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Integrated Development Planning local pathway to sustainable development in South Africa

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  E N Q U I R I E S

Maria Coetzee
CSIR Building & Construction Technology
Tel: +27 12 841-2552

    E M A I L

Integrated Development Planning local pathway to sustainable development in South Africa

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The South African system of Integrated Development Planning (IDP) is a process by which municipalities prepare 5-year strategic plans that are reviewed annually in consultation with communities and stakeholders. These plans seek to promote integration by balancing social, economic and ecological pillars of sustainability without compromising the institutional capacity required in the implementation, and by coordinating actions across sectors and spheres of government.

The recently established World Summit IDP-LA21 Partnership (DPLG, GTZ, CSIR, DEAT, SALGA, UNDP, DBSA) aims to achieve greater awareness of the contribution of integrated development planning in the alleviation of poverty and the improvement of the quality of life of local inhabitants in a sustainable manner. The partnership prepared an awareness campaign and produced an information package to promote and popularise the South African system of integrated development planning (IDP) as an important and uniquely "South African" approach to achieving sustainable local reconstruction and development in the context of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). CSIR Building and Construction Technology (Boutek) has made a significant contribution to IDP-LA21 awareness campaign and information package.

Main objectives of the initiative

• Promote the perceived value of the IDP processes in the eyes of various stakeholders, including the international communities, by ensuring sustainable development as one of the key outcomes of the integrated development planning process.
• Elevate the status of "African Approaches" to planning and development internationally, thereby contributing to the objectives of the "African Rebirth" theme of NEPAD.
• Integrate planning requirements and demands on the local sphere, thereby dealing with existing confusion, parallel planning process and the wastage of limited resources.
• Give effect to the objective of co-operative governance as propounded in Chapter 3 of the Constitution through the formulation of the "joint position" between relevant governmental role-players.
• Contribute to opening up streams of international donor funding for local planning and development processes.

CSIR contribution to the awareness campaign

The CSIR team of Jo-Anne Chauvet, Helga Goss, Cathy Meiklejohn and Liaan Odendaal, led by Maria Coetzee, was responsible for a number of the major components of the awareness campaign and communication package, which was distributed at the Johannesburg WSSD. This contribution was significant in that it concretises the link between sustainability and local planning in a manner tailor-made for the South African policy context and provides clear pointers on how Integrated Development Planning is the pathway to sustainable development in South Africa.

The CSIR's contribution included the following:

• Compact Disc - Local Pathway to Sustainable Development in South Africa
  This compact disc was designed to provide interested parties with relevant information on themes of sustainable development, Integrated Development Planning and Local Agenda 21. It contains documents, brochures, posters and a video, as well as relevant policy, legislation, guidelines and references together with contact details and hotlinks to relevant websites. The concept and content of the CD was designed by Maria Coetzee, sponsored by GTZ and coordinated by the Development Planning and Local Economic Development Directorate of the Department of Provincial and Local Government. Copies of the CD can be ordered via e-mail from Josiah Lodi (Josiah@.dso.gov.za) at DPLG.

• Summary Document on the IDP-LA21 Relationship
  This document, written by Maria Coetzee, pays particular attention to South Africa's response to the challenges of sustainable development by discovering how the new system of integrated development planning gives effect to the goals and principles of LA21 and creates a local pathway to sustainable development in South Africa. The document explores the relationship between the two processes (IDP and LA21) by highlighting the similarities and convergences. It then summarises some of the profound ways in which sustainability considerations can be mainstreamed in South Africa's integrated development planning process, both in general approach, and in specific process guidelines (pointing to ways in which sustainability can be strengthened in each phase of the IDP process).

  It extracts key messages from a series of groundbreaking documents exploring ways in which to mainstream sustainability considerations into local development and planning processes in South Africa. Noteworthy documents include:

  • Department of Provincial and Local Government (2001): Guide V - Sectors and Dimensions
  • Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism & CSIR (2001): Draft National Framework Guidelines for Discussion and Review: Strengthening Sustainability in the Integrated Development Planning Process.
  • Department of Provincial and Local Government (2001): IDP Guide Pack V: Sectors and Dimensions. Formeset Printers and Cape (Pty) Ltd for Government Printers: Pretoria.
  • Urquhart, P. and Atkinson, D. (2000): A Pathway to Sustainability: Local Agenda 21 in South Africa. University of Cape Town: Rondebosch.

• Video - Local Pathway to Sustainable Development in South Africa
  An eight-minute video was produced by the CSIR for GTZ and DPLG. It was used at the DPLG exhibition at the Ubuntu Village, the DBSA side event and the meeting of SA Directors-General on 12 September 2002 and provides an overview of the Integrated Development Planning, Local Agenda 21Relationship. The video is included on the compact disc. A longer version of the video was also produced by the CSIR for IDP training purposes.

• Poster - Summary of the IDP-LA21 Relationship
  The CSIR developed an A3 poster that demonstrates the relationship between the various phases of the IDP and LA21 methodologies. The team also developed the content of the exhibition panels at the Ubuntu Village along the themes of:
  • Conceptual approaches to mainstreaming sustainability considerations into IDP processes and
  • Showcasing Case Study Material from UGU District Municipality.

• Brochure - Local Case Studies of Strategic Planning for Sustainable Development
  This brochure, authored by Helga Goss and edited by Maria Coetzee of the CSIR, summarises two case studies, namely the Ugu District Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal and the Moshaweng Local Municipality in North West Province. The case studies were summarised from a series of case studies on sustainability in local governance undertaken by UNDP in partnership with DPLG and SALGA.

• Presentation at DBSA Side Event
  Maria Coetzee shared the podium with representatives from the partner organisations and delivered a presentation on Integrated Development Planning as the South African Response to the Challenge of Local Sustainable Development.

Other elements of the awareness campaign

• An exhibition at the Ubuntu Village
• A series of documents:
  • Summary Document on the IDP-LA21 Relationship
  • Report on Principles of Integrated Development Planning and Assessment of the Process 2001-2002
  • Document of Case Studies on Sustainability in Local Governance
• Brochure on Integrated Development Planning
• Posters:
  • IDP Declaration
  • Approach to mainstreaming sustainability considerations into Integrated Development Planning
• 2003 Calendar (with brief quotes summarising key characteristics of the IDP process and relevant South African pictures)

The abovementioned elements of the support package are available from the Department of Provincial and Local Government, Directorate: Development Planning and Local Economic Development. E-mail: Josiah@.dso.gov.za, the DPLG web-site www.dplg.gov.za or on the Compact Disc - Local Pathway to Sustainable Development in South Africa.

Download a selection of documents available on the CD in pdf format:

	Integrated Development Planning (IDP) - local pathway to sustainable development in South Africa [File size 806KB]
	Case studies on sustainability in local governance [File size 1,073KB]
	Summary document on the IDP LA21 relationship for publication and dissemination at the World Summit [File size 768KB]
	Principles of integrated development planning and assessment of the process [File size 217KB]
	Draft National Framework Guidelines for discussion and review [File size 3,170KB]
	Manual for sustainable neighbourhood development [File size 387KB]

For more information contact:
Maria Coetzee
Tel: +27 12 841-2552
Fax: +27 12 841-4036
E-mail: mcoetzee@csir.co.za

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