Whilst facilitating reciprocal relationships between the agents of social and environmental development, Reciprocity provides a range of professional services that assist its clients to achieve both their development and business outcomes.

reciprocity offers an economic approach to
sustainable social and environmental development

Reciprocity understands the drivers of Corporate Responsibility as well as the key criteria for Government and Civil Society to deliver effective and sustainable development outcomes.

Reciprocity's strength lies in our ability to speak the language of each of these different role players and facilitate "value based" partnerships. In the true spirit of Social Entrepreneurship, reciprocity delivers innovative and effective solutions across all development disciplines. Our service offering is therefore by no means exhaustive, as our clients often call upon us to break new ground.

We believe that all economic activity is influenced by and impacts on society and the environment. Businesses can either

business for development
development for business

CURRENT PROJECTS: UNDP - Growing Inclusive Makets - Case Studies

Client: The United Nations Development Programme
The Project: This phase of the GIM project seeks to increase the depth of analysis by providing quantitative data on the business benefit of inclusive business models as well at their social and environmental impact.
Our Brief: Research including on-site interviews for primary sources, drafting and producing of three case studies on inclusive business models in South Africa benefiting people at the base of the pyramid.

CURRENT PROJECTS: THE BOP LEARNING LAB - The University of Stellenbosch Business School

Reciprocity facilitates the monthly meetings of the BoP Learning Lab at the USB and compiles BoP Factsheets on Southern African businesses engaging the Base of the Economic Pyramid. Download the factsheets >> HERE.

the corporate responsibility environment

Companies doing business in South Africa are presurised by government, civil society and the collective conscience of their employees and cutomers to contribute towards nation building through corporate responsibility programmes. This, besides a growing understanding of the positive impact on the bottom line resulting from responsible social and environmental actions, is causing more and more businesses to evaluate their corporate responsibility strategy.

With over 100,000 registered NGOs and a complex development environment in Southern Africa, identifying a suitable cause, implementing partner and intervention is a daunting challenge for most businesses seeking to engage in mutually beneficial corporate responsibility actions.

Corporates often fail to make the transition from a corporate to a development mindset, with the result that their CR actions: a) fail to address real needs b) have unsustainable outcomes c) over emphasise marketing returns d) don't meaningfully engage their employees.

Small to medium size businesses often position the responsibility of CSI under the Marketing or HR manager resulting in CR being a secondary priority lacking a focused and strategic approach.

civil society & the development environment

Non-profit organisations striving to meet social and environmental development needs are faced with enormous challenges in Africa - from resource mobilisation and restrictive legislature to the far reaching influences of poverty on the sustainability of their actions.

Many NPOs fail to meet the professional communication, management and reporting standards expected by donor agencies and corporate funders.

Too many NPOs are soley dependent on donor funding without leveraging their expertise or infrastructure to generate income. With many donors restricting their funding to project outcomes, this places enormous pressure on the administration and general opperations of NPOs.

governments broad development agenda

Government is faced with the challenge of legislating and supporting an enabling environment within which civil society and the private sector can implement their development agendas. Numerous opportunities exist for colaboration with the corporate sector and civil society through Public Private Parternerships. Such relationships require an alighnment of value-based objectives and the sharing of visions through the common language of development.

Reciprocity - the link

It is in this space that Reciprocity provides a range of specialised services for and facilitates relationships between corporate donors, civil society and the public sector. Working with a network of partners to integrate development with corporate growth and an effective civil society, Reciprocity is "Adding value to responsible businesses & generating business for valuable NPOs."

SOCIAL
- CSR STRATEGY
- BoP Market Research & Project
Implementation
- NPO Project Development, Fundraising & Project Management
- Fair Trade Accreditation

ENVIRONMENT
- Environmental Education
- Renewable Energy Project Development
- Sustainable Development Strategy

OVERLAPING
- Monitoring & Evaluation
- Research & Publishing
- Development Facilitation

See our full list of services and download our service fact sheets on the Services Page.

The University of Stellenbosch Business School has appointed Reciprocity to co-ordinate the Western Cape BoP Learning Lab and to research and publish a series of Fact Sheets on businesses in Southern Africa that have developed a specific product/service offering that targets poor communities at the "base of the Economic Pyramid" (BoP).

Download all the BoP Fact Sheets on our Publications Page.

glossary...

Reciprocity n 1 reciprocal action or relation 2 a mutual exchange of comercial or other privileges.

Reciprocal adj 1 indicating that an action is given and recieved by each subject.

quick contacts...

Andrew Purnell
Cell: 082 454 3744
Fax: 086 623 5929
Email: andrew@reciprocity.co.za

Nicolas Pascarel
Cell: 082 319 8404
Office: 021 424 4488
Fax: 021 424 4488
Email: nico@reciprocity.co.za

Office
50 Rose Street, Cape Town, 8000