Consider funding advocacy to amplify social investment impact. SECTION27's Mark Heywood speaks at the Tshikululu Social Investments Serious Social Investing 2013 workshop.

1. CSI and Social Justice advocacy:
What are you afraid of?
Indicators of serious social investment
Presentation by Mark Heywood, Director, SECTION27
Tshikululu, Serious Social Investing workshop, 14 March 2013

2. Overview
+ The state of the nation
+ The constitutional imperative for advocacy and the NDP
+ How serious is serious social investing?
+ CSI practice in 2012
+ A case study of the outcomes of advocacy in education:
+ The Limpopo text books „saga‟ and its aftermath
+ Civil society, advocacy and social justice: what and who
are we talking about?
+ Building social fabric and accountability
+ Achievements/impact of civil society
+ What is serious social investing?

3. South Africa at 19

4. The Constitution
+ Preamble:
+ Heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on
democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights;
+ Founding Provisions:
+ Human dignity, the achievement of equality and the advancement of
human rights and freedoms.
+ Bill of Rights:
+ Applies to all, including “juristic persons”
+ Freedom of expression
+ Assembly, demonstration and petition
+ Freedom of association
+ Political rights – Right to campaign for a political party or cause

5. The National Development Plan,
2012
+ Citizens active in
their own
development:
+ “active citizenry and
social activism is
necessary for
democracy and
development to
flourish.”
NDP, Executive Summary p 27

6. How does social investment relate
to the Constitutional vision?
+ According to the CSI handbook, 15th edition,
2012:
+ Total CSI in 2012 = R6.9 bn, 5.4% increase after inflation adjustment (broad
definition; narrow definition limited to expenditure =5.1bn)
+ R2.9bn or 40% of the overall spend is on education; education is supported by
93% of companies
+ Health has dropped from 68% to 40% of companies
+ “the shift towards education comes largely at the expense of
health expenditure, which at 12% of CSI expenditure in 2012
has shown a significant decline over the past three years
(spending on health and HIV/Aids accounted for 19% of CSI
expenditure in 2009).” (p 36)

7. Safe social investment?
+ Corporates contribute almost ¼ of NPO funding,
while govt approx 20%
+ Trialogue‟s CSI research in 2012 showed that
whilst 9% of NPOs engage in advocacy, just
over 40% of corporate will not fund it
+ Foreign donors contribute 1/5 of funding of
NGOs surveyed (but 90% when it comes to
advocacy)
+ TAC
+ SECTION27

8. EFFECTIVE SOCIAL
INVESTMENT?
In 2012 R2.9bn was
invested in education ..
What were the results?

9. Progressive deterioration in
numeracy
Grade 2012 2011
Grade % above 50 % 1 68 63
1 77% 2 57 55
2 68% 3 41 28
3 36% 4 37 28
4 26% 5 30 28
5 16% 6 27 30
6 11% 9 13 *
9 2%
Source: ANA, 2012 report
Learners start off in the system fairly well. But as they progress in the
education system their performance declines drastically.
Source: Equal Education

10. Learner retention : Percentage of young people who enter the
school system and leave it with an employable qualification
Source: Equal Education

11. Sensory deprivation:
Learners shut out of the modern
world
+ Census @ Schools, 2009:
+ 69% of schools had a maths teacher
+ Less than 25% had a library
+ Only 53% had a computer
+ 15% had access to email or the internet
+ In the community: 35% had access to a
library, 31% access to a computer and 20%
access to the internet

12. “Many school environments are not
conducive to learning.” NDP
Photos: SECTION27

13. Effects of civil society advocacy
+ In 2012 SECTION27 invested:
+ One attorney
+ One research fellow
+ One advocate
+ A lot of energy and ingenuity
+ Less than R2m

14. What were the results?
+ 1,2 million text books delivered to grades
1,2,3,10
+ Recommendations of a Presidential enquiry
+ Books delivered largely on time in 2013
nationally
+ Agreement with S27 on a furniture provision
plan and toilet and sanitation renovation plan
+ National political focus on education & growing
social pressure

15. Yet declining investment
in NPO sector
Source: CSI Handbook, 2013

16. Who is civil society & what is its
interest in social justice?
Opponents …. Friends …
“Counter-revolutionaries; neo-
liberals; anti-majoritarians”

17. Impact: If it was not for activism...
+ Two million people would not
be on ARVs
+ The Umtata medicines depot
would have collapsed in 2012
+ 1,2 million text books would
not have been delivered in
2013 in Limpopo
+ An R60m plan for school
toilets would not be being
implemented in Limpopo
+ Corruption Watch would not
exist

18. What is serious social investing?
+ Investment in social goods and
accountability
+ Building social fabric not just
providing social goods
+ Bravery in investment decisions
+ Innovation
+ Risk taking

19. heywood@section27.org.za
www.section27.org.za
Twitter #Section27News
Facebook: SECTION27
THANK YOU