Lauren Hermanus

I am a sustainable development specialist whose role is to envision, strategize, and design projects for an inclusive and resilient economy. Until March 2016, I was the Deputy Director for Green Economy for Western Cape Government. My work here addressed issues of urbanisation, resource constraints, and enabling greater social equity—all of this in highly charged political contexts. I have been instrumental in driving new international partnerships between government and other actors, specifically focusing on modelling innovative, collaborative and resource-efficient solutions to policy problems. Examples include work with the OECD, ILO , WWF and the International Institute for Sustainable Development.

Prior to working with government, I worked on sustainability projects in the private sector, spanning finance, food production, information and communication technology (ICT), mining, and retail sectors. My early experiences in sustainability were focused on advocating for climate related risk reporting and advising on mitigation strategies to leading firms in South Africa’s energy and carbon intensive economy.

I have an academic background in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, and my work, overall, has been informed and shaped by an early research focus in complexity theory. For my first Master’s research, I was mentored by a leading scholar on the subject, the late Paul Cilliers. I have developed this theoretical capacity, applied to socio-economic development, and am currently pursuing a second Master’s degree, an ‘MPhil’ in Development Policy and Practice at the University of Cape Town. Through this programme, I have had the opportunity to work with cutting edge practices including Problem-Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) and the Theory of Change for projects applied to sustainable public procurement and alternative energy models in South Africa.

I am continuing this work with Massive Small, as a strategic advisor. I am being supported in my resilience work by the Shuttleworth Foundation.