Awongiwe Mtimkulu

BSc (Hons) Environmental Geographical Sciences, University of Cape Town, 2012

Awongiwe has a background in environmental studies and experience in quantitative and qualitative research methods. At Mthente Awongiwe has worked on the following research projects (among others):
• Stakeholder perception survey for the Auditor-General of South Africa;
• Process/Implementation evaluation of the Small Enterprise Development Agency performance management and development system (PMDS);
• Afrobarometer policy user survey for South Africa for the Institutive of Justice and Reconciliation;
• Electricity savings campaign follow-up survey for the City of Cape Town;
• Survey on the needs of small, medium and micro-enterprises in terms of short-term insurance;
• Tourism sector study for the Cape Winelands District Municipality
Coupled with this is her experience in the business development portfolio, where she is responsible for winning new work for Mthente.

Professor Rajen Govender

PhD Political Psychology and Research Methods, University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA), 1994
MA Research Psychology, New York University, 1990
MA Social Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), 1989

Rajen is a highly-skilled researcher and teacher with over 30 years of experience in the research, consulting and university environments. He has served as a research consultant and advisor to numerous public sector clients (National Governments, National Departments and Provincial Governments, Department for International Development (DFID), World Bank, German Technical Corporation (GTZ), European Union (EU), United Nation’s Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), United Nation’s Development Programme (UNDP), etc.), private sector clients (MTN, Multichoice, etc.) and scientific agencies (Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), Council for Science and Industrial Research (CSIR), Medical Research Council (MRC) etc.) in South Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. In his consultancy work Rajen has utilised a variety of qualitative and quantitative social research methodological approaches and tools in fields such as public policy in health, education and foreign affairs, social development, household impact assessment, good governance, peace and justice.

His current research interests are HIV/Aids, anti-retroviral (ARV) adherence, and substance abuse, peace and security, community development, interpersonal violence, social cohesion and transformative justice. He has published extensively in peer reviewed journals and has a number of articles and books in current production. He also serves as advisor to numerous civil society organisations and initiatives.

Rajen has previously worked with Mthente on research projects for the following clients:
• Eskom;
• Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry;
• Amandla Edu-Football, through its partnership with the Safety and Violence Initiative at the University of Cape Town (SaVI-UCT) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC
• TBSP Advertising and Marketing.

Dr Ariane Neethling

PhD Statistics, University of Witwatersrand, 2004
MSc Statistics (Cum laude), Potchefstroom University, 1988

Ariane gained experience as biometrist at the Medical Research Council of South Africa (MRC); as chief statistician at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC); as lecturer at the University of Pretoria where she was involved in the university’s statistical consultation service Statomet; and as a senior lecturer at Stellenbosch University. She is also part of a research team in the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science at Stellenbosch University, examining weighting techniques and statistical analyses of complex sampling data, including poverty and inequality measures and small area estimation.

Ariane is Mthente’s statistical consultant and sampling expert. As a sampling expert for both Mthente and other market research companies, she is responsible for the designing and drawing of samples ranging from countrywide samples and tracker samples to samples from smaller populations with unique characteristics. She is responsible for the calculation of the design weights for the realised samples; and also applies benchmarking techniques, where necessary. For some projects she also conducts statistical analysis and draws statistical inferences based on the survey data.

Ariane is part of a team that constructed an Enumerator Area (EA) sampling frame and is responsible for updating it annually to the newest released mid-year population estimates of Statistics South Africa (StatsSA). At the moment this is the most up-to-date sampling frame available in South Africa. She has served as a member of the South African Statistical Council since 2013. She is a member of the South African Statistical Association (SASA) as well as the International Association of Survey Statisticians (IASS), and is registered as a Professional Natural Scientist with the South African Council for Natural Science Professions (SACNASP). Ariane has used her statistical expertise in various projects that Mthente has undertaken including survey work for the following clients (among others):

• Communicare;
• TBSP Advertising and Marketing;
• Amandla Edu-Football, through its partnership with the Safety and Violence Initiative at the University of Cape Town (SaVI-UCT) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC);
• Gauteng Department of Health.

