In this blog post, we dive into the world of collaborative leadership and its role in regional development. As municipalities gear up for their IDP and Spatial Development Framework discussions, this blog explores how the upcoming session of the Developmental Leadership Programme aims to foster teamwork and innovation.

The CSIR Smart Places team collaborated with Kagiso Trust, the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) and Synergos to host an executive roundtable on Collaborative Governance at Local Level on 11 September 2025. The session, facilitated by Prof. Andrew Boraine, a leading practitioner in partnering and systems change, was designed to contribute to the ongoing review of the White Paper on Local Government.

In regions where economic pressures, service delivery demands and institutional limitations converge, collaboration becomes more than a strategy – it becomes a lifeline.