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Impact Consulting partners with organisations engaged in social
development projects and guides them to a better
understanding of their contexts, successes and challenges.
Through regular monitoring and evaluation, and innovative
information management solutions, we enable them to
achieve maximum positive impact.
What is “impact”
Effecting social change
requires big picture thinking
Impact refers to long-term change on a broad societal level. This kind of social change is
not brought about by chance. It requires careful planning, regular monitoring and
evaluation, and accurate data.
“Whenever we try to pick out anything by itself, we find
it hitched to everything else in the universe.”
– John Muir, environmentalist
A case study
A pilot programme in a developing Asian country aimed to educate mothers about
nutrition in order to reduce a high childhood mortality rate. Once completed, an evaluation
was conducted to gauge the programme’s effectiveness and assess whether it should be
rolled out nationally. The evaluators found that the training outcomes had been achieved.
The mothers knew what to feed their children and believed in the importance of feeding
them nutritious food. However, the children were still malnourished and the impact –
decreasing the mortality rate – was not being realised.
Why? Because in most households, the fathers bought the food and the mothers-in-law,
with whom the families lived, cooked it. The social structure gave mothers little control
over their children’s nutrition, so their improved knowledge and attitudes did not make a
difference. Despite recommendations that fathers and mothers-in-law should be educated
too, or an alternative programme design be considered, the programme was rolled out
with mothers only at huge cost and the mortality rate continued to increase.
(Adapted from a working paper by Howard White, 3ie)
As this case study shows, it’s important for organisations to gain an
understanding of the context they are working in and allow this to steer their
strategy for social change. Impact Consulting can help your organisation to
achieve this through focused planning and regular monitoring and evaluation,
using accurate and relevant information.
About us
Maximise your positive impact
Impact Consulting, a 100% BEE organisation, was founded in Cape Town in 2004. We
provide specialised consultancy services to organisations engaged in social
development.
Our team of experts will work with your organisation and gain a thorough understanding
of the social change you wish to effect. During this process, we’ll provide key insights into
the external forces and challenges that you can expect to face.
Once you have a better understanding of the bigger picture, we’ll team up to strategise
the most effective way of achieving the desired change, help you to plan for stable
resourcing, and align all your activities towards maximising your positive impact.
We’ll also assist with internal monitoring processes and information management
systems; and implement evaluations so you can track and enhance the positive social
impact you want to achieve.
Our philosophy
Promoting sustainability, accountability and
positive impact
There are over 100,000 organisations that currently implement social development
projects in South Africa. Impact Consulting partners with these non-profits, donors,
corporate social investment departments and government departments, and provides
specialised services that aim to maximise these organisations’ positive impact.
Monitoring and evaluating
We believe that monitoring and evaluation are essential strategic and management
mechanisms for projects and organisations to reflect on their work. Through regular
monitoring and rigorous evaluation, organisations can learn from their experiences and
develop strategies to enhance their sustainability. Developing clear impact plans with
intended outcomes and indicators also enables organisations to track and accurately
report on their work. This, in turn, enhances accountability.
Managing and sharing information
A general lack of documentation has resulted in African non-profits becoming overly
reliant on Western knowledge, models and practices. Unfortunately, these are often not
suitable for our unique context. Impact Consulting aims to encourage the production and
preservation of African-based knowledge. We do this by producing evaluation reports
that can be widely disseminated; and by developing innovative information management
tools and resources that facilitate training and information sharing. In these ways, we
encourage the establishment of locally relevant models and practices that are informed
by reflection and research.
Supporting sustainability through fundraising and social entrepreneurship
When non-profit organisations become financially sustainable, the impact they have on
their beneficiary target groups can be increased, as they have the means to plan long-
term interventions. They can also focus more resources and time on programme
implementation and less on fundraising. The South African non-profit sector currently
relies heavily on international funders. With our partners, we aim to help South African
non-profits achieve financial sustainability through the development of social
entrepreneurship models and increasing access to funds other than philanthropic
donations. In addition, we work with them to develop coherent advancement and
development strategies that include the promotion of local individual and corporate giving.
All our services and products aim to promote sustainability, accountability and
positive impact in the social development sector.
