Unlocking national justice for survivors of gender-based violence

How we partnered with MOSAIC to unlock justice at scale for survivors across South Africa.

Strategy | Design | Women’s Empowerment | Justice | South Africa

MOSAIC is a South African NGO supporting survivors of domestic and intimate-partner violence. In a country where 1 in 3 women experience abuse, their Court Support Services Programme helps thousands navigate the justice system with legal guidance, emotional support, and protection order assistance.

Challenge

MOSAIC’s court support services model was working but reaching only a fraction of those in need.

Limited capacity, reliance on direct delivery, and the sheer scale of domestic and intimate-partner violence made it clear: only helping thousands wasn’t enough.

The challenge was how to scale sustainably and fast. 

The team worked Spring Impact to answer:

  • How do we know what will work in practice, before we invest and commit?
  • What is the most effective pathway to scale?
  • What role should MOSAIC play in the wider ecosystem to enable widespread reach?

OUTCOMES

Strategic Partnerships

with national NGOs and the Department of Justice to deliver the model locally.

 

Enabling the wider ecosystem

such as CBOs and NGOs to lead delivery on the ground, with MOSAIC supporting.

 

Multiple pathways to scale

in diverse settings without compromising on quality or values.

 

OUR APPROACH

To scale their programme across the country, our work focused on three key areas:

  • Testing what would work in practice by validating core assumptions through real-world pilots and partner engagement
  • Building a flexible scale model that moved beyond replication to a portfolio of pathways including open sourcing, partnerships, and branching
  • Shifting MOSAIC’s role from direct delivery to enabling others: helping them reimagine their identity as a trainer, convener, and strategic advisor

This foundation helped unlock early momentum and positioned MOSAIC for sustainable, long-term impact.

“Spring’s support positioned us to take our proven model to places we may never physically reach and still make an impact.”

— Tarisai Mchuchu-MacMillan, Executive Director, MOSAIC

OUR PROCESS

Our collaboration in detail, breaking down what we focused on and why it mattered

Validating what works

MOSAIC tested whether other organisations had the capacity and appetite to adopt the model. Early pilots revealed what would and wouldn’t work – shaping a clearer understanding of where to focus scale efforts.

This ensured MOSAIC didn’t scale blindly – early insights reduced risks and guided smarter investment in what would truly work at scale.

Building multiple pathways to scale

Rather than rely on one model, MOSAIC developed a scale strategy that includes NGO partnerships, branching in existing regions, and open sourcing – a mix that allows them to adapt to different contexts.

This gave MOSAIC the flexibility to scale in diverse settings without compromising on quality and values.

Moving from ‘doing’ the work, to ‘enabling others'

Scaling meant rethinking their place in the ecosystem. MOSAIC stepped into a new role – training others to deliver, supporting implementation, and building systems for quality at scale.

This marked a mindset shift essential for scale –  freeing up MOSAIC’s capacity to unlock reach far beyond what they could have done alone.

RESULTS

Clearer focus
MOSAIC now has a refined, tested scale model built around multiple delivery pathways, not just replication.

Stronger partnerships
An enhanced collaboration with the Department of Justice and NGOs is enabling local delivery beyond MOSAIC’s footprint.

Ecosystem shift
The team has embraced a new role as enablers, positioning themselves to train, support, and accredit others to lead the work in their own communities.

Open sourcing underway
Core training materials are being prepared for public use, with plans for accreditation to support quality and consistency at scale.

This partnership is part of Spring Impact’s Scale Accelerator: Women’s Empowerment programme, which supported locally led organisations across Southern Africa to unlock impact at scale.

It represents our wider ambition to back proven solutions with the potential to shift systems and drive women’s economic empowerment at scale.

Need support on your own path to scale?

Press enter to search or esc to cancel