John Madejski Centre for Reputation Impact Partnership and Immersion Study Trip
The John Madejski Centre for Reputation Impact Partnership connects not-for-profit organizations in Southern Africa with Henley Business School faculty and alumni around the world. It follows the Reputation Immersion Study Visit, which applies JMCR research to help non-profit organisations in Southern Africa to grow greater impacts from their work and drive positive societal change.
The JMCR Impact Partnership is a network and trusted infrastructure for leaders to continue to share, develop and grow together, supporting one another and sharing best practice from Henley Business School in building positive impacts through stakeholder relationships. There is a strong presence of organisations and leaders from the Reputation and Responsibility Immersion Visit to South Africa.
What is involved in being a member?
As a member of the Impact Partnership, you will be invited to online workshops and events. There are normally two or three events each year and they last in the region of one-and-a-half to two hours at a time. Workshops will be interactive and members are be free to join both online webinars and in-person events and conferences as per their availability, with no attendance requirements.
The JMCR Impact Partnership follows the Henley Business School MBA Reputation and Responsibility study trip to South Africa, allowing relationships between non-governmental organisations and Henley Business School alumni of the Reputation and Responsibility Immersion Visit to continue after the programme. Participants on the Reputation and Responsibility Immersion Visit to South Africa (both NGOs and MBA candidates) are invited to participate.
The partnership builds on a 20-year history of working with the NGO sector in South Africa. It is a network and a trusted infrastructure for leaders to continue to share, develop and grow together, supporting one another and sharing best practice from Henley Business School in building positive impacts through stakeholder relationships. The partnership leverages Henley Business School's unique global position, connecting leaders in Denmark, Finland, the UK and Africa in a trusted environment with support from the institution's research and impact activities.
The partnership also has a dedicated research and impact element, where organisations work directly with Henley Business School academics and alumni on projects of importance to creating positive societal impact. Organisations therefore get valuable support in conducting and applying JMCR research for positive societal benefit. Lessons from these projects are then shared with the wider group.
Examples of ongoing research and impact activities include:
Quadpara
Quadpara provide programmes, projects and services to wheelchair users, as well as advocating and lobbying on important issues which impact on the lives of wheelchair users across South Africa. All of the above are geared towards assisting quadriplegics and paraplegics to live their lives to their full potential. Henley Business School has worked with Quadpara to conduct research on improving the relationships and services it offers members, especially those in rural areas. Moving forward, research is exploring opportunities to extend this research across the disability sector through Quadpara’s membership of the Network of Disability, of which Quadpara is a key member.
Colleges of Medicine South Africa (CMSA)
The Colleges of Medicine of South Africa (CMSA) is the national examining body for medical specialists in South Africa. It was founded and financed in 1954 by members of the medical profession as a non-profit making organisation and is dedicated "to promote the highest degree of skill and efficiency in medical and dental practice and to cultivate the highest ethical standards and professional conduct... not for pecuniary profit, but for the betterment of humanity". Informed by insights from the Reputation and Responsibility Immersion Visit in 2023, Henley Business School has an ongoing research project with the CMSA which aims to build stronger engagement with its members and thus drive the uptake of better medical standards across Southern Africa.
The Tertiary School in Business Administration
The Tertiary School in Business Administration (TSIBA) was founded in 2004 to create access to tertiary education by providing fee-free education to students. With campuses in Cape Town and Johannesburg, it is an accredited higher education institution offering undergraduate and postgraduate business qualifications. TSIBA aims to provide its students with a world-class and rewarding business education. This is supported by generous tuition scholarships, which enable students to contribute towards their tuition at relative levels of affordability and for many to provide access to education without fees. Henley Business School has a long history working with TSIBA and has been engaged in research since 2007. The first project was to provide insights into how TSIBA could build the job prospects of its graduates and its reputation as a young organisation surrounded by much older institutions. Most recently, research is informing TSIBA to build and maintain the commitment of staff, students and funders, while moving towards a tiered fee-structure.
Autism Western Cape
Autism Western Cape (AWC) is an award winning non-profit organisation that provides training, information, advice, advocacy and support services to those affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the Western Cape. Since 2003, Autism Western Cape has strategically aimed to meet the ever-increasing need for awareness, social service intervention and capacity building for parents/caregivers, practitioners and service providers that influence the environment of autistic individuals. Henley Business School has a long history working with AWC since 2017, conducting research which has helped raise awareness and access to autism services. Research is ongoing and aims to connect different organisations in the autism sector towards a common view of best practice, greater access to funds and more influence on public opinion and policy, with the broader objective of improving the lives of people with autism.
Mamelani
Founded in 2003, Mamelani is a community development organisation that recognises the impact of trauma, historical exclusion and systemic barriers on the daily life experiences of people, especially children, youth and women living in South Africa. It has programmes that help people overcome challenges in these circumstances which make them vulnerable to health risks and social isolation, limiting their access to resources and information. Henley Business School has conducted research with Mamelani that focuses on making the impact of its programmes more tangible, with a key outcome being the uniqueness and positive impact created by Mamelani's programmes supporting young people to transition successfully from the care system. Moving forward, Henley Business School is working with Mamelani to explore how it can gain greater influence on policy that will benefit young people transitioning from care.
Watch a video of the NGO perspective and future impacts of the JMCR Impact Partnership here.
Reputation and Responsibility: South Africa Study Trip
The Reputation Immersion Study Trip is an applied consultancy project on the Henley Business School Global MBA programme, in which MBA members act as consultants to Southern African not-for-profit organizations. The goal is to support leaders and organisations to build strong stakeholder relationships, thereby increasing their funding prospects, employee engagement and strategic growth, as well as positive impacts on end-users.
As part of the MBA module in Reputation and Responsibility, some MBA cohorts travel to Cape Town and spend a week working on consulting projects with local NGOs, developing an understanding of their key stakeholder relationships and how to improve them.
In the video below, Mdu Dube, Director at Autism Western Cape (an organisation one of our MBA teams worked with in November 2018), explains how the project has impacted the organisation.
The stories below provide even more insight into the impact of the study trip on our MBA programme members:
Henley Blog: A life-affirming experience in South Africa
Graham Hutchings (EM17)
“It was a truly life-affirming experience, and now I see why it was billed so highly!”
Henley Blog: How I benefited from an MBA
Alexandra Bamburova (EM15)
“Social action gives students the mentality, ‘Oh, I can do something for someone else and I am doing it. This makes me feel really good.'”
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