Development social Policy and Community Action

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Lessons from below

• How do citizens in poor communities benefit from and perceive state interventions?
• How do citizens in poor communities interact with others in the community to promote the well-being of themselves and their families?
• What are the implications of the above for community based research, policy and practice?

Development, Social Policy and Community Action: Lessons from Below addresses these questions based on rigorous and multi-faceted research conducted in the poor, urban area of Doornkop, Soweto, using a range of different methodological approaches and theoretical perspectives that all broaden our understanding of citizen-community-state interactions in disadvantaged, urban communities in South Africa. Solutions to poverty and inequality are often designed, implemented and evaluated in a top-down manner, thereby disregarding the views and agency of the poor citizens themselves. Addressing this gap, the authors explore how government assistance, through social grants and services, as well as community support mechanisms provide solutions to citizens in poor communities and the ways that the citizens perceive and make use of such interventions. This research study points to the need for more nuanced policy strategies and interventions pertinent to local challenges which also resonate with the global search for solutions in similar contexts. With a fresh perspective that addresses the interconnections between state interventions, community and citizens in sustainable social development, this book provides a case for the importance of conducting community-based research that effectively encourages research findings to support communities to effect positive change.

Acknowledgements

List of tables, figures and boxes

PART 1: THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN CITIZENS, THE COMMUNITY AND THE STATE FOR DEVELOPMENT

1. Doornkop in perspective: Context and approach
Leila Patel and Marianne S. Ulriksen

2. Social assistance and electoral choice: A citizen perspective
Zenobia Ismail and Marianne S. Ulriksen

PART 2: IMPACT OF THE CHILD SUPPORT GRANT

3. A micro analysis of social justice and the Child Support Grant
Tessa Hochfeld and Sophie Plagerson

4. How the CSG works to promote women’s empowerment and child wellbeing in Doornkop, Soweto
Leila Patel, Trudie Knijn and Frits van Wel

5. How does the Child Support Grant affect father participation in parenting?
Eddy Mazembo Mavungu, Flora Brils and Merel Beernink

6. Solidarity in the Doornkop community: How state interventions affect ubuntu
Marianne S. Ulriksen and Daniël Heijstek

PART 3: NEEDS, STRATEGIES AND SERVICES FOR POPULATIONS AT RISK

7. Mental healthcare for women
Jacqueline Moodley

8. The lived realities of young mothers in Doornkop
Leila Patel, Jeanette Schmid, Floor van Bercum and Sara Slijper

9. Young people’s experiences of accessing post-secondary education
Lauren Graham and Sophia Geerars

10. Resources and barriers to young people’s labour market participation
Moreblessing T. Tinarwo, Zoheb Khan, Maartje Boer and Brenda van As

PART 4: CONCLUSIONS

11. Reflections on research intended to promote development
Sophie Plagerson and Lauren Graham

12. Learning from below: Implications for welfare research, policy and practice
Marianne S. Ulriksen and Leila Patel

Prof Leila Patel is the South African Research Chair in Welfare and Social Development and the Director of the Centre for Social Development in Africa (CSDA) at the University of Johannesburg. She has published widely on issues of social development in South Africa and internationally. Her research interests include social welfare policy, social protection, gender, care, the social services and children and youth. Her work experience spans academia, government, non-profit organisations and private sector social involvement initiatives. She was the former Director General of Welfare in the Mandela government and played a leading role in the development of South Africa’s welfare policy after apartheid. Among her most recent books are Social Protection in Southern Africa, Routledge, 2014 (editor with James Midgley and Marianne Ulriksen); and Social Welfare and Social Development Oxford University Press, 2015. She received the Distinguished Woman Scientist Award in the Humanities and the Social Sciences in 2014.

Dr Marianne S. Ulriksen is Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Development in Africa (CSDA), University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Marianne’s research areas include comparative politics, political economy of welfare policy development, social protection, social justice, poverty and inequality, mineral wealth and resource mobilisation, and state-citizens relations. Her research work focus primarily on Southern and Eastern Africa. She has published widely, including in top journals like World Development and Comparative Political Studies.