The aim of this ongoing project is to derive an understanding of what constitutes a broadly acceptable living level that should be used to reflect a basic living level. Central to this ambitious target is an awareness of the necessity of moving away from the minimalist ‘poverty lines’ that have been used in the design and evaluation of anti-poverty programmes. The use of such very basic levels to characterise the state of poverty is dangerous in an upper middle- income country such as South Africa which is already characterized by one of the highest levels of income inequality globally. This project is thus inherently rights-based, rather than being a technocratic exercise. It is about trying to understand by asking ordinary people what such a decent living level should be for all in a post- Apartheid democracy.

The concept of a Basic Income Grant (BIG) in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, particularly in South Africa, aims to provide a regular, unconditional cash transfer to all citizens, regardless of employment status, to ensure a basic standard of living