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R. Pretorius and M. Nicolau
tainable development presupposes poverty reduction (Liu et al. 2015), and as such
features prominently as the first Sustainable Development Goal (SDG1)—‘End all
poverty everywhere’ of the 2030 Agenda (UN 2015). In this context a generalised
view of poverty reduction applies, referring not only to income poverty, but also covering matters such as education, health, water and sanitation (i.e. multidimensional
poverty), as expressed in SDG1 to SDG7 (Liu et al. 2015).
In South Africa significant progress has been made in addressing the challenges
of poverty, unemployment and inequality since a democratically elected government came into power in 1994 (Fofana et al. 2018). Instrumental to this progress
is South Africa’s National Development Plan 2030 (NDP), that specifically aims
at significantly reducing poverty, unemployment and inequality in South Africa by
2030 (National Planning Commission 2011). The NDP aligns well with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Dhlamini (2017) points towards the convergence
between these two frameworks on matters related to people, prosperity, peace, planet
and partnerships (the five P’s). Despite the progress achieved to date, there is agreement that several issues have not yet been dealt with satisfactorily. Of concern is
that vulnerable groups (women and children) continue to experience acute poverty
(Fofana et al. 2018), while inequality continues alongside persistent high rates of
unemployment and low rates of participation in the labour force (Statistics South
Africa 2015, 2017).
1.1 Links Between Community-Driven Change
and Sustainable Development
South Africa’s NDP subscribes to the principle of community-driven change and
development, thus advocating that the improvement of capabilities of communities
through education, skills development and self-employment will put them in a better
position to improve their lives (National Planning Commission 2011). Considering
the historical context of human rights violations, inequalities and spatial underdevelopment in South Africa, development initiatives that focus on community-driven
change, seems the appropriate way to go (Patel 2015). From this point of view, the
traditional way of working with communities namely to identify problems and needs
in communities and to design interventions for them may be unsuitable, whereas an
alternative approach with a focus on strengths, assets and capabilities appears to be
the preferred route to go (Nel 2018).
With reference to the achievement of sustainable development at community level,
Shiel et al. (2016) point towards the important role that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) can potentially play within communities in terms of engagement with
stakeholders and facilitation of capacity building, thereby fuelling community-driven
change. This type of involvement falls within the core area of outreach, which has
developed to a significant impact area of HEIs regarding the sustainable development agenda (Findler et al. 2019). Broadly, speaking sustainability related activities
R. Pretorius and M. Nicolau
tainable development presupposes poverty reduction (Liu et al. 2015), and as such
features prominently as the first Sustainable Development Goal (SDG1)—‘End all
poverty everywhere’ of the 2030 Agenda (UN 2015). In this context a generalised
view of poverty reduction applies, referring not only to income poverty, but also covering matters such as education, health, water and sanitation (i.e. multidimensional
poverty), as expressed in SDG1 to SDG7 (Liu et al. 2015).
In South Africa significant progress has been made in addressing the challenges
of poverty, unemployment and inequality since a democratically elected government came into power in 1994 (Fofana et al. 2018). Instrumental to this progress
is South Africa’s National Development Plan 2030 (NDP), that specifically aims
at significantly reducing poverty, unemployment and inequality in South Africa by
2030 (National Planning Commission 2011). The NDP aligns well with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Dhlamini (2017) points towards the convergence
between these two frameworks on matters related to people, prosperity, peace, planet
and partnerships (the five P’s). Despite the progress achieved to date, there is agreement that several issues have not yet been dealt with satisfactorily. Of concern is
that vulnerable groups (women and children) continue to experience acute poverty
(Fofana et al. 2018), while inequality continues alongside persistent high rates of
unemployment and low rates of participation in the labour force (Statistics South
Africa 2015, 2017).
1.1 Links Between Community-Driven Change
and Sustainable Development
South Africa’s NDP subscribes to the principle of community-driven change and
development, thus advocating that the improvement of capabilities of communities
through education, skills development and self-employment will put them in a better
position to improve their lives (National Planning Commission 2011). Considering
the historical context of human rights violations, inequalities and spatial underdevelopment in South Africa, development initiatives that focus on community-driven
change, seems the appropriate way to go (Patel 2015). From this point of view, the
traditional way of working with communities namely to identify problems and needs
in communities and to design interventions for them may be unsuitable, whereas an
alternative approach with a focus on strengths, assets and capabilities appears to be
the preferred route to go (Nel 2018).
With reference to the achievement of sustainable development at community level,
Shiel et al. (2016) point towards the important role that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) can potentially play within communities in terms of engagement with
stakeholders and facilitation of capacity building, thereby fuelling community-driven
change. This type of involvement falls within the core area of outreach, which has
developed to a significant impact area of HEIs regarding the sustainable development agenda (Findler et al. 2019). Broadly, speaking sustainability related activities