Core services
Our team has extensive knowledge and
experience in the following key areas:
• Monitoring and evaluation (M&E)
� The development of integrated M&E frameworks: M&E is embedded
within programme processes and activities as opposed to being an add-
on function. This includes aligning activities and outputs to the desired
outcomes and impact, indicators and tools to collect and analyse
appropriate data.
� Impact evaluations: these are rigorous, often long-term studies which
focus on changes for the ultimate beneficiaries of a project.
� Outcomes evaluations: these look at the effects of a programme to
assess what changes it has brought about.
� Process/implementation evaluations: to investigate how a programme is
being run, often assessing whether resources are being utilised
efficiently and whether the programme is achieving desired outcomes at
an early stage. The aim is to make implementation changes that will
positively affect the achievement of objectives and outcomes.
� Baseline studies: usually used for impact evaluations, these assess the
status of beneficiaries or communities prior to an intervention.
� Needs assessments: to investigate what the needs of a target group are
to inform project design.
� Feasibility studies: to assess the likelihood of success of a programme
design in a particular setting.
• Information management through DataFox: our web-based software has been
designed specifically for the African market. DataFox helps organisations to
systematically store data in a central hub and search and use that data for
multiple purposes.
• Social development research: including socio-economic surveys and
situational assessments.
• Resource development: Including production of documentaries, training videos
and innovative multi-media resources.
• Programme design and strategy
• Fundraising support: including training, prospect research, assistance with
development of strategies, plans, fundraising policies and procedures.
Call +27 (0) 21 424 4166 or email [email protected] to find out more
Our software
DataFox: our information
management software
Many organisations engaged in social development lack centralised repositories for
information. This means they do not have ready access to the data they need for
important tasks and projects. They also often waste precious resources on manual
information gathering processes which could so easily be simplified by technology. In
order to provide these organisations with a user-friendly and fully-integrated information
management tool, Impact Consulting developed DataFox.
Built for social development organisations by social development
specialists
DataFox helps organisations to systematically store data in a central hub and search and
use that data for multiple purposes.
Our customisable web-based software system:
• Generates statistics for comprehensive planning and evaluation
• Increases staff accountability, project management and data quality
• Promotes good practice in fundraising tracking for better donor relations
• Safeguards institutional memory and streamlines internal information sharing
• Offers sophisticated security and user access rights to protect data integrity
• Saves time with a user-friendly mail-merge function and search capabilities
With DataFox, information can be accessed by anyone, anywhere in the world; and used
to store and extract data in a flexible and dynamic way.
A suite of modules to choose from
We have developed several versions of DataFox to suit the needs of both start-up and
well-established organisations. DataFox offers a range of modules and functionalities for
organisations to choose from and add to as their requirements evolve. We can also build
bespoke modules for clients who need them.
Modules include:
• Core (individuals, organisations, staff and projects)
• Interactions (for logging events, activities, meetings etc)
• Prospecting (proposals and requests for proposals)
• Donations
• Communications (Templates and e-mail)
• Document Management
• Monitoring and Evaluation
• Calendar and Tasks
• Cases
• Questionnaire
Open source software. No license fees.
Because DataFox software is open source, there is no need to pay license fees. The
system belongs to the organisation once it has been purchased and users can be added
at no extra cost. Our system can also be run via the Internet, which allows users to
access the database real time from anywhere where they have internet connectivity.
