Reflective evaluation of civil society development: A case study of RLabs Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract

Civil society is a defining feature in development theory and practice. This article using ethnographical methodology; reflective analysis of narratives from the community to aggregate qualitative factors identified by fifteen community participants, that were important in the development of grassroots, IT4D development project. The question we were asking of the actors was:  “How did they achieve the formation of a civil community?”  Factors include extended time period, a developed community, dedicated leadership, group ethos and  dynamic sociological model of flows of information and people across group formation. A key feature is compassionate capitalism as a foundation of localised economic growth.