For the first three years of its existence, the EDP focused on creating networks of stakeholders in key economic areas, and on fostering partnering within these networks with the explicit aim of driving for sustainable, inclusive economic growth.

Funded by national, provincial and municipal government, the EDP played a unique role in bringing together the public sector, the private sector, academia and civil society, to focus on specific issues that had been identified as key drivers of economic growth.

The context within which the EDP operates has changed substantially since its inception, however. Some of these changes include the following:

• Declining public sector revenues, which have led to a need for fiscal consolidation and therefore focused rather than expanded mandates.

• Delivering impact: There is an emphasis within the public sector on the need to focus on solutions for implementation and delivery, rather than on strategy, planning and dialogue processes (“projects must land”);

• There is a need for better public sector institutional alignment before cross-sector partnerships can work.

What this has meant is that the EDP has refocused its areas of operation.

It now focuses on providing partnering solutions to improve the performance of the local and regional economic system.

The material, learnings and best practice from the EDP’s previous programmes, however, remains available in this programme archive. Click on the links below to find material, presentations, and case studies from programmes prior to January 2016.

List of previous programmes:

• • Agriculture, Land and Labour Reform
  • Business Leadership Platform
  • Improving the Regional Innovation System
  • Partnership Support Programme
  • Regional Economic Performance
  • Regional Communicators’ Forum
  • Open Data Policy Process
  • Transport Partnering Solutions
  • Philippi Partnering Solutions