Leading research minds in South Africa are frantically placing finishing touches on to their research papers in anticipation of the 2^nd Economic Research Advisory Network (ERAN) conference that will be held in Bloemfontein, Free State Province from 8 – 10 March 2017.

The Annual Conference which is in its second instalment, will be hosted by the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) in partnership with the Free State Department of Economic Development, Small Businesses, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (DESTEA).

The conference, steered under the theme of ‘Driving South Africa’s Industrial Development Agenda’ aims to bring-together a diverse community of researchers for the purpose of bringing existing and new knowledge to the foreground of economic development, and competitiveness debates as well as initiatives in the South African economy.

ERAN is an economic research advisory network coordinated by the dti. It comprises of representatives from National and Provincial Economic Development departments, other government entities, universities and research institutions.

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies says the conference aims to promote research in support of the dti’s strategic objectives of developing trade and industry in the country.

“It is through the ERAN conference that we strive to forge new partnerships with the research community to enable them to share their findings and to make contributions to the on-going development discourse in the country and globally,” says Davies.

The three-day conference will provide a platform for collaborative thinking, and discussions will be centred around potential and real economic issues that hamper industrial development and economic growth and possible solutions on how best to overcome these challenges.