Our clients
We have partnered with the following organisations since we were
established as a BEE social development consultancy in 2004:
Evaluation studies
Impact Consulting has conducted many evaluation studies since its establishment in
2004 in various fields, including:
• Education
• Health
• HIV and AIDS
• Housing
• Human rights
• Information and Communication Technology
• Sport
• Early Childhood Development
• Justice
• Governance
• Social development and services
Clients include:
• Bubblegum
• Business Parenting Institute
• Cape Craft and Design Institute
• Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
• Community Chest Western Cape
• Dinaledi Educational Coaching
• DG Murray Trust
• Embassy of Finland
• Extra-Mural Education Trust
• FIFA’s Medical Research Arm
• Grassroot Soccer
• Hantam Community Education Trust
• Institute for Justice and Reconciliation
• Inyathelo: The South African Institute for Advancement
• Levi Strauss Foundation
• Mellon Housing Initiative
• Money Advice Centre
• Oxfam America
• Santam
• Shuttleworth Foundation
• Sonke Gender Justice Network
• Southern African AIDS Trust
• Sports Coaches’ OutReach
• The Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development and the National Arts Council
• Umsobomvu Youth Fund
• Western Cape Department of Health
• Western Cape Department of Social Development
• Western Cape Networking AIDS Community of South Africa
• Zisukhanyo Schools Education Project
M&E frameworks
• Dinaledi Educational Coaching
• Institute for Justice and Reconciliation
• Inyathelo: The South African Institute for Advancement
• Khulisa Crime Prevention Services
• Mellon Housing Initiative
• Money Advice Centre
• Office of the Premier, Limpopo (co-facilitated with Southern Hemisphere) • Southern Hemisphere Consultants
• Statistics SA Census 2011 team
• Treatment Action Campaign
• Western Cape Department of Social Development
• Walter Sisulu University
• Women on Farms Project
• Women’s Legal Centre
Other research
• AfriGIS
• Atlantic Philanthropies (as part of a consortium)
• Development Action Group
• District Six Museum
• Foundation for Contemporary Research
• Hope/HIV
• Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) Social Cohesion and Integration Unit
• HSRC Democracy and Governance Unit
• Laureus Sport for Good Foundation
• Office of the Premier, Limpopo (in collaboration with Southern Hemisphere Consultants)
• Open Society Foundation (OSF)
• University of Jos, Nigeria
• University of Cape Town Learning Network
• Western Cape Department of Economic Affairs and Tourism’s Microeconomic
Development Strategy Sector (in partnership)
• Laureus Sport for Good Foundation
• University of Cape Town (UCT)
• The Cape Town Opera (Project planning and design)
• Sonke Gender Justice Network
Resource development
• The Contact Trust
• Inyathelo: the South African Institute for Advancement
• Policy Project
• Centre for Early Childhood Development
Fundraising support
• University of the Witwatersrand Development and Fundraising Office
• Inyathelo: the South African Institute for Advancement
• University of the Western Cape
• Black Sash
• Development Action Group
M&E capacity building and support
• Open Society Foundation
• Oxfam America
• Sonke
• University of Cape Town Learning Network
• Women’s Legal Centre
• Women on Farms Project
Information management using DataFox
• Aurum Institute
• Cape Town Holocaust Centre
• Chaeli Campaign
• Dementia SA
• Institute for Security Studies
• Inyathelo – The South African Institute for Advancement
• Money Advice Centre
• mothers 2 mothers
• University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria
• Western Cape Provincial Parliament
• Kingswood College
• District Six Museum
• Johannesburg Development Agency
• University of Jos, Nigeria
• University of Fort Hare
• Durban Institute of Technology
Partners & Associates
Research and consulting associates
• Anthony Gird was trained in M&E during his Masters degree in Organisational
Psychology (MBusSci) at UCT. Anthony has broad experience in evaluation and
research in the higher education and small business sectors, specialising in
quantitative research design and analysis.
• Bill Sewell, Founder of People and Performance, has a Masters of Public
Administration and a Honours degree in Organisational Development. Bill is
widely experienced in areas of performance evaluation and change management
with effective analytical, facilitation and capacity-building skills and an extensive
network in governance, professional and development spheres in Southern
Africa.
• Dr Mark Abrahams is the previous chairperson of the South African Monitoring
and Evaluation Association and a lecturer in monitoring and evaluation at the
University of Cape Town.
• Fetola is a results-driven Enterprise Development organisation with a Vision to
change lives for the better, forever. They design and implement high-impact CSI
and enterprise development programmes with a special focus on women-owned
& emerging micro-enterprises and rural enterprise. Fetola works with a range of
Corporate, Government & International clients including Old Mutual, Shared
Interest UK and the Embassy of Finland.
• Inyathelo: The South African Institute for Advancement provides a centre for
reflection and learning focused on assisting institutions and organisations with
issues of their own sustainability and related leadership skills development.
• Kate Clayton & Associates helps organisations (non-profits and
corporates) further their social impact through strategic thinking, partnerships and
more effective communication.
• Lindy Dlamini a Project Consultant has extensive experience with facilitation,
coordination and training and has worked with communities across South Africa.
Lindy has a postgraduate degree in Administration, has successfully coordinated
various research projects within the NGO sector, acts as a mentor and English
educator and is conversant in nine of our eleven official languages.
