Sustainable Livelihoods Foundation

What Sustainable Livelihoods Foundation does

Sustainable Livelihoods Foundation (SLF) is a registered South African non-profit research organization founded in 2010 and headquartered in Cape Town, with co-founders Dr. Andrew Charman (Executive Director), Dr. Gillian Black (Managing Director), and Dr. Leif Petersen (Independent Director). It works with marginalized urban communities in South African townships to address complex development challenges including economic informality, spatial inequality, health inequity, and climate vulnerability, through co-designed participatory action research and policy advisory. Its core methodology is a set of participatory visual methods (PVM) encompassing photovoice, digital storytelling, filmmaking, body mapping, and geospatial mapping, combined with a proprietary small-area census methodology that documented over 10,000 township businesses and 3,000 firm surveys across 9 townships in the FIME project.

SLF's primary products are (1) two co-developed interactive online courses on Community Engagement and Involvement (CEI) in Health Research and the Practice and Ethics of Participatory Visual Methods, distributed globally via The Global Health Network platform; (2) a library of research reports, township economic development strategies, academic publications in journals including Frontiers in Public Health and Geoforum, and visual media outputs (documentary films, photovoice collections); and (3) bespoke policy and strategy outputs such as the Cities Support Programme Township Economic Development Project supporting 5 metropolitan municipalities.

The organization's business model is grant-funded and commissioned research: revenue is derived from institutional grants (Wellcome, UKRI GCRF, NIHR, National Treasury's Cities Support Programme, UK FCDO) and commissioned studies (Volkswagen B-BBEE Trust, SAB, Distell), with outputs provided free of charge to communities and at no cost to learners. SLF operates with a small 11-50 employee team, serves as leading technical partner to South African national and municipal government on township economic development, collaborates with academic partners including Stellenbosch University, UCT, University of the Western Cape, and the University of Stirling, and maintains a hybrid segmentation approach spanning marginalized communities, government, academia, and township micro-enterprises.

Name

Sustainable Livelihoods Foundation

Legal name

Sustainable Livelihoods Foundation

Website

https://livelihoods.org.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sustainable Livelihoods Foundation is a South African non-profit founded in 2010 that uses participatory visual methods and small-area census research to support township economic development, global health engagement, and climate adaptation for marginalized urban communities, governments, and academic partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Non-profit Development Research Services

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Infrastructure, Housing & Community Development (BPAGABAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental Justice & Community Environmental Health (BPAGAGAL), Environmental Education, Capacity Building & Community Engagement (BPADALAO)

Keywords

• Participatory action research
• Township economic development
• Community engagement research
• Informal economy studies
• Participatory visual methods

Headquarters

HQ city

Cape Town

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: Primary revenue from grants and funding agreements with institutional donors including UKRI GCRF, Wellcome, NIHR, and government bodies such as National Treasury's Cities Support Programme.
2. Commissioned Research: Research projects commissioned by organizations such as Volkswagen Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Trust for specific development strategies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Sustainable Livelihoods Foundation is a South African non-profit research organization that co-designs and conducts participatory action research with marginalized urban communities. It delivers commissioned research, technical assistance for township economic development, online training courses on community engagement and participatory visual methods, and produces research publications and visual media outputs.

Product overview

Sustainable Livelihoods Foundation operates as a non-profit research organization rather than a commercial software product company. Its offerings consist of: (1) two major online interactive courses on community engagement in health research and participatory visual methods, available through The Global Health Network; (2) an extensive library of research reports, township economic development strategies, and academic publications covering informal economy, land systems, and health equity; (3) visual media outputs including documentary films and photovoice collections; and (4) the Water and Fire research project with community-driven climate resilience interventions. These resources serve as educational and policy tools for researchers, practitioners, and government partners working with marginalized communities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• An Introduction and Practical Guide to Community Engagement and Involvement (CEI) in Health Research

