Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / John W. Keller / Regions are an intricate network of communities, geographies and economies that together impact the long-term growth and stability of one other. Cooperation between municipalities within the same region is vital in order to achieve sustained growth, both economically and in the built environment. The research question states: What is the value of regional planning bodies in ensuring effective communication and collaboration among region-wide governmental and non-governmental agencies? This research report includes a detailed history of the role and significance of regional planning bodies in the United States, as well as a case study involving the regional planning body in Houston, Texas and the Gulf Coast Region. The Houston-Galveston Area Council is the lead participant in a 25-member coordinating committee working together to complete a regional sustainability plan under the federally funded Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Program. The interviews included in this report give conclusions and recommendations to the success of the region working together in terms of communication and collaboration. The challenge of establishing effective collaboration among a variety of agencies in the Gulf Coast Region is proving to be difficult and slow moving, however, there are signs of improvement as the three-year grant program moves forward. The conclusions from the literature review and case study show that regions with an unbiased planning body benefit both from the communication and social capital gained by working together on a shared goal.

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Sin taxes have increased significantly during the past three years. There have been different opinions regarding the levying of sin taxes: in relation to whether it helps the government to raise revenue or reduces the consumption thereof. This study therefore investigates the actual purpose for these taxes by means of a literature and empirical review. An increase in sin taxes affects the poor more than the rich because such taxes are classified as a regressive type of tax. The primary research problem addressed by this literature study was to determine the percentage that the lower income earning group of South African citizens, who are funded by social grants, spend on sin taxed items. This study focused on two areas: the social grant system in conjunction with the Consumer Price Index (“CPI”) and the levying of sin taxes in South Africa. Over the years, South Africa has experienced an increase in its levels of poverty. There are eight types of social grants in South Africa, to which the lower income earning South African citizens, who live below the poverty line, are entitled, depending on their circumstances. This study discusses only seven of the eight social grants, by considering the purpose of the social grant, criteria, means testing requirements and the monthly amount available. These grants include the child support grant, old age grant, disability grant, foster care grant, care dependency grant, grant-in-aid and war veteran grant. The CPI of South Africa is briefly addressed in this study, followed by the increases over the past three years. The escalations of the social grants and that of the CPI of South Africa have been compared in order to determine whether the government remains concerned for their lower income earning citizens most of whom live below the poverty line. For purposes of this study, sin taxes have been narrowed down to include only alcoholic beverages and cigarettes. This study determined the increases of sin taxes on these substances over the past three years as well as the consumption thereof. Their consumption was determined by the sales volume. A comparison of the increases and consumption was made, the purpose of which was to determine government’s motivation for these increases. The empirical review of this study investigated the social grant recipients’ spending habits on these items. This was done by means of a self- developed questionnaire. The purpose of the questionnaire was to determine the percentage of their grant money that the social grant recipients spend on alcoholic beverages and cigarettes. The results and findings led to a conclusion which addressed the problem of this study. This study makes recommendations for further investigation of the sin tax implications for the lower income earning South African citizens, who are funded by social grants. / MCom (Accountancy)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015

