WHY THE NEED

Why does the great work done by good people so often unravel or fail to achieve maximum impact?

There are no simple answers. The community development landscape is complex by nature. Ranyaka’s Collaborative Community Development Model was developed in response to some of the challenges that, in our view, lie at the root of the problem.

• A fragmented project and investment approach to socio-economic issues

• The absence of a common agenda for a specific neighbourhood

• Limited local ownership of interventions

• Lack of cross-sectoral collaboration

• Lack of social cohesion within communities

• The need for funders to increasingly support a systemic approach to achieve sustainable change

OUR PROCESS

The Ranyaka process is both holistic and hands-on. It is also fully inclusive, engaging communities every step of the way. To ensure lasting impact, we constantly align on-the-ground projects with the overall development strategy for an area. We also understand the need for interventions to be aligned with government legislation, regulatory requirements and development policies.

The implementation of our Collaborative Community Development Framework looks like this:

COMMUNITY PROFILING

Ranyaka works with local stakeholders across multiple sectors to get the picture through data collection and analysis, dialogue and workshops to identify role players, challenges, resources and opportunities in an area. We measure the ‘well-being’ of the community through a set of indicators, asset-mapping and geo-referencing of issues. This provides the first baseline that is measured on an ongoing basis throughout implementation.

CO-DESIGN PLANS

We utilise the community profiling information to co-design a sustainable neighbourhood plan based on sound spatial planning principles, followed by a development strategy designed to address the area’s challenges, unlock opportunities, activate local resources and facilitate smart investment. Local stakeholders are key players in this process.

IMPLEMENT PROGRAMMES AND PROJECTS

Working with local partners, we implement programmes and projects that address priority needs, consider available resources and align with the broader development strategy. Network building, forging of strong partnerships and community activation is ongoing. Funders and donors are connected to smart investment opportunities. We utilise custom-designed tools and operating protocols.

MANAGE

We drive ongoing process management of the broader strategy, programmes, projects, stakeholder networks and local co-ordination teams. Regular stakeholder engagement enables us to continually strengthen relationships, anticipate potential risks and identify new opportunities for growth and development. We typically work in a community for a minimum period of three years.

MEASURE

Measurement and evaluation is ongoing and includes regular stakeholder feedback, collecting data for heat maps, measuring Social Return on Investment and creating a platform for the sharing of impact stories. We continuously monitor whether interventions have shifted the initial baseline indicators in the desired direction. The over-arching plan is constantly revised based on measurement outcomes.

UNLOCK INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES

We work to unlock smart investment opportunities for funders and donors who pursue sustainable, measurable change. Ranyaka’s approach to community development allows for the multiplier effect to come into play as the initial investment achieves more than the funding of a single intervention, but rather unlocks doors for sustainable transformation.

BUILD PARTNERSHIPS

The golden thread throughout this process is the building of strong partnerships with stakeholders across multiple sectors. These include residents, community forums, faith-based organisations, schools and training institutions, NGOs, NPOs, businesses, ward councillors, municipality and other levels of government, potential investors and community champions. Partnerships promote cohesion and unlock synergy.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

We conduct ongoing research on international best practice relating to the four main outcomes of the Ranyaka model to continually refine and improve the model; and inform the development of our tools and products.

THE HEROES ARE ALREADY THERE.

WE ACTIVATE COMMUNITIES TO SELF-ORGANISE AROUND A COMMON AGENDA. TO ACHIEVE THIS, WE IDENTIFY AND CAPACITATE LOCAL CHANGE AGENTS IN THE TRANSFORMATION OF THEIR OWN NEIGHBOURHOODS.

OUR PROGRAMMES

COMMUNITY SAFETY

Mobilise relevant stakeholders  •  Identify crime hot spots  •  Public project noticeboards  •  Develop response and data management plan  •  Control room activation  •  Safety light and alarm installation

FIX YOUR SPACE

Create spaces that promote health, happiness and well-being  •  Implement place-making methodology to give a sense of place, celebrate local culture and create recognisable beacons  • Improve the aesthetics of an area  •  Reduce crime by building community pride, cohesion, ownership  •  Implement quick and affordable projects  •  Create opportunities for investment or contributions from local businesses

LAND AND PROPERTY

Identify residential and commercial development opportunities  •  Develop under-utilised open land  •  Investigate micro-solutions for informal settlement areas  •  Support and promote land development for small-scale farming or agripreneurship  •  Address food security through urban farming  •  Repurpose vacant buildings for commercial activities or community hubs

BUILDING BUSINESS

Identify community entrepreneurs and enterprises  •  Enterprise development and entrepreneurial support  •  Create access to market opportunities  •  Establish business forums  •  Training and mentorship  •  Access to financing  •  Starter packs for emerging businesses

EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT (ECD)

Assist ECD centres with registration  •  Crèche safety  •  Food security  •  Staff training  •  Volunteering opportunities  •  Facilitate capacity-building  •  Mapping sessions to identify role players, highlight duplication and fill gaps

COLLABORATION IN ACTION

Innovation and technology partnerships with academic institutions  •  Establishment of forums and networks for NGO collaboration  •  Faith-based organisation forums  •  Business forums

STRONG SCHOOLS

Infrastructure and maintenance  •  Curriculum support  •  Parent involvement  •  School safety  •  Food security  •  Access to mentorship  •  Sport and recreation  •  Development of teachers  •  Sourcing of donors and funding

SPORT, ART AND CULTURE

Establish sport clubs and informal leagues  •  Support campaigns and events  •  Train coaches  •  Funding for equipment  •  Repurpose vacant spaces for recreational and sporting activities  •  Introduce sport and recreation programmes

PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT

Youth development  •  Life skills training  •  Financial training  •  Showcase career and training opportunities  •  Physical, emotional, spiritual and mental health  •  Support people with disabilities  •  Access to mentorship

TELL YOUR STORY

Opportunities for community storytelling  •  Story boxes at community centres  •  Celebrate good news  •  Identify possible publishing opportunities  •  Identify emerging talent and slot in with mentorship and training opportunities  •  Photography and filmmaking  •  Therapeutic storytelling through journaling, poetry and music