Accelerate Cape Town’s activities are focused on four key areas, i.e. thought leadership, networking, influencing and mobilising. It places particular emphasis on taking action and encouraging others to take action in order to achieve our vision.
1.Thought leadership
Accelerate Cape Town develops leading global thinking on city and regional development, particularly learning from medium-sized, second cities that are recognised internationally as successful. This thought leadership is developed by :
- research projects commissioned by Accelerate Cape Town,
- ongoing reading and networking with representatives of other organisations involved in city and regional development by the central staff of Accelerate Cape Town,
- attending local and international conferences, and
- visiting similar cities around the world to gain knowledge on how they have either succeeded or failed in their own development processes.
2.Networking
Accelerate Cape Town acts as a central point where people know that they can be put in touch with other leaders. It regularly brings together local leaders of business, government, labour, education, community and state-owned enterprises to ensure that they meet each other and can work together towards a common goal.
3.Influencing
Accelerate Cape Town also uses the thinking that it has developed and the networks that it has created to influence the leaders of business, government and other influential individuals and groups. Its intention is to encourage them to take action in ways today that will move the Cape closer towards our long-term vision.
4.Mobilising
In the words of independent scholar & futurist, Joel Barker, “Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.”
Accelerate Cape Town is driven to ensure that the ideas it develops, the networking it does and the influence it exerts lead towards the implementation of projects by its partners. In particular, it encourages the formation of public private partnerships that advance the goal of achieving the long-term vision.
