ACC forms part of a loose consortium of research agencies that support a partnership between the (former) Department of Provincial and Local Government (dplg), the Presidency and the South African Cities Network to develop a National Urban Development Framework for South Africa. Through the additional capacity of Mellon Fellow, Prof Ivan Turok, a team of ACC researchers worked with CSIR and Wits University to develop an empirically grounded argument for why South African needs a clear urban development policy and how it could contribute to overarching national growth and development goals.