CENTRE FOR MUNICIPAL RESEARCH & ADVICE (PTY) LTD
Research in Pretoria

CMRA is a dynamic research and consultancy organization established in October 2005 (registered as a Private Company at Register of Companies South Africa), and is a technical service provider in the field of local government. The goal of CMRA is to support and strengthen municipalities and Local Government Associations in Southern Africa. As an institutional capacity builder, CMRA assists municipalities by offering innovative solutions to critical challenges through research, facilitative support, hands-on mentoring and advice. CMRA has access to an extensive network of local government experts, mostly with a municipal background (e.g. municipal staff, mayors, councillors and municipal directors), who can accordingly provide a colleague-to-colleague approach. As a daughter company of the International Cooperation Agency of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities ( VNG International), CMRA is able to draw on the extensive experience of VNG-International in providing technical advice and assistance to municipalities in the field of infrastructure development, across three continents. CMRA is based in Pretoria, Gauteng, but we are operational in all 9 provinces in South Africa and have local government clients in southern Africa, including Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. We have highly skilled staff, as well as access to an extensive network of local government experts. CMRA puts together a team of people with relevant skills and expertise for each assignment and we are therefore able to deliver unique tailor made solutions to challenges specific to the southern African context. The products and services CMRA offers are adapted per project to find practical and realistic solutions to specific challenges. This is done either alone, or in consortia with partners offering complimentary expertise. CMRA has specific skills to design, manage and implement short term to multi-year projects, aimed at strengthening the capacity of Government in southern Africa and its institutions. CMRA assists municipalities in the formulation of comprehensive and implementable municipal policies and strategies. The process allows municipalities to identify their comparative strengths and weaknesses. CMRA is a technical service provider in the field of local government. Innovative ideas were shared between CMRA and the Municipality on ways to continue and strengthen their collaborative partnership. The workshops focused on the new Rental Housing Amendment Act and the implications it will have for municipalities. The workshop was to introduce and demonstrate the use of the Municipal Barometer, a web based tool that makes local level data available to municipalities, their stakeholders and the general public. Politicians and officials from all over the country attended this conference. CMRA has been conducting research on the organisational effectiveness of LED. Interviews have been conducted with LED practitioners in the Free State and Limpopo. Metro, District and Local municipalities were visited and the input gained was of great value to the research. At the end of 2005, CMRA was established to support local government in Southern Africa and that is what we did. the years into a well-recognized and respected organization, providing services to SALGA and to our members.