Innovation-Driven Local Economic Development: In Search of Best Practice Implementation for South Africa

The aim of this study is to investigate best practice implementation frameworks for the implementation of innovation-driven local economic development in South Africa. Local economic development planning is a critical aspect of the development landscape in South Africa. The most recent national framework is strongly influenced by interventions made by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) which has positioned innovation at the heart of development planning. The international experience concerning the challenges and implementation of innovation-led strategies was analysed through a literature survey. The material collected was extracted both from academic sources and from the policy works of a range of international development agencies. The results show an increasing convergence in perspectives concerning implementation frameworks around the need for a stage-based or evolutionary approach and that policies should be highly selective in terms of “entry points” or interventions. In moving forward with the South African agenda for innovation-driven local economies much can be drawn from international experience with accompanying potential benefits for the national tourism economy.