CSI INSIGHTS
We share lesson and insights from our various knowledge platforms focused on corporate social investment including annual research and curated articles from The Trialogue CSI Handbook, and insights from the Trialogue CSI Conference and the CSI forums.
CSI Forum: School Leadership
Kindly hosted at Tsogo Sun’s Southern Sun Newlands hotel in Cape Town, on 24 August and Volkswagen South Africa’s offices in Johannesburg, on 25 August 2017 Considerable government spend (R320.5 billion in 2017) and the lion’s share of total CSI spend (48%, or approximately R4.1 billion in 2016) does not [...]
The business imperative for engaging the Sustainable Development Goals
Kindly hosted at Ster Kinekor’s offices in Johannesburg, on 7 February and Johnson & Johnson’s offices in Cape Town, on 9 February 2017 The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) came into effect on 1 January 2016, aiming to end poverty, protect the planet [...]
Zero growth in total corporate expenditure on social development in 2015/16
Companies and state-owned enterprises in South Africa spent R8.6 billion, in total, on social development in the country in 2015/16 – representing a 6% increase in nominal growth from the previous year. This growth is in line with inflation over the review period, reflecting zero growth in real terms. This, [...]
Communicating CSI – the last Trialogue CSI Forum of 2016
Kindly hosted at Volkswagen’s offices in Johannesburg, on 8 November and Sanlam’s offices in Cape Town, on 10 November Effective communication is crucial for fostering an organisation’s positive public profile. Companies often prioritise the marketing and advertising of their products and services, but struggle to communicate their CSI work. The [...]
Can CSI act as a developmental ‘change agent’?
Kindly hosted at Investec’s offices in Johannesburg, on 23 August, and Old Mutual’s offices in Cape Town, on 25 August 2016 Trialogue’s recent quarterly CSI Forum discussed the potential and need for CSI to act as a ‘change agent’, to influence lead practice and activities of other role-players in a [...]
CSI Forum on Employee Volunteerism Programmes (EVPs)
Kindly hosted at FirstRand’s offices in Johannesburg, on 21 June 2016 Employee volunteerism programmes (EVPs) refer to any formal or organised company support for employees who wish to give of their money, time and/or skills in service of the community. Trialogue hosted its quarterly CSI Forum to discuss the benefits [...]
How employee community involvement can enhance CSI
Karena Cronin of Charities Aid Foundation Southern Africa presented a session at The Trialogue CSI Conference, hosted in Bryanston on 24 and 25 May 2016, exploring how employee community involvement (ECI) can enhance CSI. Cronin defined ECI as a “freely given contribution of employee time, skills and energy for the [...]
Communicating CSI
While most organisations understand that storytelling is the best way to create emotion about their CSI activities, Shani Kay, managing director of the Regency Foundation Networx, says that it can be “quite challenging for businesses to create objective, authentic stories that are credible.” It is important, she says, to understand [...]
Implementation of large-scale renewables in South African communities
Holle Wlokas, a consultant for the Transformation Energy Trust, is involved with the implementation of large-scale renewable energy projects in South Africa. The organisation is currently working with 102 projects across the country, as government approaches its fifth procurement round. She explained how the projects have to share ownership with [...]
Celebrating strategic CSI
Strategic CSI is defined as CSI that has positive developmental, as well as business impact (beyond reputational impact). The Trialogue Strategic CSI Award, which recognises projects that exemplify best practice in strategic CSI in South Africa, was presented to Singita in 2015, for their cooking school in the Kruger National Park. At [...]
SOEs’ commitment to economic development
“It was Mother Theresa who said that love is not patronising and charity isn’t about pity, it’s about love. Charity and love are the same. Don’t just give money; reach out your hand instead.” These were the opening words of Dr Ben Ngubane, chairman of the board of Eskom Holdings, [...]
Trialogue Donors’ Den provides expert advice on pitching and fundraising
Adapted from the internationally acclaimed Dragons’ Den television series, this interactive session, which concluded The Trialogue CSI Conference 2016, gave representatives from three carefully-selected NPOs (St Joseph’s Care and Support Trust, South African National Council for the Blind and The Sozo Foundation) the unique opportunity to pitch a project to a panel of judges, [...]
