For the past few decades, the debate surrounding the ‘third mission’ of
universities in South Africa has been dominated by the notion of university-community
engagement. At the same time, the notion of regional
development has come under the spotlight internationally. Drawing on
existing literature on the relationship between universities, knowledge, the
economy and community engagement, this paper scrutinises the OECD
review of university-regional engagement in the Free State province in
order to identify key lessons. Our contention is that, because the notion
of regional engagement has become a central part of university management,
assessment and even rankings, it should be viewed as an integral
part of a university’s core activities of teaching and research, rather than
as a separate third mission. Furthermore, findings reveal that a university’s
engagement with its region also depends on regional assets and structures
to support such processes.