We focus on the services below. Please click a link for more details.

• SPATIAL PLANNING, URBAN DESIGN AND ASSOCIATED POLICY
• PUBLIC SECTOR POLICY AND SUPPORT
• ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Neighbourhood Development Partnership Grant: Node

MCA has developed a strong focus on providing support to the public sector in a range of areas enabling us to expand our client base through all spheres of government and, with our multi-disciplinary approach, across sector departments.

MCA undertakes strategy development across a range of developmental fields.  Our strong strategic outlook and approach has lead to the company being a key author in the development of the concept document Neighbourhood Development Partnership Grant for the National Treasury (2006). This document will guide the disbursement of more that R3bn of public spending for catalytic nodal projects across the country. MCA was also involved the compilation of National Guidelines for the development of Provincial Growth and Development Strategies (PCAS, The Presidency, 2005) which will ensure stronger levels of harmonisation and alignment across the spheres of government as well as coordinated and spatially focussed public investment to realise government’s policy objectives.

Thusong Service Centres

Furthermore, MCA has been involved in various business planning initiatives for government. In particular, the company has been responsible for a business plan to guide the national roll out of Thusong Service Centres (formerly MPCCs) for GCIS (2005) and well as a number of local programme and project based business plans for the urban renewal nodes of Khayelitsha Mitchell’s Plain (City of Cape Town, 2003) and Galeshewe (Sol Plaatje Municipality, 2005).

MCA believes that our approach to strategy development and business planning is creative and incorporates a level of “blue-sky thinking,” whilst being both responsive to governance contexts and firmly grounded in a strong set of developmental principles.

This is another key focus of our business and one in which the company has significant project related experience. MCA has been involved policy and programme evaluation including, amongst others, an impact assessment of the Urban Renewal Programme in Khayelitsha Mitchell’s Plain (dplg, 2006), anaudit and evaluation of Spatial Development Frameworks in the Northern and Western Cape (Department of Land Affairs, 2003) and assessments of PGDSs (PCAS, the Presidency). In addition, our continuing annual involvement in conducting municipal capacity assessments for the Municipal Demarcation Board has contributed to our understanding of capacity issues facing the local government sphere and the challenges that need to be overcome to ensure equitable service delivery throughout the country.

Within the broad area of public sector policy and support, MCA often acts in a specialist advisory capacity to various government agencies or departments. In this regard we have provided capacity in supporting the National Treasury in evaluating and facilitating the roll out of the NDP Grant (2006) and have advised the dplg on the future role of Integrated Development Plans (2006) with the backdrop of the outcomes of the 2005 IDP Hearings.

NDPG: Strategic Alliance Business Model

Apart from support around IDPs, MCA has been involved in providing advisory services to dplg around the urban renewal programme as well as to several municipalities through providing guidance on development of their LED strategies under the Project Consolidate. MCA has also played an advisory role to the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board in adjudicating applications for casino and gaming licences including mega-projects such the development of GrandWest Casino.

MCA is also involved in the growing field of training (specifically of officials and political representatives within government). In this regard, the company has a wide range of skills and experiences that we are able to draw on to provide specialist inputs in relation to our core fields of expertise. This has lead to our running training courses in the Integrated and Sustainable Human Settlements Concept for the Provincial Government (2006), targeted at municipal officials in the Western Cape.

Linked to our specialist expertise in monitoring, evaluation and assessment of government programmes, we have become more strongly driven by the need to ensure that maximum learning benefit (linked to knowledge management) is obtained from project and programme experiences. Increasingly, knowledge and the ability to understand, convey and implement lessons from successful practice is becoming important – MCA recognises this. We have had the opportunity to develop skills in this regard through the compilation of a record of shared learning from the Urban Renewal Programme for the City of Cape Town (2006) which was presented to role players and now serves as a resource to inform planning. Furthermore, the company has been involved in research activity in relation to Thusong service centres (GCIS) which is contributing to a more sustainable approach to the future roll out of these important platforms for the interface between citizens and government.

An emerging area of business that MCA is pursuing is the facilitation and monitoring of public private partnerships (PPPs). In this regard, MCA, along with Grant Thornton (Tourism and Hospitality), have been appointed by the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) and the Theewaterskloof Municipality to provide support in the establishment of PPPs in Grabouw to enable the sustainable growth and development of this town close to Cape Town. We will be pursuing work in this field which is likely to become increasingly important as the mutual benefits of these partnerships to the state, communities and the private sector are realised.