SayPro Collaboration

Cross-Functional Collaboration Plan

1. Internal Stakeholders

• SayPro Programme Leads (Youth, Economic Empowerment, Policy):
  • Weekly sync to review findings and adjust data needs.
  • Provide input on which insights will be most usable in policy briefs and community workshops.
• SayPro Communications Team:
  • Collaborate on packaging early findings for use in newsletters and social media campaigns.
  • Test emerging narratives with real audience feedback.
• Monitoring & Evaluation Unit:
  • Cross-check April’s indicators against the broader impact framework.
  • Ensure data collected fits into SayPro’s long-term evaluation systems.

2. External Stakeholders

• Municipal Economic Development Offices (in 3 target communities):
  • Conduct pre-interviews to align on local policy priorities and current gaps.
  • Invite officials to attend final April stakeholder presentation for feedback.
• Trader Associations & Youth Forums:
  • Engage early in focus group design to ensure cultural and linguistic relevance.
  • Co-host one dialogue session mid-month to share preliminary results and validate insights.
• Academic Partners & Local Universities:
  • Request input on methodology and analysis frameworks.
  • Explore co-publishing or student involvement for data validation.

Outcome-Driven Collaboration Milestones (April)

Collaborative Integration Process

✅ Step 1: Pre-Planning Consultations

• Timeline: 25–28 March
• Who was consulted:
  • Youth Empowerment Unit
  • Gender Equity Programme Team
  • Municipal Stakeholder Engagement Desk
  • Monitoring & Evaluation Officers
  • External Academic Advisor (University of Johannesburg)
• How:
  • 3 short workshops (virtual & in-person hybrid)
  • Stakeholder questionnaires to gather emerging themes
  • One-on-one interviews with key decision-makers in each community

🧠 Step 2: Objective Drafting with Embedded Perspectives

• Feedback Received:
  • Youth team: “We need to track invisible contributors like caregiving women or street vendors without permits.”
  • M&E team: “Household resilience must be broken down by more than just income — include social safety networks.”
  • Municipal input: “Many traders avoid support because of permit fears. Research must reflect informal norms.”
• Resulting Integration:
  • Objective 1 (Policy): Focus expanded to include perception of municipal trust.
  • Objective 2 (Market Trends): Data collection designed to capture undocumented and mobile trade.
  • Objective 3 (Social Outcomes): Included women’s caregiving responsibilities and control over household spending as core indicators.

🔁 Step 3: Continuous Alignment During Execution

• Weekly check-ins with SayPro departments to refine focus if field data reveals surprises.
• Feedback loop with municipal reps and trader group liaisons for on-the-ground relevance testing.

✅ Outcome:

SayPro’s April 2025 Research Objectives are not just top-down — they’re built from the ground up, reflecting diverse social, institutional, and experiential knowledge.