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 35 projects completed since 2010
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Kenya Medical Research InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Content development partner for CEI in Health Research course, representing East African perspective in course design.
• Malawi Liverpool Wellcome TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Content development partner for CEI course, contributing Southern African health research engagement expertise.
• National Treasury's Cities Support ProgrammecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020SLF serves as the leading technical partner for the Township Economic Development (TED) Project implemented by the Cities Support Programme of National Treasury. Partnership supports 5 metropolitan municipalities to develop and implement township economic development strategies.
• University of StirlingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Project leader for Water and Fire research project. Co-investigators include researchers from multiple institutions working on disaster resilience.
• University of Cape TowncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Research partner in Water and Fire project, contributing to disaster risk management research in Cape Town settlements.
• University of the Western CapecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Academic partner in Water and Fire project, providing research expertise on resilience and climate adaptation.
• Urban WorkscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2019Architecture and urbanism firm partner on multiple projects including Water and Fire, Safe Shebeens, ULMEG, and FIME. Provides spatial analysis and design expertise.
• The Safety LabminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Partner in Water and Fire project contributing safety and resilience expertise.
• Stellenbosch UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Partner in Bucket Loads of Health and Heart of the Matter projects. CVD research team led by Professor Hans Strijdom and Professor Wesaal Khan collaborated with township communities.
• Water Resource LabminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Technical partner in Bucket Loads of Health project contributing water quality and resource expertise.
• MESH Community Engagement NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Collaboration on development of online course for PVM and CEI. MESH provides community engagement network and training resources.
• The Global Health NetworkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2018Platform partner hosting SLF's online courses on PVM and CEI. Provides global distribution for training resources.
• Oxford University Clinical Research UnitcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Dr. Mary Chambers from OUCRU co-led development of PVM online course and contributes to global health engagement work.
• Institute of Development Studies, University of SussexcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Partner in Making All Voices Count programme. SLF led South Africa research component examining participatory accountability through technology-enabled processes.
• UWC African Centre for CitizenshipcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010Academic partner in FIME project providing citizenship and governance research expertise.
• ParticipateminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010International partner in FIME project supporting participatory research methodologies.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Black Sash Trust: Long-established South African NGO advocating for social justice, with research, paralegal, and community engagement programs targeting marginalized populations. Comparable to SLF in South African context, advocacy-research hybrid model, and grant-funded operating structure.
• PRIA (Participatory Research in Asia): International NGO specializing in participatory research and community engagement methodologies across South Asia. Direct peer given overlapping methodological DNA in participatory action research and visual methods, and similar positioning as a capacity-builder for community-led development.
• Slum Dwellers International (SDI): Global network of community-led organizations working with informal settlement dwellers on upgrading, data collection, and tenure security. Comparable to SLF in its community-embedded methodology, focus on informal settlement economies, and use of community-generated data for advocacy and planning.
• Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI): South Africa-based research-focused NGO producing rigorous, publicly engaged research on governance, inequality, and social policy. Highly comparable to SLF in mission, size, and grant-funded research model, with overlapping interest in evidence-based policy advocacy in marginalized communities.
• Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS): University-of-the-Western-Cape-based research unit studying poverty, land, and informal economies in Southern Africa. Direct peer given shared focus on the township/informal economy, similar South African funder base, and overlapping researcher networks with SLF.

Broad incumbents

• Open Society Foundations: Large global grantmaking foundation funding civil society, governance, and rights work. Adjacent rather than directly comparable: OSF is a funder operating at scale across many causes, whereas SLF is a small grant-receiving operator; relevant as both a peer in the civic space and a potential funder archetype.
• Practical Action: International development NGO working on poverty reduction through technology and community-led approaches across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Comparable to SLF in mission and participatory methodology but operates at much larger scale with global offices and a broader development portfolio.
• Wellcome Trust: Major UK-based global health funder and one of SLF's largest existing donors. Relevant as a peer in the community-engagement-in-health-research ecosystem, though at vastly greater scale, and indicative of the funder ecosystem SLF operates within.

Emerging players

• Coady International Institute: Canada-based development education and research institute focused on community-led development, participatory leadership, and global health equity. Comparable to SLF in training, community-led research, and global health partnerships, though with different regional focus.
• UrbanWorks: South Africa-based design-research studio working on urban informality, post-traumatic sites, and transformative infrastructure. Comparable to SLF through long-standing project partnership (Water and Fire, FIME, Safe Shebeens), overlapping focus on township spatial analysis, and shared founder Thireshen Govender as a board member.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SLF_RSA
• Facebookfacebook.com/sustainablelivelihoodsfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sustainable Livelihoods Foundation