Local economic development agencies – Pushing boundaries and addressing change: The case of South Africa’s Aspire (Amathole District Economic Development Agency) during its maturation phase

Abstract

The operations of local economic development agencies (LEDAs) are of growing concern for local and regional development. This article reflects on the evolution and changes occurring in one LEDA operating in the global South. Although the activities and experiences of a range of LEDAs functioning the global North have been documented, knowledge about the operations of LEDAs in other parts of the world is limited. The case of the Amathole District Economic Development Agency (Aspire) in South Africa is analysed with regard to contextual changes and organisational shifts taking place and impacting upon the unlocking of the region’s economic development potential. This incorporates issues relating to sustainability of both the agency as well as projects it helped to establish. Two distinct chapters in the evolution of the agency are differentiated, namely an establishment and then a maturation phase.