deep Dives; Nourish & Flourish; and Best Bites.

Each podcast/learning lunch session is structured as follows:
The Main Meal - A ±30-minute podcast
The Takeaways - Instructions for a ±30-minute group reflection based on what you listened to.

To learn more about the work that we do, go to www.dgmt.co.za

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 Zoe Postman, head of communications for social change at the Equality Collective, and Phylicia Oppelt, project lead of Change Ideas – a DGMT initiative.

Visit www.dgmt.co.za/the-anatomy-of-a-powerful-idea to read more and access the takeaway instructions.

The Learning Lunch podcast features three types of episodes: Deep Dives; Nourish & Flourish; and Best Bites.

Each podcast/learning lunch session is structured as follows:
The Main Meal - A ±30-minute podcast
The Takeaways - Instructions for a ±30-minute group reflection based on what you listened to.

To learn more about the work that we do, go to www.dgmt.co.za

Imagine if solving unemployment was as easy as creating more jobs or ending food poverty by producing more food. It's never that straightforward.

In South Africa, around 3 million young people aged 15-24 are not in education, employment, or training (NEET), facing vulnerabilities that deepen when their situation remains unchanged for long periods. Wicked problems like youth unemployment are complex and require comprehensive approaches.

Enter the Basic Package of Support (BPS) programme — a consortium project with the Centre for Social Development (CSDA) and the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) designed to help young people who are NEET to reconnect with opportunities. Through personalised, face-to-face support and connections to support services, BPS aims to empower young people and improve their access to education and employment pathways.

Data-driven insights play a crucial role in the success of this project – not only in terms of understanding the NEET population and their varied needs but also in the landscape of state-sponsored and NGO-driven support services and understanding what it’ll take to improve access to these services and the quality of these interventions.

In this Best Bites podcast, we talk to Bridget Hannah, Innovation Director at DGMT. Bridget’s portfolio is all about supporting young people in our country to fully participate in society and the economy. In an unequal country like South Africa, there are many socio-economic reasons why young people drop out of school, struggle to find work and battle to build economic livelihoods for themselves. Bridget’s portfolio is focused on really understanding young people’s challenges and driving targeted interventions to support them to keep their grip on opportunities and build productive lives.

Visit www.dgmt.co.za/what-does-tomorrows-workforce-look-like to read more and access the takeaway instructions.

The Learning Lunch podcast features three types of episodes: Deep Dives; Nourish & Flourish; and Best Bites.

Each podcast/learning lunch session is structured as follows:
The Main Meal - A ±30-minute podcast
The Takeaways - Instructions for a ±30-minute group reflection based on what you listened to.

To learn more about the work that we do, go to www.dgmt.co.za

In recent years, non-profit organisations (NPOs) have grappled with dwindling donor funding and reduced support from government departments, affecting their ability to provide crucial social welfare and development services to communities. These organisations are part of a care economy that supports children in places of safety, people living with disabilities and the elderly, to name just some of the beneficiaries of their work.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the situation worsened for many of these organisations due to delayed payments from government. Consequently, some had to sell off assets or retrench staff, affecting their operations.

Join us as we delve into the critical role of NPOs in providing social welfare services for marginalised and vulnerable communities and how they are impacted by government budget cuts, fickle donors and societal apathy.

In this Nourish & Flourish conversation, Nasiphi Zwakala, an Innovation Manager at DGMT, tells us why care is a good cornerstone of any economy. Tune in to gain a deeper understanding of how we can strengthen our social fabric, support our care economy, and champion those who are providing care services to vulnerable and marginalised people.

Visit www.dgmt.co.za/caring-about-the-care-economy to read more and access the takeaway instructions.

The Learning Lunch podcast features three types of episodes: Deep Dives; Nourish & Flourish; and Best Bites.

Each podcast/learning lunch session is structured as follows:
The Main Meal - A ±30-minute podcast
The Takeaways - Instructions for a ±30-minute group reflection based on what you listened to.

To learn more about the work that we do, go to www.dgmt.co.za

Social and economic incentives are powerful tools to motivate and influence behaviour in individuals, communities and organisations. Social incentives often involve recognition, belonging, or social approval, while economic incentives typically involve financial rewards, discounts, or tangible benefits. They have the potential to drive positive actions and encourage participation in activities that contribute to societal goals such as environmental conservation, community development, or public health initiatives.

So, how should we be using social and economic incentives to address South Africa’s waste problem? Much of our country’s solid waste is in landfills, including organic waste, such as food scraps, which could be composted instead. Addressing South Africa’s waste problem requires a joint effort from all of us, including everyday consumers, big producers, policymakers, municipalities, and waste treatment facilities.

Recycling larger volumes of waste relies on more people sorting their waste at home. Social and economic incentives linked to the things that are most important to people can encourage their buy-in, especially for those who don’t have regular waste collection and are dealing with other pressing service delivery challenges. But we also need infrastructure to support recycling, composting, and divert large volumes of waste away from landfills. Behaviour change and systemic change go hand in hand.

In this Deep Dive conversation, we talk to Chad Robertson, CEO and co-founder of Regenize, and Andrew Hartnack, anthropologist and researcher about innovative solutions and incentives to change social norms around dumping, littering and sorting your waste at home. This is part of DGMT’s Create Change campaign aimed at inspiring individual and collective action to reduce waste.

Visit www.dgmt.co.za/using-incentives-for-change to read more and access the takeaway instructions.

The Learning Lunch podcast features three types of episodes: Deep Dives; Nourish & Flourish; and Best Bites.

Each podcast/learning lunch session is structured as follows:
The Main Meal - A ±30-minute podcast
The Takeaways - Instructions for a ±30-minute group reflection based on what you listened to.

To learn more about the work that we do, go to www.dgmt.co.za

Civil society organisations are a catalyst for innovation and positive social change in communities – filling gaps in service delivery. To be effective, these organisations must be agile and able to adjust their programmes and products to meet the needs of their communities.

Sometimes this means going back to the drawing board, rethinking programme delivery, and iterating to achieve desired outcomes. But in pressure-cooker environments, many organisations don’t have the time, financial resources or capacity to stop, rethink and start again. After all, they rely on grants, donations and fundraising to keep their operations going. So, when a project is not going according to plan, the pathway to achieving the organisation’s objectives can become less clear and staff morale takes a dip. How do some organisations find their way while others struggle to get back on course?

In this podcast, we talk to Nomfundo Calana, the project lead of JobStarter – a tech-based initiative that supports young people to get ready for the world of work. The latest version of the JobStarter website and app launched in 2023 after years of refinement. Although this is not unusual for a tech-based product, JobStarter is a non-profit facing similar challenges that others in civil society face, such as capacity constraints and keeping donors onside.

Visit www.dgmt.co.za/when-projects-dont-go-according-to-plan to read more and access the takeaway instructions.

The Learning Lunch podcast features three types of episodes: Deep Dives; Nourish & Flourish; and Best Bites.

Each podcast/learning lunch session is structured as follows:
The Main Meal - A ±30-minute podcast
The Takeaways - Instructions for a ±30-minute group reflection based on what you listened to.

To learn more about the work that we do, go to www.dgmt.co.za