Maritz, Johan2025-12-152025-12-152025-061012-280X2415-0495https://doi.org/10.38140/trp.v86i.8389http://hdl.handle.net/10204/14517For town planners, prioritising human development, including education, health, income, and equity, is key for cultivating sustainable, thriving communities. In South Africa, persistent unemployment, poverty, and state dependency hinder development progress, making it vital to track human development levels to guide planning, investments, and targeted interventions across various levels of governance. A comprehensive index – the Social Progress Index (SPI) – has been developed that measures the well-being of a society, by observing social and environmental outcomes directly rather than the economic factors. In South Africa, the SPI is applied on provincial level, but this data set does not sufficiently capture the information required to assess quality of life at the sub-municipal level. This article reports on a pilot study conducted in the Waterberg district to assess the feasibility of developing a sub-municipal SPI in South Africa. The methodology is informed by the national SPI framework, which guided the index design and selection of outcome-based indicators/measures. Due to initial concerns about data availability, a case study approach is adopted to limit the scope and focus the data-collection process. Identifying suitable indicators and associated data items is a critical step, with data profiled for relevance, availability, and spatial disaggregation. Quantitative processing and analysis, including the use of ESRI’s ArcGIS Pro software, play a central role in assembling and evaluating the indicators. Statistical analyses are used to calculate an overall SPI score which examines interrelationships and correlations among indicators to enable their integration into the index framework. The study demonstrates that constructing a sub-municipal SPI is feasible, with the resultant index offering value through both its composite score and the detailed insights provided by its individual indicators. When spatially applied, the index can help planners identify underperforming areas requiring targeted intervention and, when periodically updated, offers potential as a monitoring and evaluation tool for sub-municipal development outcomes.FulltextenHuman developmentMonitoring and evaluationSocial Progress IndexSPISustainable Development GoalsWaterberg pilotArticlen/a