This is a desk study prepared for the Bertelsmann Foundation, Germany, on the role of public policies in providing an enabling framework for corporate social responsibility (CSR) in South Africa. The desk study report was used by writers in the Foundation to prepare a report comparing a number of countries around the world. Their final report – The CSR Navigator: Public Policies in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe – was launched at a high-profile event in Berlin in October 2007. For an overview of this event and access to a short version of the final report, visit http://www.gtz.de/en/aktuell/21388.htm