SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND MARKET RESEARCH
We research issues of socio-economic development at the community level, health, and consumer goods/services. This focus area covers a wide range of sectors which include social, economic, health, mining, and agriculture. Particularly in agriculture, we specialise in research on the strengthening of agricultural value chains for small-scale producers, as well as on broader issues of Local Economic Development – including employable skills and the creation of sustainable small (agriculturally based) enterprises. One of our future growth areas is to develop and maintain repositories of economic, social, health and market research data, which will be available to clients on order.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC POLICY RESEARCH
We conduct research aimed at informing and guiding government policy on socio-economic development issues. We carry out exploratory, formative, and final impact evaluations of government policy initiatives and programmes, as well as donor-funded programmes implemented by non-Governmental organizations. We also analyse development policy in different country contexts to inform ideas that can be applied in South Africa and the wider Southern Africa region. Furthermore, we research the informal economy, in the interest of finding where challenges and opportunities lie in the informal economy. We produce policy briefs and actively contribute, through different forms of media/publications, evidence-based information to inform discussions around policy effectiveness. In addition, our team has a strong track record of devising Local Economic Development strategies for South Africa’s local and district municipalities.
LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IMPLEMENTATION
Beyond strategy formulation, we are involved in the implementation of Local Economic Development (LED) projects for a wide range of clients, including government and mining companies. Implementation of high impact initiatives typically takes the sequence of developing feasibility studies and bankable business plans for development projects and managing the implementation of these projects. The Implementation process often involves consensus building among the key stakeholders and ongoing engagement of these stakeholders through the whole implementation process. We provide continuous capacity building to the key stakeholders, the ultimate aim being to hand over projects to local communities as part of long-term project sustainability of implementation. Also, under LED implementation, we support clients to improve their capacity to hire and procure locally, as well as anticipate and manage community conflicts pertaining to their operations.
MARKET RESEARCH
We provide businesses with information on customer needs and preferences. We carry out customer perception and satisfaction surveys, as well as Focus Group Discussions that field-test products, services, as well as corporate messaging and marketing campaigns. We also conduct exploratory studies that provide business clients with a reliable measure of their prospective client base and likely financial returns for different business development scenarios.