A Spatial View of Planning and Policy Approaches to Support Economic Development in Marginalised Townships

DescriptionAssessment 2: Data Collection

You are required to develop a data collection strategy for your research.

1. Write an abstract of no more than 150 words, describing your research problem and research

purpose.© 2021 University of Pretoria 14

2. Develop your own research question or research aim and formulate no more than four

research sub-questions or research objectives.

3. Discuss the ontological and epistemological approach of your study

4. Select a research approach and research design appropriate for your research question or aim

and motivate for its selection.

5. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of the approach and design for your specific study

(contextualisation and specification is important).

6. Develop and discuss a data collection plan for your study. This includes various data collection

methods (interview, document analysis, questionnaire, etc), participants and sampling. Justify

your choices for your specific study, and discuss potential challenges you may face when

collecting the data and how you will respond to them.

7. Based on your research question and sub-questions (research aim and objectives), develop an

interview schedule (10-15 questions) or questionnaire (10-15 items – excluding demographic

information). Where applicable, develop an observation guide/schedule.

Your assignment should be well organized, containing an abstract introduction, body paragraphs, and

conclusion. Paragraphs contain clear topic sentences, focus on a single issue, are coherent, and

organized according to an obvious pattern of argument. Effective use of transitional expressions and

other signposts that make the structure of the document clear.

Assignment must be typed using Arial 11pt font and 1.5-line spacing, 2000-3000 words. All pages must

be numbered. The preferred citation methods for essays are Harvard or APA referencing. The

reference list at the end of your assignment should list – in alphabetical . Assignments that do

not comply will not be marked.

Topic:

A high percentage of South Africa’s population live in former “black townships”

and informal settlements. These areas are often poverty traps, characterised by

relatively low levels of economic activity.

All spheres of government recognise the importance of growing and uplifting

township economies. The NDP promotes programmes aimed at integrating

townships into the mainstream economy and shifting jobs and investments

towards dense townships. Provincial governments emphasise township

economic development, e.g. the Gauteng Provincial Government set a target

that township economies should contribute at least 30% of the Gauteng GDP by

2030. Municipalities have Local Economic Development strategies and plans,

often focussing on informal economic activity and micro-level interventions in

township areas. In spite of these efforts, most townships continue to be

economically marginalised, struggling to retain local spending and attract

productive investment.

In this context, research aimed at a better understanding of (1) the needs and

requirements of current township businesses and (2) the effectiveness of policy

and planning interventions in townships to support economic development, will

contribute to more focussed interventions by government. This, in turn, will

assist to achieve a higher success rate by government interventions towards

diversifying, integrating and uplifting township economies.