The State of Municipal Innovation Maturity in South Africa 2025

Background to the Municipal Innovation Maturity Index

Global evidence shows that governments are increasingly using innovative methods to enhance service delivery to citizens. Breakthroughs in science and technology are providing new avenues for addressing issues such as poverty, inequality, infrastructure gaps, and sustainability more effectively. Municipalities, being the closest level of government to the public, also have the potential to improve services by embracing innovation.

This report introduces and presents the Municipal Innovation Maturity Index (MIMI), a decision-support tool designed to assess and benchmark the innovation capacity and maturity of South African municipalities. MIMI evaluates how well individual employees and municipalities can learn, apply, adopt, and embed innovations that enhance basic service delivery. The initiative is funded by the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, implemented by the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and supported by the South African Local Government Association.

Abstract based on source.