Imagine a South Africa where every person has the opportunity to fulfil their potential...
The legacy of Douglas and Eleanor Murray
Invest in South Africa’s potential
Five-year strategy: 2017-2021 DGMT is a public innovator through strategic investment, committed to developing South Africa’s potential. We see our role as: ɸɸ commissioning projects that can seize opportunities for success; ɸɸ communicating those opportunities in ways that inspire leadership and action; and ɸɸ connecting people of like and unlike mind, who are committed to the same goal. Through this, we aim to be a national node of innovation – informative, substantive, engaging, inspiring and transformative.
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A flying nation Our goal for South Africa is a flourishing people, economy and society. This is what we mean by a flying nation. A flying nation makes great use of its resources and infrastructure, but at its heart, are people who know how to fly high. They have both the technical know-how and the mindset to do this. They also know how to relate to one another, because disaster strikes when we fly blind to the needs and aspirations of others. A deeply unequal nation has little prospect of long-term success. That is why the core of DGMT’s work is human development. We come from a past where the potential of the majority has been ignored. The effects of that past continue to exclude people and choke innovation. We also have not made the most of the opportunities that democracy has brought with it. Our nation won’t get off the ground if most people are left behind. We must now harness our entire talent pool for a more innovative and inclusive society.
DGMT’s aims for 2017 - 2021 Build the runway for lift-off Nurture an innovative and inclusive society
Open the flight gates to all Keep all children on track by Grade 4 Enable all young people to get their first decent job
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People strategies for a flying nation
Development of all individuals
Navigation into the world of work Vocational training and university Quality schooling Foundational literacy and numeracy
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Access to early learning Language development Good parenting Good nutrition
Growing human capital is the engine that drives further 3 economic growth and development, if everyone benefits
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Skills beget skills – ratcheting up human capital and breaking the cycles of social & economic exclusion
Early brain development sets the ‘angle of elevation’ – the rate of return to future investments
Healthy pregnancy
An innovative and inclusive society
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The next big push to lift-off There’s untapped opportunity ɸɸ ɸɸ
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The birth of democracy gave South Africa a huge boost. Our people, economy and society are better off than in 1994. But in the past few years, progress has slowed. We have the money and the infrastructure for our country to reach great heights, but too often we seem stuck on the tarmac! We have not used our resources effectively to create a well-maintained and substantial ‘runway for lift-off’. Not only that, but we have failed to build the human capital that is the engine for economic growth and development. In particular, we have failed our children and young people, who are the very source of human capital. There are many opportunities – many we’ve ignored up until now – that keep jumping out at us. We need to seize the obvious untapped opportunities that would open up possibility to everyone. It is now time for the next ‘big push’ to lift-off.
Runway to success The runway to South Africa’s success is an innovative and inclusive society – able to see and seize opportunities and ensure that no one misses out on the benefits of a growing economy. Innovation and inclusion often work in different directions – enriching a few while the majority miss out. We see three opportunities to bring them together in South Africa,: by building civil society (already focused on social justice) as social innovator; by creating ‘unlikely networks’ across business, civil society and government – and across race and class; and by tackling those factors that choke innovation by excluding people because they cannot pay to participate, are physically disabled or excluded for other reasons.
Opening the flight gates to all The source of human capital is young children. There is potential for success in every child – even those from the poorest home circumstances. Statistically speaking, however, we can predict which children will flourish. It’s those that have successfully passed through two gateways as they grow up, namely being on track by Grade 4 and getting their first decent job. If children are still ‘on track’ by Grade 4 – able to read and do basic Maths at the expected level – they will generally stay on track to Grade 9 and then successfully complete schooling. Then, if they get work experience within the first few years postschooling, they’re likely to remain employed. If they don’t, they are far more likely to be jobless for life – or at least never get decent work. The ‘flight gates’ are currently closed to half of our children and young people. They must be opened to all.
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10 powerful opportunities for South Africa to fly Nurture an innovative and inclusive society
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Drive public innovation by reigniting civil society
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Release the systemic chokes on innovation that are perpetuated by exclusion
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Create unlikely networks to stimulate positive change
Keep all children on track by Grade 4
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Give every child the benefit of early childhood development
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Stop nutritional stunting among children under two years
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Make sure every child is ready to read by the time they go to school
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Build simple, loving connections for every child
Enable all young people to get their first decent job
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Place failing schools ‘under new management’ so that children can succeed
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Create new connections to opportunity for young people
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Support young people to keep their grip on opportunity
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Powerful opportunities for change
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Nurture an innovative and inclusive society
Drive public innovation by reigniting civil society What we have been part of doing in the last five years
What we want to do together in the next five years
ɸɸ Supporting a civil society that is under stress, while promoting innovation at the same time.
