Volume II - The Northern Cape Provincial Spatial Development ...

3.7 Qualitative evaluation
In the methodology for any study on the growth potential of urban areas, the qualitative selfevaluation
is instrumental in determining a comprehensive town profile, complementary to
the quantitative profiles. In such a qualitative analysis the subjective perceptions of the town’s
role-players are acknowledged. The main objective of such a self-evaluation process is to
obtain the opinions of the local communities regarding the growth potential and sense of place
of their towns. This implies that data had to be collected in a manner that would highlight the
perceptions and general qualitative impressions of urban growth potential in what are
generally referred to as “soft” indicators. These indicators represent local perceptions of what
makes a town unique, its basis for existence (raison d'être), the sense of place that makes
people “feel at home” and the “vibe” that generates or restricts economic activity. A
questionnaire was therefore structured according to a participatory research approach to solicit
the opinions of local inhabitants. The focus was on local input from the respective leaders in
each of the 32 municipalities. The questionnaire and covering letter/guidelines are included as
Addendum 5. It was distributed to all 32 Municipal Managers who had to ensure that the
relevant stake-holders were involved.
The general level of response was, with a few exceptions, of a low standard. After several
reminders and follow-up actions, only 26 of the 32 municipal questionnaires were returned –
from these only a small minority were completed in full. As a result of this poor response, the
results only offered a minimal opportunity to be incorporated in the evaluating process. In
follow-up stages of this study, the self-evaluation questionnaires should be combined with on
site visits and personal interviews at each municipality. As it is now, most municipalities
missed the opportunity to evaluate themselves and to highlight their town’s strong points for
future development. In this way they can be exposed to the stark realities of economic growth
and human development needs that exist in their urban environments.
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