What works in Durban
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 Durban
The evidence shows Durban pursuing interventions across violence prevention, environmental protection, water management and higher-education support. A gender-transformative livelihoods programme in informal settlements reduced men's reported physical intimate-partner-violence perpetration by 29% at two-year follow-up, though women's reported victimisation did not fall significantly. The city's Metropolitan Open Space System protects roughly 940 km² of interconnected natural and semi-natural areas valued at R47.8 billion in natural capital, though protection remains uneven across high-value ecosystem-service zones. Despite deploying satellite machine-learning leak detection to track over 1,000 suspected water leaks, non-revenue water rose to 65% by mid-2026, indicating detection capacity has not yet matched repair capacity.
Drawn from: Stepping Stones and Creating Futures — Cluster-RCT-Evaluated Violence Prevention in Durban's Informal Settlements · D'MOSS — Durban's Metropolitan Open Space System · eThekwini's Satellite AI Leak Detection — Durban Tracks 1,000+ Suspected Leaks From Space, Yet Water Losses Keep Rising · Behavioural Engagement Patterns in Mangosuthu University of Technology's AI Student-Support Chatbot · Durban Water Recycling — A 20-Year Industrial Water Reclamation Public-Private Partnership (South Africa) · Envision AI Smart Glasses — University of KwaZulu-Natal Becomes First South African University to Equip Blind Students with Wearable AI Readers
Generated from this place's cited practices only. Always check the linked sources.
Strengths & weaknesses vs peers
Strengths
Effectiveness +32 pts 100 here · 68 average
Impact on gender equality +29 pts 100 here · 71 average
Curator validation +27 pts 100 here · 73 average
Governance, certification & transferability +25 pts 89 here · 64 average
Transferability / replicability +23 pts 83 here · 60 average
Evaluated outcomes +21 pts 100 here · 79 average
Water & soil — retention, infiltration, erosion control +19 pts 67 here · 48 average
Transparency, fairness & accountability +13 pts 67 here · 54 average
Achievement / evidence +12 pts 100 here · 88 average
Gender-mainstreaming embedding +11 pts 100 here · 89 average
Weaknesses
Evidence of learning impact -10 pts 17 here · 26 average
Carbon — sequestration / storage, evidenced -11 pts 17 here · 28 average
Transparency, ethics & data protection -14 pts 33 here · 47 average
Evidence of impact / measured public value -24 pts 33 here · 57 average
Scalability & sustainability -29 pts 33 here · 62 average
Efficiency -33 pts 0 here · 33 average
Teacher capability & pedagogy -37 pts 0 here · 37 average
Sustainability -78 pts 0 here · 78 average
Score profile vs peers
Coloured bar: Durban. 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
D'MOSS — Durban's Metropolitan Open Space System · 60
Behavioural Engagement Patterns in Mangosuthu University of Technology's AI Student-Support Chatbot · 33
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
Already adopted in 3 other places
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
Already adopted in 4 other places
Karya — Fair-Wage AI Data-Work Platform Bringing Digital Income to Rural India · fit 100/100
- Backed by strong evidence
- Addresses this place's weak dimensions
safe+natal — Comadrona-Designed Smartphone Checklist for Maternal Risk Screening in Rural Guatemala · fit 100/100
- Backed by strong evidence
- Addresses this place's weak dimensions
Digital Green — Video-Mediated Agricultural Extension · fit 100/100
- Backed by strong evidence
- Addresses this place's weak dimensions
Kartu Prakerja – National Digital Skills and Financial Inclusion Programme · fit 100/100
- 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
Already adopted in 6 other places
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