ɸɸ Fund specific strategies identified by civil society organisations to make them more effective public innovators. ɸɸ Remain focused on those who are most left out.
THE STRATEGY WHAT? ɸɸ Support innovation within civil society organisations. ɸɸ Stimulate communities to have a sense of aspiration and be proud of what they have.
HOW? ɸɸ Fund organisations and initiatives that share our vision for developing South Africa’s potential and which have identified, and require, investment in specific mechanisms for improving their own effectiveness and impact. ɸɸ Support local and sub-national initiatives that build a collective mindset of pride and aspiration (and combat fatalism and demoralisation).
Reliance on State funding has sustained many civil society organisations and created partnerships for service delivery, but has dampened their role as agents of social change. Reigniting the creativity and community responsiveness of civil society could generate new solutions. 11
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Nurture an innovative and inclusive society
Release the systemic chokes on innovation that are perpetuated by exclusion What we have been part of doing in the last five years
What we want to do together in the next five years
ɸɸ Working on a few critical blockages to innovation and inclusion.
ɸɸ Remove chokes that stifle innovation because some groups of people cannot fully participate.
THE STRATEGY WHAT? ɸɸ Reduce the costs of mobile data for socio-economic development. ɸɸ Develop targeted transport innovations that expand access to transport for people with disabilities. ɸɸ Promote the use of efficient technology-based solutions to reduce the administrative load of public servants.
HOW? ɸɸ Establish, with government, a social innovation register to enable zero-rating of mobile services that provide information or link people to opportunities. ɸɸ Continue to work with UberACCESS and the City of Cape Town in developing affordable and sustainable transport services for people with disabilities. ɸɸ Design and develop an application for social welfare services that can be integrated into the public welfare system.
There are some ‘easy wins’ that keep being overlooked, but that could open new possibilities for national development.
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Nurture an innovative and inclusive society
Create unlikely networks to stimulate positive change What we have been part of doing in the last five years
What we want to do together in the next five years
ɸɸ Nurturing a national network of young leaders committed to public innovation (Activate!).
ɸɸ Enhance the effectiveness of the Activate! network and expand alliances with the business sector.
THE STRATEGY WHAT? ɸɸ Continue to nurture a national network of young leaders committed to public innovation. ɸɸ Join the business sector in seizing the opportunities described in this document.
HOW? ɸɸ Support the continuing development of Activate! Leadership for Public Innovation as an unlikely network with potential for social, economic and political change. ɸɸ Frame the opportunities in business and economic terms. ɸɸ Enable business people to experience the potential of children and young people. ɸɸ Develop joint plans that: • leverage the core business of specific businesses (e.g. distribution chains of retailers); • build on the human resource functions of business organisations (e.g. as employers of parents of young children); • mobilise corporate leaders around issues about which they are passionate and understand the links to their businesses.
Apartheid’s legacy still divides us. New coalitions across class, race and business, government and civil society would unlock hidden talent and release fresh thinking. 15
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Keep all children on track by Grade 4
Give every child the benefit of early childhood development What we have been part of doing in the last five years ɸɸ Laying the foundations for scaling up quality ECD.
What we want to do together in the next five years ɸɸ Expand access to early learning to at least an additional 500 000 children in South Africa by working with government to build platforms of quality ECD at scale.
THE STRATEGY WHAT? ɸɸ Improve access to, and use of, data for planning and monitoring. ɸɸ Support national planning for financing and human resources to deliver early learning at scale. ɸɸ Design and make available ECD management tools to support quality delivery and enhance systems for scale. ɸɸ Demonstrate a programme mechanism for rapid scale-up of quality services. ɸɸ Generate greater and more informed demand for early learning services. ɸɸ Innovate solutions to specific early learning challenges.
HOW? ɸɸ Promote the district-based ‘Knowledge, Information and Data Solutions’ (KIDS) initiative of Ilifa labantwana. ɸɸ Continue with financial and human resource analysis and planning with national and provincial Treasuries and Departments of Social Development. ɸɸ Further develop and promote Ilifa Labantwana toolkits. ɸɸ Support social franchise mechanisms like SmartStart and EarlyBird educare@work (Innovation Edge). ɸɸ Develop public communication and communitybased advocacy programmes, through the Love, Play, Talk campaign. ɸɸ Support the Innovation Edge.
