Following a very successful summit with the cabinet and Premier of the PGWC held on 16 October 2006, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed. The key objectives of the MOU are to
- establish structures that enable the Western Cape institutions and the Provincial Government to develop and implement shared strategies for advancing social and economic development;
- promote the Western Cape as a “Learning Region”, which can be used to attract people to the region to study and contribute to growth and development in the Western Cape province;
- facilitate the regular sharing of information on the plans of higher education institutions and the Provincial Government;
- develop a three year plan to address the mutually agreed strategic initiatives; and
- strengthen the contribution of higher education to the provincial economy.
Periodically the provincial cabinet and the four Vice Chancellors review progress made and identify priorities for the future.
The partnership is co-ordinated by a Joint Task Team, co-chaired by Ms Judy Favish of UCT on behalf of CHEC and Dr Laurine Platzky from the Premier’s office. The Joint Task Team consists of the CHEC CEO and representatives from each of the universities and personnel from the Western Cape Government. The members of the task team organise activities and help broker partnerships in support of the MoU and the Programme of Action. The WCG makes annual contributions to fund research activities in support of provincial priorities for which institutional calls are issued.