Abstract
The National Development Plan (NDP) of South Africa describes a 2030 vision for the country. The NDP proposes an observatory as one of the measures to develop capabilities for effective spatial decision-making and implementation. This article presents results of a review of observatories with the aim to unpack the details for setting up the proposed observatory. A review of mainly South African observatories was conducted in order to clarify the focus of the observatory (i.e. its purpose and main operations) and how it should be set up (i.e. stakeholders to be involved and hosting options). The review draws on interviews, questionnaires and a workshop with stakeholders, experts and key players. A review of relevant scientific literature and observatory websites was also done. Results underline the importance of drawing on existing data collection, integration and analysis initiatives, as well as the coordinating role such an observatory will have to play.
Highlights
IntroductionAn observatory is proposed as one of the measures to develop capabilities for effective spatial decision-making and implementation
A review of mainly South African observatories was conducted in order to clarify the focus of the observatory and how it should be set up
Observatories were established in the 1990s to collect and disseminate community indicators related to spatial planning
Summary
An observatory is proposed as one of the measures to develop capabilities for effective spatial decision-making and implementation. This article presents the results of background research to unpack the details of setting up of the observatory. A review of mainly South African observatories was conducted in order to clarify the focus of the observatory (i.e. its purpose and main operations) and how it should be set up (i.e. stakeholders to be involved and hosting options). The remainder of the paper is structured as follows: section 2 provides background on observatories, as well as more details about the objectives of the proposed observatory.
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