This study has assessed the role of public participation in effective and efficient local governance at two local municipalities of Elias Motswaledi and Steve Tshwete in South Africa. Public participation is a pillar of development and therefore important to assess the successes and failures thereof. Government invest huge resources to deliver public service to their citizens and it is through public participation that the beneficiaries of these services can be guaranteed public service’ quality and responsiveness. Interviews with key informants in local government and focus groups provided a better understanding of the situation in the two case study areas. Elias Motswaledi has provided a classical challenge of public participation with the reluctance of the community to participate in the development processes and also with projects that do not benefit the majority of the residents; whereas at Steve Tshwete the community is actively engaged in major decision making processes and have also assisted the council in delivering relevant projects and programmes that are responsive to the community needs. The study found that the government has to relook: 1. the relationship between ward committees and community development workers as this was found to be the major contributing factor to poor levels of public participation. 2. There is an urgent need for building capacity for both local communities and ward communities to enable them to effectively participate in developmental processes that affect them. The study also showed how poor public participation initiatives have negatively affected service delivery and development initiatives at local levels in South Africa. This comparative case study maybe useful in shedding some insight in addressing public participation in local government to overcome the relatively weak or low municipal capacity across South Africa.

Thesis (M.Dev) --University of Limpopo, 2011 / Projects will do well, sustain and function effectively if the people and communities for whom they are established understood them better and took charge of their implementation. The integrated development planning is, by its nature and purpose appropriate and proves a better tool for community development. It is already showing some fruits and will, undoubtedly continue serving the purpose as long as its implementation is based on the peoples' own analysis of their own problems and perceived solutions. The aim of this research was to evaluate on the level of community participation in the integrated development planning conducted by the Molemole municipality in the villages, more especially, Mokomene which is under Kgosi Ramokgopa. It has also been the objectives of the research to assess and measure the level of participation by members of the community in this area.lnterviews, questionnaires and observations were used to carry out the research.While many people in this area supported the introduction of the IDP in the communities, these recommended strongly for its correct implementation. The results of the research indicate a substantial number of people who still believe education and orientation on IDP matters should be given to the communities.

Thesis (M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo / In this study the researcher wanted to disclose the problems undermining the role and effectiveness of IDP for service delivery in the Vhembe District Municipality. The study succeeded in investigating the role and effectiveness of IDP on service delivery in Vhembe District Municipality. The research questions: “is there a role and effectiveness of the Integrated Development Planning in Vhembe District Municipality on service delivery?” and “is there a significant improvement of municipal services since the introduction of the IDP process in the year 2000?” and finally, “Is the IDP of Vhembe District Municipality Linked to the Budget?” were interrogated. The specific objectives of the study which include “investigating how the IDP impacts on service delivery” were outlined. The study also endeavoured to satisfy the second objective by suggesting possible solutions as to how the IDPs could be strengthened to address service delivery constraints and challenges. The research also looked at the historical background of Integrated Development Planning. In doing so, the research looked at the development planning evolution in South Africa. Policy and Legislative Framework governing the formulation and implementation of the IDP in South Africa were also considered. The study strove to outline the problems and other dynamics associated with linkage of the IDP to the budgeting process. Public participation and the role of provincial and national government departments in the IDP were also looked into. Three methods of data collection were identified for use in this study, namely: unstructured interviews, participant observation and documentation. The population for the study comprised the stakeholders for IDP. This was divided into government officials and members of community. Purposive sampling was conducted to each group of the population. The researcher presented data in an explanatory way. The main problem identified on the role and effectiveness of the IDP is its lack of alignment with the budget of the municipality. Recommendations were made at the end of the study.

Thesis (M.Art. et Scien. (Town and Regional Planning))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Post apartheid planning practice aims to resolve the inequality that resulted from the hyperrational comprehensive model of planning executed during apartheid via a participatory, integrated approach. The Integrated Development Planning model was created to manifest the goals of social and spatial equality while taking into account principles set forth in Agenda 21. This thesis attempted to determine the relevance of the present planning model in achieving the stated goals of social equity and environmental sustainability, within the Dwars River Valley, Stellenbosch Municipality, Western Cape, South Africa. Utilizing 54 qualitative-based interviews with key stakeholders, results indicate that historically based realities on the ground and ideals of more equitable and sustainable spatial architecture is profoundly challenging. Despite this, the organic emergence of unique coalitions provides evidence that positive change occurs daily and outcomes can only be measured with time.

