A composite report of the proceedings of the 2019 Colloquium and the 2019 Research and Publications on expanding a Decent Standard of Living in South Africa.

To gain further insight into the scope of a decent standard of living, the Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute (SPII) in partnership with the Association of Community-based Advice Offices of South Africa (ACAOSA) with support from the Church of Sweden, the Basic Needs Basket project was re-launched in 2014 to monitor, across the 9 provinces of South Africa in both rural and urban areas, frequently purchased items (food and non-food essential items) by lower income households on a monthly basis to ascertain people’s everyday basic needs.

Critical reflection on the Socially Perceived Necessities (SPNs) in attaining a Decent Standard of Living (DSL): Launch of the 2021 Post COVID Report on what constitutes a decent standard of living in South Africa.

This Report documents the research findings, as well as the emerging issues that participants identified as being critical for the future work around a Decent Standard of Living (DSL) in South Africa.

This report seeks to consolidate existing knowledge of SPNs and the policy formation dynamics in South Africa in order to argue for government programmes that take into account the needs of its citizens including dignified livelihoods.