The Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO) was established in 2008 as a partnership between the University of Johannesburg (UJ), the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (Wits) and the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG), with local government in Gauteng also represented on the GCRO Board. GCRO receives a core grant from the GPG, and the two universities provide significant in-kind support. While the GCRO is based at the two universities, it is also charged with extending links to all the higher education institutions, as well as knowledge councils, private sector think-tanks, research NGOs and information-exchange and learning-networks operating in the city-region.

Behind the motivation for setting up the GCRO is a vision for a fast growing and dynamic urban region, that through better planning and management, and in particular improved co-operative government relations between the spheres and sections of government responsible for its parts, will become more functionally integrated, spatially coherent, economically competitive, creative, innovative, environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive.

Better planning, management and co-operative government relies on improved data, information, analysis and reflective evaluation essential to the setting of clear strategic agendas shared across government, and between government and its civil society and business partners. The Gauteng City-Region Observatory is charged with building this strategic intelligence.