Strategic thought partnership, systems mapping and theory of change development for a new way of valuing and motivating social employment

Brownie Points is a South African NGO, working to make visible and financially viable the social employment that quietly sustains communities across the country.

Over 2 months of weekly inquiry sessions, we worked as a critical thought partner to help develop and stress-test the idea at the heart of Brownie Points’ Good Economy initiative: an alternative economic model that would recognise, value and fund the community-based work that conventional economic systems consistently overlook. Drawing on systems thinking, human-centred design and social innovation incubation, we mapped the theory of change, challenged assumptions, interrogated the political and structural conditions the model would need to navigate, and helped develop the core design principles that could make it viable and sustainable in the South African context.