As part of a process of becoming a fully independent organisation, the Hivos South Africa office will cease operating under the Hivos Foundation and will change its name to Hlanganisa Institute for Development SA.
Hivos Foundation has supported civil society development in over 25 countries since its establishment in 1968, working together for a world where freedom and equal opportunities are guaranteed for all. Due to a rapidly changing environment and receding funding, Hivos Foundation has adopted a new global strategy, concentrating on social innovation as a leading strategy for 2016 -2022. Hivos Foundation has moved on from being mainly a re-granter to being an international organisation for social change, focusing on two domains: Open Society and Green Society. Hivos Foundation is also adapting to a changing donor environment in which its funding situation has drastically changed and a full costs recovery fee model needs to be applied.
These changes have specific implications for South Africa. The Hivos South Africa office still delivers valuable services at community level in Women’s Empowerment, Community Empowerment and Sexual Rights and Diversity, but is absent in the other thematic areas of the new Hivos Foundation strategy. Another consequence is that since 2016, Hivos South Africa has been completely funded by nationally sourced funds from foundations or bilateral donors, many of whom indicate they are not willing to pay the Hivos Foundation fee reflecting the costs of an International NGO.
As part of this transition process, it has been mutually agreed that Hivos South Africa will become a fully independent entity without the Hivos name with effect from May 1st 2017. The new entity will be called Hlanganisa Institute for Development SA and will continue to do most of the work that Hivos South Africa has been doing during the past ten years. Hivos South Africa will continue working closely with grassroots organisations in South Africa that operate in the broad domain of human rights, with a strong focus on Women’s Rights and Sexual Rights. The Hivos Foundation will continue to collaborate with the new local entity wherever possible. Both parties feel that this change is an opportunity to strengthen and enhance the social justice work in South Africa.
