DST: StepSA 2016/17 Phase 3
Abstract
The stepSA project has over the last 3-4 years seen a tremendous shift in moving from an original science and capability based investment (IPDM) to a multi-agent collaborative initiative, where ongoing research and development is increasingly supplemented through initiatives by national departments, municipalities and government agencies who see the value of application and adaptation within their particular domains or areas of jurisdiction. The current 12-month study is in response to a follow-up proposal to fund key research and development priorities within the stepSA collaborative project and the IPDM. It is the result of a three-year proposal submitted to DST in 2014. The key objectives of the proposed research are: (i) enhance and extend the critical capability to simulate future growth implications in more cities, as well as in rural areas, in support of a wider range of governance and investment decisions; (ii) for ongoing R&D to support robust spatial and temporal indicators and data sets that fill current (and new) quantitative and qualitative data gaps to enable understanding of fast changing dynamics and urban-rural/urban-urban inter-relationships; (iii) to deepen the empirical base for service delivery and policy formulation in respect of housing for the mining towns workforce as well as calculating provision needed for future national South African subsidy housing demand; (iv) to expand R&D collaboration across government and other institutions; and (v) Dissemination of findings and information in support of practical utilisation. Integrated planning and decision-making for the public good; and Research an co-innovation in development planning and geo-spatial sciences
