What works in Cape Town
All catalogues · South Africa profile
Quality scores are 0–100 rubric scores; “strong evidence” reflects study design; adoptions count documented replications elsewhere. Know more
Evidence snapshot for Cape Town
Cape Town's evidence base demonstrates successful interventions across digital inclusion, safety, and innovation. SmartCape expanded public internet access from 5 computers in 6 libraries in 2002 to 670 terminals across 104 branches serving 500,000+ registered users with 45 minutes of free daily internet and digital-skills training. VPUU's combination of infrastructure upgrading and community safety work achieved a 34% reduction in reported interpersonal-violence exposure near upgraded areas in Khayelitsha, with roughly one-third murder-rate declines in some sections. UCT's Research Contracts & Innovation office has built 40 spin-off companies worth over R250 million since 2000, with HyPlat securing pension-fund investment toward 1,200 projected manufacturing jobs—though these practices focus on specific programmes rather than citywide outcomes.
Drawn from: SmartCape – Cape Town's Municipal Library Digital Access and Skills Programme · Working for Water (South Africa) · VPUU — Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrading in Khayelitsha, Cape Town · South Africa's Women's Budget Initiative — Parliament-led gender analysis of the national budget (1995–2000) · UCT Research Contracts & Innovation — University of Cape Town's Technology Transfer Office · Grindstone Accelerator — Scale-Up Programme for Revenue-Stage South African SMEs · South African Universities Switch Off Turnitin's AI Detector Over Bias and False-Positive Risks · One Man Can — Sonke Gender Justice's Community Mobilisation Campaign Against Gender-Based Violence
Generated from this place's cited practices only. Always check the linked sources.
Strengths & weaknesses vs peers
Strengths
Evaluation evidence +64 pts 100 here · 36 average
Water & soil — retention, infiltration, erosion control +49 pts 100 here · 51 average
Equity & inclusion +46 pts 100 here · 54 average
Fire resilience — risk reduction, evidenced +36 pts 44 here · 9 average
Evidence of impact / measured results +32 pts 92 here · 60 average
Transparency, ethics & data protection +28 pts 78 here · 50 average
Documented learning +27 pts 100 here · 73 average
Demonstrated reach +25 pts 100 here · 75 average
Curator validation +25 pts 100 here · 75 average
Biodiversity — conservation / improvement, evidenced +25 pts 78 here · 53 average
Governance, certification & transferability +23 pts 89 here · 66 average
Evaluated outcomes +16 pts 100 here · 84 average
Multi-stakeholder collaboration +13 pts 92 here · 78 average
Gender-mainstreaming embedding +10 pts 100 here · 90 average
Weaknesses
Carbon — sequestration / storage, evidenced -24 pts 11 here · 35 average
Effectiveness -31 pts 50 here · 81 average
Impact on gender equality -33 pts 50 here · 83 average
Efficiency -52 pts 0 here · 52 average
Score profile vs peers
Coloured bar: Cape Town. Grey bar: peer average across the corpus. Both on a common 0–100 scale.
Points compare this place's average on each dimension with the average across all evaluated places, on a common 0–100 scale. Know more
Top good practices here
SmartCape – Cape Town's Municipal Library Digital Access and Skills Programme · 96
Working for Water (South Africa) · 87
VPUU — Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrading in Khayelitsha, Cape Town · 86
UCT Research Contracts & Innovation — University of Cape Town's Technology Transfer Office · 76
Grindstone Accelerator — Scale-Up Programme for Revenue-Stage South African SMEs · 76
South African Universities Switch Off Turnitin's AI Detector Over Bias and False-Positive Risks · 67
One Man Can — Sonke Gender Justice's Community Mobilisation Campaign Against Gender-Based Violence · 63
Each number is the practice's overall 0–100 quality score against its catalogue's rubric. Know more
Recommended to adopt or replicate
Transferable practices from elsewhere that address this place's gaps.
Ciudad Mujer — El Salvador's Integrated Women's Services Programme · fit 100/100
- Rated highly transferable
- Backed by strong evidence
- Addresses this place's weak dimensions
SASA! Community Mobilisation Programme against Intimate Partner Violence — Uganda · fit 100/100
- Rated highly transferable
- Backed by strong evidence
- Addresses this place's weak dimensions
Rwanda's Land Tenure Regularization Programme — Titling Land in Women's Names · fit 90/100
- Rated highly transferable
- Backed by strong evidence
- Addresses this place's weak dimensions
- Rated highly transferable
- Backed by strong evidence
- Addresses this place's weak dimensions
Abolition of Chhaupadi — Ending Menstrual Exile Huts in Nepal's Far- and Mid-Western Districts · fit 82/100
- Rated highly transferable
- Addresses this place's weak dimensions
Guyana's One-Third Gender Candidate Quota — Two Decades of Sustained Representation · fit 82/100
- Rated highly transferable
- Addresses this place's weak dimensions
Serbia's 40% Electoral Gender Quota — From One-in-Three to Near-Parity Party Lists (2020-2025) · fit 82/100
- Rated highly transferable
- Addresses this place's weak dimensions
Bogotá's Care Blocks (Manzanas del Cuidado) · fit 82/100
- Rated highly transferable
- Addresses this place's weak dimensions
Fit estimates how well a practice matches this place, 0 (poor) to 100 (excellent); the list is ordered to favour practices that address this place's gaps. Know more