The Gauteng City-Region Observatory: A Case Study

This case study on the Gauteng City Region Observatory (GCRO) discusses the collaboration between provincial government and partner universities and was commissioned by the Department of Planning Monitoring and Evaluation in the Presidency to inform the development of similar policy research initiatives elsewhere in the country. The study outlines the purposes driving the formation of the GCRO, the principles informing its constitution and the ways in which it has delivered on its mandate since 2008.

The case study shows what is possible to achieve when using the resources in academia to support the development agenda of the public sector, and when there is commitment from government to generating evidence for policy-making. An important element of the partnership is dedication to building in-depth knowledge and identifying long-term trends. The GCRO is an exemplar of how the use of data and research can be increased in policy development and implementation. While the government partners are the primary clients, the research outputs are publicly available.