Who We Are

The National Land Value Capture Programme

The National Land Value Capture Programme aims to strengthen the capability of South African metropolitan governments to efficiently and effectively implement innovative Land Value Capture tools and strategies. Simultaneously, the programme seeks to build capacity in built environment practitioners and civic organisations to influence institutional, regulatory, and other procedural changes equally required to implement appropriate Land Value Capture tools and strategies.

These Land Value Capture tools and strategies are particularly essential for enhancing much needed municipal revenue for improved delivery of social investment and realising the spatial transformation agenda.

5-1

Our Vision

The implementation and institutionalisation of innovative and relevant Land Value Capture tools and strategies to achieve the spatial transformation agenda.

How we work

Technical Advisory Services

The Land Value Capture National Partnership programme is based on four programmatic areas.

Community of Practice

Objective: Share knowledge and promote learning between municipalities across the country already grappling with specific Land Value Capture related issues and programmes

Technical Support

Objective: Provide relevant and specialised training and support to local government officials & built environment practitioners directly responsible for designing and implementing Land Value Capture related tools and mechanisms.

Evidence-based Research

Objective: Document evidence-based case studies and research analysis to promote knowledge and understanding on Land Value Capture in South Africa.

Internship Programme

Objective: : To enhance the skills and expertise of young built environment graduates from local universities.

Technical advisory services form the core of our work. We provide relevant, specialised training and support to local government officials & built environment practitioners directly responsible for designing and implementing Land Value Capture related tools and mechanisms in South Africa.

Advisory Services

  • Technical Peer Reviews
  • Legal Reviews
  • Tool development
  • Navigating strategic engagements
  • Technical expertise for reference group

Capacity Building Services

  • Technical training workshops geared toward mid-level metro officials
  • Hosting webinar series

Facilitation Services

  • Facilitating sector engagements with developers, property owners, activists, civics etc
  • Convening local and national COPS
  • Facilitating peer to peerlearning between metros

The graphic below shows how the Community of Practice, Evidence-based Research and new cohort of LVC professionals are leveraged to enable the technical support which functions at three scales: a national scale, an inter metro scale (between metros) and an intra metro scale (within one metro). Importantly, the process is continual and iterative. This means, for example, that the partners and stakeholders responsible for evidence-based research respond to the direct needs and knowledge gaps expressed or identified by metros. The circles on the right show which partners, stakeholders and activities are important to which programmatic area, but do not offer an exhaustive list of key stakeholders to the programme.

Timeline

2006

DAG

For over a decade, the South African non-profit organisation the Development Action Group (DAG) has been a central advocate for Land Value Capture in South Africa, as a mechanism to finance more equitable cities. Their approach has been to support the local government in Cape Town in recouping unearned land values created through public investments and investing it towards poverty, inequality and redress.

View DAG Experience

2018 – 2019

Land Value Capture Dialogue Series

This work picked up momentum in 2018, when DAG in partnership with the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy (LILP), convened four dialogue sessions on Land Value Capture (LVC) in Cape Town, South Africa. The purpose of the Dialogue Series was to align the interests of different stakeholders regarding Land Value Capture. This galvanized a joint effort in identifying statutory and regulatory requirements, local policy agendas, and practical interventions that place Land Value Capture as instrumental for spatial transformation, social equity and public infrastructure development. A key outcome linked to the Dialogue Series was the commitment to work towards the development of this national three-year programme on Land Value Capture in South Africa.

March 2020

Launching of National Land Value Programme

After a year of preparation, the programme commenced in early 2020 with the signing of back-to-back MOUs between the Government Technical Advisory Centre (GTAC), on behalf of the intergovernmental Relations Department of the National Treasury as the custodian of the Cities Support Programme (CSP), and DAG; and between the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy (LiLP) and DAG. The national programme on Land Value Capture will be rolled out incrementally over one year, with the partnership arrangements intended to initially last for three years depending on the outcome of the inception phase and availability of resources.

April – December 2020

Inception Phase

The partnership programme implementation started with an inception phase which comprises a series of planned activities aimed at defining project scope, key thematic areas and detailed implementation plan for the next three years. The inception phase period has proved to be an important and necessary phase for the project team to define not only the project scope and detailed implementation plan, but also to establish the governance arrangements and partnerships necessary for the successful implementation of this program.

To find out more visit the Inception Report

Who We Are

The Partnership

The National Land Value Capture Programme was initiated by a tripartite partnership between the Development Action Group (DAG), the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, and the National Treasury’s Cities Support Programme (CSP). As such, the programme is testing an innovative way of partnering between a local NPO, a national government institution and an international research institution to support the institutionalisation of LVC across the country’s metros. The secretariat of the Programme is housed at DAG.

Development Action Group

DAG is a leading Non-Profit Organisation that supports communities to strengthen community organising; enabling affordable housing, land and tenure security; resist evictions; and shape urban development policies. Our mission is to support and advocate for community led development addressing economic, social and spatial imbalances. DAG has systematically worked with a range of government and civil society stakeholders in urban development and governance to ensure that there are accountability, transparency and good governance on the part of the state and, that community leaders and representatives participate more meaningfully in decision-making processes. Alongside this citywide agenda, DAG has also incrementally developed an innovative approach to the delivery of low-income housing.

Development Action Group

Cities Support Programme

The Cities Support Programme (CSP) is located within the inter-governmental relations (IGR) division of the National Treasury (NT). Acting as a change agent and a vehicle for collaboration and integration, the CSP aims to improve the capacity of cities and create an enabling intergovernmental fiscal system and policy environment to support city-led transformation. The CSP supports metros directly and works across divisions in NT, with other national departments and broader stakeholders to enhance the enabling policy environment fiscal frameworks to make it easier for cities to work more efficiently.

Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy (LiLP) seeks to improve quality of life through the effective use, taxation, and stewardship of land. A non-profit private operating foundation whose origins date to 1946, the Lincoln Institute researches and recommends creative approaches to land as a solution to economic, social, and environmental challenges. Through education, training, publications, and events, the Lincoln Institute integrates theory and practice to inform public policy decisions worldwide.

Lincoln Institure of Land Policy