• Mthente Research and Consulting Services is a research-driven consulting
firm that provides innovative services and solutions to public, private and NGO
sector clients.
• OneWorld Sustainable Investments is a business advisory and investment
facilitation company that focuses on creating integrated solutions and services,
based on the principle of sustainable development and investment.
• Southern Hemisphere Consultants is a social and economic development
consulting company doing work in Southern Africa and the Caribbean.
Resource development associates
• Matthew Wild is a theatre and video director and producer with extensive
experience in the social development sector who has collaborated with Impact on
a number of documentaries and training videos.
• Odd Digital Media creates digital solutions based on conceptually sound, highly
structured and uniquely creative thinking.
• The Gaslight is the sound and composition studio of drummer / composer Shaun
Michau. Established in 2004, The Gaslight specialises in scores and sound
designs for film, commercials, theatre and corporate work. Shaun studied at the
UCT College of Music and has written many original theatre scores, composed
the music for the South African Parliament’s State of the Nation Address in 2005,
and worked with a wide range of clients including Mercedes-Benz, Miller Beer,
The Centre for Early Childhood Development and the The Policy Project.
Technical associates
• Implicit Design - owner Gareth Priede has worked as a professional software
developer for over 10 years in three different countries, amassing extensive
experience in all the major programming languages on both Windows and Linux.
He is currently researching a PhD in Artificial Intelligence at UCT, teaching robots
to play soccer.
• Easy Capture specialises in digital data capture, using state of the art digital
technology and a national network of field agents to deliver a total survey
solution. From digital polls and questionnaires to media enriched surveys, Easy
Capture provides Impact Consulting with access to more reliable data at near
real-time speeds.
Meet the team
Owner and Director Jerushah Rangasami holds a postgraduate degree in Psychology
from the University of Cape Town. Her thesis was focused on designing an evaluation
system. To enhance her thesis, she attended a Masters course in Programme Evaluation
at the University of Cape Town, Jerushah has over twelve years of experience in:
• Monitoring and evaluation
• Social research
• Advancement, fundraising and philanthropy
• Design and management of information management systems
• Project design, management and coordination
• Project budget formulation
• Development of multimedia and interactive resources, including
documentary production
• Training and facilitation, including the design of innovative training
workshops and learning programmes.
A member of the South African Monitoring and Evaluation Association (SAMEA), the
Business Women's Association (BWA) and the Black Management Forum (BMF),
Jerushah regularly speaks at national and international conferences.
Her accolades include:
Travel awards
• 2011 3ie, Mind the Gap: in Cuernavaca, Mexico
• 2009 American Evaluation Conference, Orlando Florida USA
• 2009 2nd SAMEA Evaluation Conference – 'eVALUation'
• 2009 AfrEA NONIE 3ie
Awards
• 2008 Awarded 4th place in the National Department of Trade and Industry's
acclaimed Technology for Women in Business (TWIB)
• 2008 Selected as one of 12 South African Women ICT Entrepreneurs to
participate in the Empowering Women in ICT Programme
• 2006 Businesswomen's Association Regional Business Achiever Award (Start-up
Category)
• Finalist for the Black Business Quarterly BEE SMME Award in 2007
• Named one of "SA's Hottest and Brightest", The Deal Magazine, April 2007
(cover story)
• Various academic prizes at university
• Impact Consulting was chosen as one of the 5 finalists in the Cape Town
Entrepreneurship Competition 2010 in the Growth Category
Papers and presentations
• Impact of formal housing on quality of life. June 2010 at 3ie International Impact
Evaluation Conference – Mid the Gap: From Evidence to Policy, Cuernavaca,
Mexico.
• Project impact: beyond what we invest in to what it as achieved. May 2010 at the
Trialogue Corporate Social Investment conference, Johannesburg, South Africa.
• "How do we measure success? Social accounting, Social return on investment
and other measurement tools". April 2010 at the Social Entrepreneurship World
Forum, Johannesburg, South Africa.
• Negotiating context-appropriate evaluation methodologies between Western
donors and African evaluators. November 2009 at American Evaluation
Conference, Orlando Florida USA (received one of four International Travel
Awards).
• Effects of a clash in values between international donors and local evaluators.
Poster presentation at the second South African Monitoring and Evaluation
Association conference entitled ‘eVALUation’ (won best poster award),
Johannesburg, South Africa, August 2009.
