Abstract:
In South Africa, corporate social investment (CSI) is deployed as part of Broad-Based
Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) to assist and empower disadvantaged
individuals and communities. Previous research revealed that CSI projects are often
short-lived and unsustainable. This study aims to analyze the impact of South African
CSI projects that focus on information and communication technology (ICT) in poor
urban communities. A case study was conducted comprising four CSI ICT learning
centers in poor urban communities in Soweto, South Africa. An indigenous theoretical
construct was developed, in the form of a systems framework, combining aspects
of soft systems methodology (SSM), Ubuntu philosophy and autopoiesis. The aim of
the systems framework was to study the impact of the CSI ICT learning centers in a
holistic manner. The framework contributed as follows: the descriptive components
of SSM assisted to describe the social systems of interest, in each case. The ubuntu
lens helped to portray how the community members supported each other to benefit
from the learning centers. Autopoiesis elements showed how the learning centers
were able to self-produce and collaborate in order to be sustainable. With the insight
of the framework, six guiding principles were derived to inform the successful implementation
of future CSI ICT interventions.