Early childhood development is the most powerful investment in human capital that a country can make.
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Keep all children on track by Grade 4
Stop nutritional stunting among children under two years What we have been part of doing in the last five years ɸɸ Supporting an effective nutrition programme, but we’ve not done enough!
What we want to do together in the next five years ɸɸ Drive a national zero-stunting campaign that sets the path for zero-stunting among 0-5 year olds within a decade.
THE STRATEGY WHAT? ɸɸ Mobilise a national response of State, civil society and business to halve the prevalence of stunting of 0-5 year olds within a decade.
HOW? ɸɸ Drive a national zero-stunting campaign by: • Framing the opportunity of a country in which no child is stunted; • Driving a national media and advocacy campaign related to key strategies for zero-stunting; • Mobilising a national network of leaders across society; • Engaging with key government departments to improve the service response to children; • Crossing height centiles and strengthening a home-package of nutrition support; • Using nodes of good practice to support and train health workers.
Zero-stunting would allow a million more young children to thrive each year and increase GDP by at least 2%.
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Keep all children on track by Grade 4
Make sure every child is ready to read by the time they go to school What we have been part of doing in the last five years
What we want to do together in the next five years
ɸɸ Promoting a national culture of reading-forjoy through Nal’ibali and supporting sparky literacy programmes.
ɸɸ Drive home the power of reading by doubling the number of parents who read to their children more than once a week (from 15% to 30%) and creating at least 1 000 story-powered schools. ɸɸ Ensure that every child has the foundation for reading and maths by Grade 4.
THE STRATEGY WHAT? ɸɸ Mobilise a national campaign to increase the practice of reading and to expand access to reading materials. ɸɸ Improve the quality of foundation phase numeracy and literacy.
HOW? ɸɸ Drive a national campaign to promote reading-for-joy (Nal’ibali) of sufficient scale, intensity and longevity to change reading behaviour in South Africa. ɸɸ Support the development of literacy and numeracy tools and resources to be made widely available. ɸɸ Explore catch-up literacy and numeracy options for young people.
A fully literate nation could boost the size of our GDP by 25%.
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Keep all children on track by Grade 4
Build simple, loving connections for every child What we have been part of doing in the last five years
What we want to do together in the next five years
ɸɸ Trying to find new ways to reduce child vulnerability in the home.
ɸɸ Keep looking for and trying out ways of providing and scaling effective support to young children at home.
THE STRATEGY WHAT? ɸɸ Develop and test different models for increasing the social capital of families of children at risk. ɸɸ Support effective strategies to reduce foetal harm from toxins (especially alcohol and tik). ɸɸ Tackle harsh discipline in the home.
HOW? ɸɸ Review and refocus Cape Town Embrace to capitalise on its strategic strengths. ɸɸ Work with the City of Cape Town to promote it as a ‘City for Children’ – building systems of support and access to opportunity. ɸɸ Explore other strategies, linked to the zero-stunting campaign, to reduce child vulnerability through social networks and links to additional resources. ɸɸ Fund effective programmes aimed at pregnant women, as well as men, that reduce the harm from foetal toxins in high-risk communities (linked to the zero-stunting campaign). ɸɸ Support an advocacy campaign as part of the Love, Play, Talk media campaign to make parents aware of what constitutes harsh discipline and the potential effects on their children.
‘Ordinary magic’ – parental love, having other caring adults in a child’s life and modest connections to opportunity – can help a child to succeed even in the face of poverty and adversity. 23
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Enable all young people to get their first decent job
Place failing schools ‘under new management’ so that children can succeed What we have been part of doing in the last five years ɸɸ Testing Public School Partnerships as part of public education.
What we want to do together in the next five years ɸɸ Open up a new channel for quality education in public schools in South Africa through non-profit public-private partnerships to ensure that 30 000 children achieve great results in schools that were previously the poorest or worst performing public schools.
THE STRATEGY WHAT? ɸɸ Open up a new channel for quality education in public schools in South Africa.
HOW? ɸɸ As part of the Public School Partnership, create networks of schools characterised by high capacity, management flexibility and outcomes-based accountability.
New management in failing schools could turn them around, giving new hope to the half of all learners entering Grade 1 who will otherwise fail to complete school. 25
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Enable all young people to get their first decent job
Create new connections to opportunity for young people What we have been part of doing in the last five years
What we want to do together in the next five years
ɸɸ Testing new ways of connecting young people to opportunity.
