As part of the Innovation Partnership for Rural Development Programme (IPRDP) M&E component, MIMI phase 1 aimed to investigate the extent to which municipalities develop their innovation capabilities as a result of exposure to innovations demonstrated at distressed municipalities.
The instrument was found to be a valid, strong and powerful instrument for understanding learning capabilities at local municipalities to support innovation for improved basic service delivery. The results generated using the tool revealed a marginal increase in the overall innovation maturity of the municipalities that were surveyed, suggesting that learning was taking as a result of exposure to the IPRDP. The MIMI results further showed that even though municipalities are aware of and understand basic service delivery innovations, they have yet not reached a stage where innovation principles are entrenched in their organisations. The organisational enablers to foster an enabling environment for innovation maturity were generally lacking.