Post apartheid planning practice aims to resolve the inequality that resulted from the hyperrational comprehensive model of planning executed during apartheid via a participatory, integrated approach. The Integrated Development Planning model was created to manifest the goals of social and spatial equality while taking into account principles set forth in Agenda 21. This thesis attempted to determine the relevance of the present planning model in achieving the stated goals of social equity and environmental sustainability, within the Dwars River Valley, Stellenbosch Municipality, Western Cape, South Africa. Utilizing 54 qualitative-based interviews with key stakeholders, results indicate that historically based realities on the ground and ideals of more equitable and sustainable spatial architecture is profoundly challenging. Despite this, the organic emergence of unique coalitions provides evidence that positive change occurs daily and outcomes can only be measured with time.

This thesis tries to provide a modest contribution to the critical studies on the history of development by exploring Cold War development practices. It questions the role of these practices in constructing a new regime that was conducive to govern the relationship between the West and the Third World after the Second World War. It suggests that development practices were composed of techniques and rationalities that were designed to solve the urgent problem of governing populations without using sheer force and sovereign power tools where these methods were not practical in the context of decolonization and Cold War. For this kind of inquiry, this thesis takes into account power relations embedded in the development practices and, by utilizing Michel Foucault&rsquo / s theories, perceives these practices as an essential way of disseminating biopolitical methods to the Third World. Role of the development discourse in governing populations is analyzed with relation to the notion of governmentality, which refers to modes of thought and the techniques of accomplishing rule in a discourse. In line with this theoretical framework, the first part of this thesis explores three schools of thought -modernization, dependency and world system- in order to explain the ways of producing thought and knowledge pertaining to development and the involvement of power relations in this process. Additionally, analyzing development aid and development planning which were the techniques to institutionalize development practices in the Third World countries and to render them technical that were managed only by experts without muddling with politics constitute the second part of this thesis .

Despite the advantages and dominance of globalization in today&rsquo / s world economics / clusters, as a regional based development tool, still attract many researchers and policy makers from all over the world in order to obtain sustainable competitiveness. As a result of fast rising number of cluster development policies and initiatives, the importance of measuring the performance of clusters arises. The purpose of this thesis is to design a performance measurement model, which will be applied to industrial clusters in Turkey. A model framework is developed, based on expected outcomes of clusters which are classified as productivity, innovativeness, new business formations and social capital. Indicators are selected based on extensive literature survey under these four determinants, and a scorecard is developed. After the design phase, the performance of two cluster cases from Turkey is studied. In order to improve clustering approach, it is important to monitor, measure identify the progress of clusters. It is believed that this work will be utile for policy makers to identify whether the interventions, incentives and promotions are beneficial for the desired purposes and whether they are used effectively.

Diss. (sammanfattning), Stockholm : Kungliga Tekniska högskolan, 2006. / Härtill 5 appendix.

This thesis aspires to advance understanding of how actor choices relate to embedded structures of rules in communicative planning practice, using insights from the institutional literature developed in organizational science, economics, sociology and planning. Specifically, the thesis argues that a spatial institutional perspective can help planners understand the complex patterns of interaction among actors, and between actors and rules. Actors interact in the spaces created by the interplay between actor choices and rule structures: the institutional environment. The thesis comprises five papers: two case studies, a literature review and a theoretical paper. A review of the institutional literature reveals insights from other disciplines not yet fully explored in planning, including transaction cost analysis to explain individual decisions and collective action approaches to understanding micro behaviour and macro outcomes. These insights, together with the results of the case studies, suggest that planning theory needs to better understand how individual actors make choices within rule structures and based on the expected behaviour of others. To address this, the thesis offers the concept of relational rewards, which incorporates theories of social capital and communication externalities into a rational actor approach. This may provide an explanation for why self-interested actors make choices about whether or not to participate in interactive forums designed to meet communicative goals. This approach can also explain how boundedly rational actors without communicative norms may over time develop a propensity to collaborate. In a practical sense, this thesis challenges planners to think about what selective incentives they offer actors to participate in communicative planning. It encourages planners to identify and characterize the many institutional environments for planning and decisionmaking in transaction cost terms. Planning theorists and practitioners are experienced and adept in understanding and applying a spatial perspective, and can develop a spatial-institutional approach to coordinating actors both across physical space and within institutional environments. / <p>QC 20100927</p>