ɸɸ Establish and expand initiatives that connect 500 000 young people to opportunity.
THE STRATEGY WHAT? ɸɸ Frame key opportunities for improving the job prospects of young people. ɸɸ Ensure young people can easily access targeted, relevant information that supports them to successfully seek opportunities. ɸɸ Ensure young people have soft skills, navigational competencies and emotional wellbeing that prepare them for work. ɸɸ Show that a multi-sectoral package of interventions, delivered in one metropolitan area, can significantly reduce specific vulnerabilities.
HOW? ɸɸ Establish a youth analysis unit aimed at clarifying and presenting policy recommendations and practical actions to unlock efficiency and effectiveness in youth-focused policies and programmes. ɸɸ Provide easy-to-access information about educational and financial options, learning and connection to work opportunities (JobStarter). ɸɸ Design and support online courses aimed at enhancing job-readiness through JobStarter (including preparation for apprenticeships, learnerships and internships). ɸɸ Continue to implement a multi-faceted HIV prevention programme focused on young women aged 15-24 years of age in the Buffalo City Metro (Bumb’ingomso).
New connections would enable young people to leapfrog some of the barriers to employment that are actually quite small, but which prove insurmountable to them. 27
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Enable all young people to get their first decent job
Support young people to keep their grip on opportunity What we have been part of doing in the last five years
What we want to do together in the next five years
ɸɸ Supporting value-added financial support to university students and work-link programmes at TVET colleges.
ɸɸ Build and expand mechanisms to achieve at least a 20% increase in throughput in school, further education, and young people’s first year of a decent job.
THE STRATEGY WHAT? ɸɸ Prevent school drop-out. ɸɸ Show how poorer students can be supported to successfully complete further education and training. ɸɸ Support young people with ongoing training to succeed in work experience, or their first decent job.
HOW? ɸɸ Test, and then support scale-up of, interventions that are able to demonstrate reductions in school drop-out. ɸɸ Commission targeted pyscho-social support and high-school level remedial interventions. ɸɸ Support mechanisms that show how psychosocial student support can be extended to improve throughput rates. ɸɸ Establish an opportunity hub as part of the Buffalo City HIV-prevention programme, which strengthens worklinks between young people attending Buffalo City and Lovedale TVET Colleges and local industry. ɸɸ Develop and support online courses that provide continuing education to young people in their first decent job.
Tens of billions of Rands could be saved each year by preventing school, college, and university drop-out, and supporting young people to stick with their first job, despite home and work pressures. 29
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Let’s get started
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The legacy of Douglas and Eleanor Murray DGMT is a South African foundation built on endowments from Douglas and Eleanor Murray to promote charitable, educational, philanthropic and artistic purposes within South Africa. Douglas Murray was the son of, and successor to, John Murray, the founder of the Cape-based construction company, Murray and Stewart, which was established in 1902. This company merged in 1967 with Roberts Construction to become Murray & Roberts, with the parent Trusts as the main shareholders. In 1979, the Trusts combined to form the DG Murray Trust as the main shareholder before the company was publicly listed. Subsequently, the Trust relinquished its ownership to a major finance house. Eleanor Murray remained actively engaged in the work of the Trust until her death in 1993. The Foundation is now the holder of a portfolio of widely diversified assets, which reduces the risks in funding the achievement of its strategic objectives. DGMT currently distributes about R150-million per year and leverages and manages a similar amount of funding through joint ventures with other investors. DGMT’s ultimate goal is to create an ethical and enabling environment where human needs and aspirations are met; where every person is given the opportunity to fulfil his or her potential, for both personal benefit and for that of the wider community. By investing in South Africa’s potential we aim to: ɸɸ Create opportunity for personal growth and development that will encourage people to achieve their potential. ɸɸ Help reduce the gradients that people face in trying to seize those opportunities. ɸɸ Affirm the value and dignity of those who feel most marginalised and devalued by society.
The DGMT Board TRUSTEES John Volmink (Chairperson) - Ameen Amod - Maria Mabetoa - Shirley Mabusela Marianne MacRobert - Murphy Morobe - Hugo Nelson CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER David Harrison
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Douglas Murray House
1 Wodin Rd
PO Box 23893
Claremont
7700
Claremont
7735
+27 (0)21 670 9840 www.dgmt.co.za