The Social Assistance Act 13 of 2004 makes provision for social assistance in the form of older person’s grant, disability grant, child support grant, foster care grant, war veteran grant, care dependency grant and social relief of distress. The provision of a disability grant is prescribed in Section 9 of the afore-mentioned Act which sets out the qualifying criteria for a disability grant which stipulates that the applicant for a disability grant should have attained the prescribed age at the time of application. The Act further prescribes that, owing to the applicant’s physical or mental disability, which is unable to secure employment or profession to enable him/her to provide for his/her maintenance, may also submit an application. The purpose of the study was to “Evaluate the policy regulating access to South African Social Security Agency’s disability grant in Umlazi Township”. The focus is on the Umlazi Township in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal Province. The data collection techniques used in the collection of data was qualitative in nature. A semi-structured questionnaire with a mixture of a five-point Likert scale and open-ended questions was administered. The major findings of the study included the lack of policy for the disability grant, the lack of relevant training for staff and medical practitioners, the lack of community engagement and awareness, medical practitioners who use their discretion to make recommendations to the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) administrators, the risk of inclusion and exclusion errors caused by poor gate-keeping, the impact of poverty, unemployment and the chronic illnesses resulting to demand for disability grants. / MA (Public Administration), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The Social Assistance Act 13 of 2004 makes provision for social assistance in the form of older person’s grant, disability grant, child support grant, foster care grant, war veteran grant, care dependency grant and social relief of distress. The provision of a disability grant is prescribed in Section 9 of the afore-mentioned Act which sets out the qualifying criteria for a disability grant which stipulates that the applicant for a disability grant should have attained the prescribed age at the time of application. The Act further prescribes that, owing to the applicant’s physical or mental disability, which is unable to secure employment or profession to enable him/her to provide for his/her maintenance, may also submit an application. The purpose of the study was to “Evaluate the policy regulating access to South African Social Security Agency’s disability grant in Umlazi Township”. The focus is on the Umlazi Township in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal Province. The data collection techniques used in the collection of data was qualitative in nature. A semi-structured questionnaire with a mixture of a five-point Likert scale and open-ended questions was administered. The major findings of the study included the lack of policy for the disability grant, the lack of relevant training for staff and medical practitioners, the lack of community engagement and awareness, medical practitioners who use their discretion to make recommendations to the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) administrators, the risk of inclusion and exclusion errors caused by poor gate-keeping, the impact of poverty, unemployment and the chronic illnesses resulting to demand for disability grants. / MA (Public Administration), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Sin taxes have increased significantly during the past three years. There have been different opinions regarding the levying of sin taxes: in relation to whether it helps the government to raise revenue or reduces the consumption thereof. This study therefore investigates the actual purpose for these taxes by means of a literature and empirical review. An increase in sin taxes affects the poor more than the rich because such taxes are classified as a regressive type of tax. The primary research problem addressed by this literature study was to determine the percentage that the lower income earning group of South African citizens, who are funded by social grants, spend on sin taxed items. This study focused on two areas: the social grant system in conjunction with the Consumer Price Index (“CPI”) and the levying of sin taxes in South Africa. Over the years, South Africa has experienced an increase in its levels of poverty. There are eight types of social grants in South Africa, to which the lower income earning South African citizens, who live below the poverty line, are entitled, depending on their circumstances. This study discusses only seven of the eight social grants, by considering the purpose of the social grant, criteria, means testing requirements and the monthly amount available. These grants include the child support grant, old age grant, disability grant, foster care grant, care dependency grant, grant-in-aid and war veteran grant. The CPI of South Africa is briefly addressed in this study, followed by the increases over the past three years. The escalations of the social grants and that of the CPI of South Africa have been compared in order to determine whether the government remains concerned for their lower income earning citizens most of whom live below the poverty line. For purposes of this study, sin taxes have been narrowed down to include only alcoholic beverages and cigarettes. This study determined the increases of sin taxes on these substances over the past three years as well as the consumption thereof. Their consumption was determined by the sales volume. A comparison of the increases and consumption was made, the purpose of which was to determine government’s motivation for these increases. The empirical review of this study investigated the social grant recipients’ spending habits on these items. This was done by means of a self- developed questionnaire. The purpose of the questionnaire was to determine the percentage of their grant money that the social grant recipients spend on alcoholic beverages and cigarettes. The results and findings led to a conclusion which addressed the problem of this study. This study makes recommendations for further investigation of the sin tax implications for the lower income earning South African citizens, who are funded by social grants. / MCom (Accountancy)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2015

State grants are perceived to mitigate the fiscal disparities among local governments in providing services. However, cutbacks in state grants as a result of changes in state grant policy in different states affect local expenditures dedicated to maintaining service provisions to citizens. This dissertation constructs a theoretical model to explain the extent to which and the ways in which types of state grants, revenue diversity, and form of local government impact local spending and the provision of public programs when local governments experience cuts in state grants. The dissertation also argues that when facing state grant cuts, local governments with a council-manager form of government and with higher revenue diversity will experience reduced change in local expenditures and that decreases in state categorical grants will lead to more cuts in distributive program expenditures. Given the diversity of state and local arrangements, this dissertation conducts a comparative and panel data study to test the hypotheses in 351 and 271 municipalities in Massachusetts and Colorado, respectively, in 2000 through 2008. The empirical results indicate that the form of government and the degree of revenue diversification have a greater impact on the local spending behaviors in Colorado than in Massachusetts. Meanwhile, decreases in state categorical grants lead to more cuts in distributive program expenditures in both Massachusetts and Colorado. This dissertation concludes that the theoretical model explains the effects of state grant reductions on local spending better in Colorado than it does in Massachusetts.

This study is an investigation of the relationship between selected structural characteristics of the community and innovation among cities. Four major Structural characteristics were chosen to serve as independent variables. These independent variables were community differentiation, community poverty, community maturity and type of local government. Innovation, as measured by applicant status to the federal Urban Development Action Grant Program, served as the dependent variable. Analysis of the data indicated support for several of the postulated hypotheses. The structural characteristic community differentiation was found to be significantly related to applicant status. For the structural characteristic community poverty no significant relationship to applicant status was observed. Community maturity revealed a significant relationship to applicant status. Finally, for the structural characteristic local form of government a significant relationship with applicant status was observed. Based on the interpretation of the findings, an original typology of innovation was developed. This typology included planned revitalizing innovation, social enhancing innovation, entrepreneurial stimulating innovation, and needs inducing innovation.

The goal of this thesis is to provide project management analysis in the non-profit making organization Sdružení turistických a tábornických oddílů, based on theory of project management. Especially key procedures in submitting of grant applications in area of support for youth work and success factors of these applications are examined.

ABSTRACT In this Masters Research Report, I argue that different conceptual frameworks play a central role in influencing whether and why independent funders in South Africa choose to engage in either social justice philanthropy or traditional philanthropy. Based on documentary analysis and in-depth interviews with a sample population of independent funders and experts in the philanthropic field in South Africa, this research first puts forward a different understanding of social justice philanthropy, from a South African perspective. Based on this understanding, the research then reflects that the way in which independent funders conceptualise and operationalize the reasons why they do the work they do and their roles in relation to other development role players are the central elements that influence the nature and scope of the funding approaches, priorities and strategies that they adopt.