Stefan Redelinghuys

BSc Science, University of South Africa, 2015

Stefan Redelinghuys has expertise in Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and cartography and manages large-scale GIS projects in transportation, asset management and research disciplines. He also has specialist knowledge in the areas of demographics data, census data and cartography for field assessments with a strong focus on spatial analytics and reporting. Stefan has worked with Mthente on a number of survey research projects for clients such as:
• Amandla Edu-Football, through its partnership with the Safety and Violence Initiative at the University of Cape Town (SaVI-UCT) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC);
• TBSP Advertising and Marketing;
• Gauteng Department of Health.

Dr Donald Skinner

PhD Clinical Psychology, Stellenbosch University, 2001
MPH, University of Cape Town, 2008
MA Clinical Psychology, University of Cape Town, 1989

Donald is a registered clinical psychologist. Following the completion of his PhD, he then moved into the field of research and obtained a Masters’ degree in Public Health, focusing on biostats and research design. He is currently the Director of Research on Health and Society (RHS), a research unit at the University of Stellenbosch. In addition to his other roles at the University he teaches qualitative research and community based participatory methods and supervises Masters and PhD students.

He has researched South African health and culture, often in community or primary health clinics, using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Donald has been the local Principal Investigator on multiple internationally-funded studies related to risks to communities including HIV/Aids, substance abuse, violence, and gender issues and has also worked with families to enhance parenting skills. Previous posts include research officer at an NGO working with victims of violence, director of the AIDS and Society Research Unit at UCT and senior research specialist at the HSRC. He has a long history of involvement in health issues, including the struggle against apartheid in the health sector, and has worked closely with NGOs.

Donald has previously provided training for Mthente’s researchers on qualitative research methodologies. He is currently working with Mthente on projects for the Gauteng Department of Health. This is a large-scale evaluation to determine and assess the outcomes of the ward-based, door-to-door HIV and AIDS Education Programme that is being rolled out by the Gauteng Department of Health.

Solly Moeng

PhD candidate: Crisis Communications Management, University of Cape Town, 2016
Post Graduate Diploma Marketing, IMM Graduate School of Marketing, 2005
MA, Université de Franche-Comté, Besançon, France, 1992

Solly is Mthente’s experienced brand specialist and media professional consultant with specialisation in strategic communications, public relations and media relations. He was South African Tourism’s marketing manager in Canada, based in Toronto, before being appointed to head the organisation’s operations in the United States where, as country manager based in New York, he managed the roll-out of South Africa’s tourism growth strategy in the United States and Canada.

Solly has also worked as business development and marketing manager of Mesure, a South African subsidiary of French multinational construction company, Bouygues Travaux Publics and for Basil Read. He has also occupied marketing and communications manager positions with CapeNature and the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). A former Cape Times columnist, Solly now also writes weekly columns for Fin24.com, focusing on corporate reputation management. He has provided brand expertise to Mthente for research conducted for Brand South Africa and Interbrand.

Michael Daries

Michael is the owner and creative force behind Kult Creative, a design agency based in Cape Town. He has more than 20 years experience in the design and printing industry, and manages to offer creative and innovative solutions to both his and Mthente’s clients.

He has collaborated with Mthente and has been involved with our brand and publications development since 2005. He has designed report publications for Mthente’s clients, such as our report entitled Atlantis: Building Communities through Sport and Recreation, as well as the research to inform the establishment of community recreation hubs – both for the City of Cape Town Department of Sports, Recreation and Amenities.

Dr Izak Van Zyl

PhD Communication Science, Università della Svizzera italiana (Switzerland), 2013
MA Social Anthropology, Stellenbosch University, 2010

Having completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of South Africa, Izak is now permanently based at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) in Cape Town. He has a strong publication record and has presented at numerous international conferences and symposia. Izak’s research expertise covers digital anthropology and media, the philosophy of information systems, and design anthropology. Methodologically, he is interested in digital ethnographic, participatory and meta-analytic approaches.

Izak is a National Research Foundation (NRF)-rated researcher, and is highly skilled in designing and conducting social scientific research with particular expertise in qualitative research, fieldwork and data analysis. Furthermore; he is an experienced consultant in the fields of communication, informatics, anthropology, and development. Izak is a member of several organisations and scientific and technical committees. He is the editor for ICT submissions at the Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa, and is a member of Anthropology Southern Africa. He has garnered a number of “best paper” awards at international conferences.

Izak has collaborated with Mthente on work for the Department of Small Business Development (DBSD), in conjunction with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), as well as for TBSP Advertising and Marketing.

