Investec South Africa CSI: Harnessing Crisis to Scale Up Delivery and Impact

In April 2020, the head of the corporate social investments (CSI) division of Investec South Africa (Investec SA), was working to ensure that Investec SA CSI could continue to create opportunities for young people to become active economic participants in society while it also salvaged the school year for students already enrolled in its flagship education program, Promaths. To save the school year, he would have to shift the entire curriculum online, and this presented both an opportunity and a dilemma: How could he harness the crisis of the pandemic to scale up the Promaths program and reach more learners by using quality and affordable program delivery? How could he adapt quickly to make a greater impact with the online Promaths program? He knew that this had to happen fast, but he also saw this as an opportunity to amplify the reach and impact of the Promaths program.

This case is suitable for courses on strategy, leadership, and social enterprise at the undergraduate- and graduate-levels. The case is appropriate for courses that discuss strategic change, change leadership, adaptation in a time of crisis or disruption, and the use of partnerships and digital business strategy as pathways to build capacity, scale-up program delivery and extend impact. It illustrates how to apply a Theory of Change approach aligned with the core business strategy of a company to create and build corporate social investment initiatives with meaningful contributions toward important societal needs. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to do the following:<ul><li>Explain the Theory of Change and how it articulates the way that systemic change happens.</li><li>Frame the Theory of Change by understanding context, the long-term direction or purpose of change, and other key characteristics.</li><li>Apply the Theory of Change and evaluate different pathways for change.</li><li>Evaluate how partnerships can provide a pathway to build capacity, scale up CSI activities, and extend outcomes.</li><li>Evaluate how digital business strategy can leverage existing capabilities, scale up CSI activities, and extend scope, reach, outcomes, and impact.</li></ul>

• purpose
• partnerships
• digital business strategy
• innovation
• scaling up