• The Most Significant Change (MSC) technique as a method to uncover values.
Presentation at the second South African Monitoring and Evaluation Association
conference entitled ‘eVALUation’ (won best poster award), Johannesburg, South
Africa, August 2009.
• Evaluation results: engaging various audiences for effective learning and
influence. Presentation at the Network of Networks on Impact Evaluation
(NONIE) and African Evaluation Association conference entitled ‘The
International Conference on Impact Evaluation for Development Effectiveness’.
Cairo, Egypt, March 2009 (Received International Travel Award).
Evaluation Manager Tracey Konstant has a PhD in Organisational Behaviour from the
School of Economics and Business Management, University of Pretoria. She has 17
years of work experience across six African countries, with the last eight years spent in
organisational support consultancy in the South African development context. Her areas
of specialisation include organisational development through evaluation and client-
centered process design and facilitation, with particular expertise in the health, HIV and
social development sectors, supported by wide-ranging experience across a range of
sectors. She is a regular presenter at national and international conferences in the field of
monitoring and evaluation.
Researcher Teri Richter has a Masters in Social Science in Monitoring and Programme
Evaluation from the University of Cape Town. She completed her Honours degree in
Psychology at Rhodes University in 2008 and holds a Bachelor of Social Science from
the University of Cape Town where she majored in Psychology and Archaeology. Her
Honours thesis provided preliminary norms for the Digit Span subtest of the Wechsler
Intelligence Scale for Children – IV in South Africa for Xhosa, Afrikaans and English
speaking learners in Grade 7. For her Masters thesis, she conducted a formative
evaluation and constructed an implementation M&E framework for a non-profit refugee
education and advocacy organisation.
Researcher Michelle Stewart holds a Masters Degree (Cum Laude) in Health Promotion
from the University of Kwazulu-Natal. She also holds an Honours degree in Psychology
from the University of South Africa, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Economics
(Cum Laude) from Rhodes University. She is especially interested in social development
and has experience in the NGO sector, working as the project coordinator for a children's
NGO and also doing volunteer work for NGOs.
Project and Business Manager Anje Coetzer has an MPhil in Monitoring and Programme
Evaluation from the University of Cape Town. Her dissertation was a formative
evaluation of Working for Water’s Contractor Development Model, which aims to develop
entrepreneurs in the SMME market. She holds an Honours degree in African Politics from
the University of South Africa, with a thesis investigating the Millennium Development
Goals in South Africa. She also holds a BA degree in Applied Value and Policy Studies
from the University of Stellenbosch. She previously worked at a skills and business
development consultancy in London, involved in monitoring and evaluating small and
medium-sized organisations. Anje brings strong project management skills and
experience to this team.
IT and Marketing Manager Douglas Blowers has nine years research, development,
programming and software support experience in the ICT industry. He holds a diploma
from Van Zyl and Pritchard for computer programming and system analysts training and
an International ITUC (Information and Technology Users Council) certificate. With
additional experience in the financial, retail and entertainment sectors, Doug brings a
diverse set of skills and capabilities to the Impact team.
Team Administrator Allison Jo-Ann George obtained a BTech Degree in Office
Management and Technology (Summa cum laude) from the Cape Peninsula University of
Technology in 2004. She immediately assumed a lecturing position at the same
institution for four and a half years. She completed a certificate in a Teaching
Development Programme in 2010. Allison has volunteered and raised funds for a number
of NPO’s in the Western Cape region.
Lead Facilitator and Community Liaison Lindy Dlamini has extensive experience with
facilitation, coordination and training and has worked with communities across South
Africa. With a postgraduate degree in Administration, Lindy has successfully coordinated
various research projects within the NGO sector. Lindy has acted as a mentor to TSiBA
students, and has experience with English language education, through long-term
volunteering as an after-school English educator in Hout Bay. Lindy also speaks nine of
our eleven official languages.
Contact us
Impact Consulting
t : +27 (0) 21 424 4166
f : +27 (0) 21 424 4095
p : po box 1113 green point 8051
cc: reg no 2004/037984/23
Jerushah Rangasami. Managing Director.
c : +27 (0) 82 776 2286
Anje Coetzer. Business Manager.
c : +27 (0) 78 682 2280
Douglas Blowers. IT and Marketing Manager.
c : +27 (0) 71 686 7238
