Through this project, a research study was conducted on the national state of Local Economic Development (LED) in South Africa.

The objective of this project was to investigate the successes and failures of LED implementation and to ascertain the impact LED has had over the past decade in South Africa. The research study comprised of the following elements: a literature review, data collection, data analysis and report writing.

The expected result of this research study is that the findings and conclusion of the research will contribute to a better understanding of the state of LED in South Africa as well as the state of LED as a profession in South Africa. A major focus of the study was how LED can be further institutionalised in the local government sector as well as how professionals in the field can be more effectively trained