Alison Goldstuck

MPhil Future Studies, Stellenbosch University, 2011
MEcon, Rand Afrikaans University, 2003

Alison is a qualified economist with over 16 years’ experience that includes work with blue-chip corporates, the public sector, management consulting and international policy think-tanks. Her experience includes providing advisory services (e.g. research, strategy and policy analysis) and implementing solutions (e.g. business process improvement and project management).

She has specialist knowledge in financial services, energy, mining, the electricity supply industry and climate mitigation. At the same time, she has also developed expert skills in sector studies, value-chain analysis, market and product strategies, scenario development and facilitation.

Over the past two years, Alison has focused on gaining specialised knowledge about the financial regulation and industry codes that are driving responsible investment. Projects in this space include work for the United Nations and collaborating with the University of Cape Town, Graduate School of Business (UCT-GSB) on a forthcoming paper.

Allison is currently working with Mthente on a project that is being conducted for the Department of Small Business Development (DBSD), in conjunction with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC).

Kgomotso Gule

MDP, University of South Africa, 2003
BA, University of Cape Town, 1995

Kgomotso is a seasoned professional and entrepreneur with more than 10 years’ consulting experience in both the private and public sector. Before moving to consulting, Kgomotso held management positions in various companies including Sanlam, RCI and iChoices. His skills and experience span various disciplines including, but not limited to, operations management, performance and project management, call centre management and people development, as well as systems and business processes. He has also consulted extensively for the Gauteng Provincial Government, where he was part of the programme management team that implemented the Gauteng Online project that focused on the implementation of information technology infrastructure in Gauteng public schools. Kgomotso was also part of the change management team that worked with various communities to facilitate a smooth roll-out of Gauteng Online.

He provides support to Mthente’s service offerings, particularly in the areas of business development, stakeholder engagement, data collection and focus group facilitation.

Kgomotso has previously worked with Mthente on research projects for the following clients:
• TBSP Advertising and Marketing;
• Government Communication, Department of Government Communication and Information System (GCIS);
• Department of Trade and Industry;
• Small Enterprise Development Agency.

Gerald Claasen – GNC Research Services

National Senior Certificate (NSC)

Gerald is the director of GNC Research Services – a company with 15 years of fieldwork experience. Gerald and his team work with Mthente to undertake large-scale fieldwork and respondent recruitment in the Western Cape, Northern Cape, Free State, North West and KwaZulu Natal. He specialises in social research fieldwork including household demographic and census data collection, and has experience working both for Statistics South Africa and the Medical Research Council. For Mthente, he has managed fieldwork for the following clients:

• City of Cape Town;
• Amandla Edu-Football, through its partnership with the Safety and Violence Initiative at the University of Cape Town (SaVI-UCT) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC);
• TBSP Advertising and Marketing;
• Gauteng Department of Health;
• Communicare.

Phila Nkonyane

National Senior Certificate (NSC)

Phila is the director of Brand i+D – a fieldwork company working in collaboration with Mthente in conducting large-scale fieldwork including conducting surveys and focus group discussions particularly in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, North West, Free State and the Eastern Cape. Phila and his team have a depth of experience in conducting fieldwork for market research (mystery shopping, consumer perception & satisfaction surveys including brand & product testing surveys). They specialise in respondent recruitment across LSM groups 4-10 and conduct fieldwork using bespoke survey technology platforms such as Survey-to-Go developed by Dooblo® which ensures quick turn-around times for data collection

Gill Naeser

BA (Hons) Psychology and Education, University of South Africa, 1995
Higher Diploma in Education (Pre-primary), Barkly House Teacher’s College, 1984

Gill has been working in the field of Early Childhood Development (ECD) for more than 30 years and has an in-depth understanding of the context of the ECD field. She has been involved in all aspects of ECD from development; scoping and implementation to the end phase and has wide experience in the monitoring and evaluation of ECD projects. She has conducted research in ECD both nationally and regionally, has developed accredited ECD training and skills programmes, and conducted verification of those programmes. She has assisted ECD non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to develop their capacity and has offered them specialist training. Gill works closely with government departments, universities, NGOs and donors and has presented a number of papers at conferences.

Gill will be working on the research project for The Networking HIV/Aids Community of South Africa (NACOSA), where she will provide expert advice on the design of the evaluation tools as well as during the analysis and reporting of the data.