“There is a very powerful moral underground that keeps this country together. If you take non-profit organisations (NPOs) out of the system, this country will collapse,” says Prof Jonathan Jansen, Distinguished Professor of Education at Stellenbosch University and also President of the South African Academy of Science.
He was the guest speaker at the launch of the University of Stellenbosch Business School’s Postgraduate Diploma in Leadership Development with a focus area in NPOs.*
He addressed the audience on the hard realities of leading in the NPO sector and says the most important need in this sector is leadership.
“I have given up on the government. I believe we have crossed over into a very dark space.”
He adds that the real value of the NPO sector lies in its capacity to do something different and innovative from what government departments do.
“If you are in this space and you simply do what the state has failed to do, then you have lost an opportunity to really make an impact,” he says.
He says the private rate of return to investment in education in South Africa is the highest in the world – even higher than Chile. The problem we have, he says, is that the investment that we make is not matched by the outcomes that we get.
“That, of course, is an efficiency problem. But you can make an incredible difference in education by simply investing in education. I see people doing that and I see incredible things going on. I call this the moral underground,” he says.
Prof Arnold Smit, programme coordinator of the new stream and head of USB’s Social Impact, says social impact is about creating hope for people and advancing change for a flourishing world.
“One thing that is particularly important, is to create public value and social impact,” he says. “We strive to be responsible leaders who work with others to enhance quality of life, create a spirit of generosity, and work for a fair and just society.”
