SANGONeT’s activities centre around three interrelated programme areas:

• Civil Society Information Services
• ICT Services
• ICT Advocacy

SANGONeT is currently implementing the following:

NGO Pulse: The South African NGO and Development Information Portal – launched on 24 October 2005, this portal provides a gateway to the South African NGO sector and a media platform for development news, commentary and debate. It promotes communication and networking in the NGO and broader civil society sector by providing a unique snapshot of the sector’s daily activities and outputs and also supports the process of repositioning and strengthening the sector in response to the development challenges facing Southern Africa. Website: www.ngopulse.org.

Prodder NGO and Development Directory – Prodder is the most comprehensive online directory of NGOs and development organisations in South Africa. It includes information about organisations and institutions involved in development in South Africa and raises awareness about their work. It provides a reference point for donors and other stakeholders that want to engage with the NGO sector, and maps the scope and scale of NGO activities in the country. Website: www.prodder.org.za.

NGO Pulse Premium Advertising Service – this is SANGONeT’s offering to the NGO sector and anyone interested in communicating with NGOs in South Africa. It integrates all of SANGONeT’s advertising and communication channels into a single suite of services. Users have the option of ‘buying’ space on the NGO Pulse homepage for a specified period of time, linked to SN Announce, and the use of SANGONeT’s social media channels, i.e. Twitter and Facebook. To advertise, refer to www.ngopulse.org/resource-centre/sn-announce-help-pages/ngo-pulse-premium-advertising-service.

NGO Source – this is a project of the Council on Foundation and TechSoup Global, an equivalency determination service which will assist United States-based grantmakers to streamline their international giving. NGO Source simplifies the often expensive, complicated, duplicative task of evaluating whether a non-U.S organisation is equivalent to a U.S. public charity.

Tipfuxeni Project – SANGONeT, in partnership with the South African National NGO Coalition, is implementing the Tipfuxeni Project, an online funding facility and capacity building programme. Funded by the National Lotteries Distribution Trust Fund, one of the components of the Tipfuxeni Project is the web platform, which has been developed to enable the participating NGOs to share best practices, profile themselves and build their capacity to utilise ICTs in support of their development initiatives, among others. Website: www.tipfuxeni.org.za.

During the past few years SANGONeT has conceptualised and implemented the following strategic interventions to enhance the use of ICTs among NGOs in Southern Africa:

Thetha: The SANGONeT ICT Discussion Forum – launched in March 2003, Thetha forums provided NGOs with the opportunity to discuss ICT issues of common concern at both provincial and national levels. SANGONeT has already organised more than 20 Thetha forums in South Africa. In 2006, the Thetha initiative was expanded to five Southern African countries, with another five countries added in 2008. Website: www.ngopulse.org/thetha.

SANGONeT ‘ICTs for Civil Society’ Conference and Exhibition – this annual event, first held in March 2005, is the premier technology event on the NGO calendar and presents NGOs with an important opportunity to reflect on the challenges and opportunities presented by ICTs in support of their work. The most recent event was held from 1-3 November 2011 in Johannesburg. Website: www.ngopulse.org/ict4rd.

The State of ICTs in the South African NGO Sector – this bi-annual research project, first implemented in 2007, aims to analyse the South African NGO sector’s application and awareness of ICTs in support of achieving its strategic objectives. The outcomes of the project inform and guide the development of SANGONeT’s future ICT products and services for the NGO sector, and assist NGOs, funders and other strategic stakeholders in understanding the role and relevance of ICTs in support of the sector. Website: www.ngopulse.org/article/state-icts-south-african-ngo-sector-2009.

South African NGO Web Awards – first held in 2006, this annual competition ran in conjunction with the SANGONeT Conference and raised awareness among NGOs about the benefits of having a web presence, stimulate interest in the application of web solutions and applications, and showcase best practices in website creation and maintenance.

All SANGONeT’s activities are geared towards optimising resources and outputs, and increasing its impact on ICT uptake in the Southern African NGO sector.