State of Cities Reporting: Good Practice and Toolkit

The South African State of Cities reports are widely regarded as international good practice,
and the South African reporting processes have many valuable lessons for State of Cities
reporting in other parts of the world. In this good practice guide and toolkit, we focus on the
experiences of producing the 2004 and 2006 South African State of Cities reports. We also
look at State of Cities reporting processes that have occurred elsewhere in the world. Based
on these experiences in South Africa and elsewhere, the characteristics of an effective State
of Cities reporting process are then discussed, under the headings of: purpose/ target
audience; institutional home; the reporting process; analytical frameworks; indicators/ data;
end products; and dissemination. It is the intention that this good practice guide and toolkit
will assist in the implementation of effective State of Cities reporting processes in other parts
of the world.