Sarua Study on Science & Technology in SADC Countries

10. SOUTH AFRICA

Charline Mouton Policy Framework The national S&T policy in South Africa is the responsibility of the Minister of Science and Technology. The intellectual framework for S&T policy is the National System of Innovation (NSI), in which a set of functioning institutions, organisations, individuals and policies interact in the pursuit of a common set of social and economic goals. The National Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI) advises the Minister of Science and Technology on the role and contribution of innovation. (CREST, 2007a)

Areas of specialization in R&D

SOUTH AFRICA Political Facts - The ANC has been the ruling party since the first democratic elections in 1994 Economic Facts - South Africa’s major trade partners are US, UK, Germany and Japan - The country is rich in natural resources such as gold, chromium, antimony, coal and iron ore Demographic Facts - Total population is in the region of 47 million (2006) Health Facts - In 2003 the adult HIV/AIDS prevalence rate was 21.5% ICT Facts - South Africa has an estimated 5 100 000 internet users

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Local & International Research institutions In its recent study for SARIMA, CREST developed a South African Research and Innovation Directory (SARID) which includes, inter alia, information on all the major R&D performing institutions in the country. The current version of the directory, for example, includes the following: • Higher Education Research Units (1096 entities: Units, Centres and Institutes) • Science Councils (59 entities – at the level of institutes and business units) • National Research Facilities (7) • Government based research units (20) • Museums (13) • Industry-based research units (9) The Higher education sector and some of the main institutions in the science council sector, government and private sector are discussed in more detail below: Higher education sector There are currently 17 universities, five universities of technology and one technikon in South Africa. The top five research-intensive universities (Universities of Cape Town, Kwazulu-Natal, Pretoria, Stellenbosch and the Witwatersrand) account altogether for 45% of all peer-reviewed research article output in the country. (CREST, 2007a)

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Science council sector The statutory science councils are a key part of South Africa’s NSI. Through them, government is able to directly commission research in the interest of the nation and support technology development in its pre-competitive phase. There are at present nine such councils: • Africa Institute of South Africa (AISA), which focuses on political, socio economic, international and development issues in contemporary Africa • Agricultural Research Council, which is committed to the promotion of agriculture through research, and technology development and transfer. • Council for Geosciences (CGS), which develops and publishes geoscience knowledge products and renders geoscience-related services to the South African public and industry. • Council for Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), which undertakes and applies directed research and innovation in S&T. • Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), which is a statutory research agency dedicated to the applied social sciences. • Medical Research Council (MRC), whose mission is to improve the nation’s health status and quality of life through health-related research aimed at promoting equity and development. • Mintek, which specialises in mineral processing and extractive metallurgy and related fields. • National Research Foundation (NRF), which is the national R&D funding body responsible for supporting the development of HR capacity for research, technology and innovation in all fields of S&T. The NRF manages seven national research facilities, which are R&D performers themselves: • South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) • Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO) • Hermanus Magnetic Observatory (HMO) • South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB) • South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON) • National Zoological Gardens (NZG) • iThemba Laboratory for Accelerator-Based Sciences (iThemba LABS). • South African Bureau of Standards (SABS), which is responsible for developing, maintaining and disseminating standards in South Africa. (CREST, 2007a)

Government sector A number of government departments house research institutes and centres that perform R&D at significant levels. Examples are the National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS) within the Department of Health, the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), the South African Weather Services (SWAS) and Marine and Coastal Management (MCM), all within the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. Other government-based research institutes are the state museums (e.g. the Northern Flagship Institution, National Museum, Natal Museum and Iziko Museums of Cape Town). State corporations with sizeable R&D functions, such as the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (SANEC), are also classified within the government sector. (CREST, 2007a)

Research output The data source for our analysis of peer-reviewed journal articles is SA Knowledgebase (SAK). SAK is a database of research output in South Africa, developed by the Centre for Research on Science and Technology (CREST) at Stellenbosch University. SAK provides a comprehensive, accurate and up to date database of article output from 1990 onwards. Although the focus of SAK is on DoE accredited journals (i.e. South African journals approved by the DoE and all journals indexed by the Web of Science), SAK is not limited to articles produced by the South African higher education sector. It also includes, among others, articles produced by the science councils, national research facilities and government-based research institutions. SAK contains, for the period 1990 to 2004, altogether 107 400 articles. Since an article can list more than one author address (from which the institutional affiliation and author demographics are derived), the working dataset is an authorship dataset and not an article dataset. The 107 400 articles in SAK for the period 1990-2004 translated into an authorship dataset of 255 225 records. For each record a fractional count (also referred to as an article equivalent) has been computed. Each fractional count expresses an author’s relative contribution to an article. For instance, three researchers co-authored Article 2, and because only one author has a UKZN address, the latter university received an article equivalent of 0.33. Moreover, two of the three authors have a Rhodes affiliation, which is why Rhodes received a fractional count of 0.66 in this example. (CREST 2007b).

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If one adds all the fractional counts in the authorship dataset of 255 225 records, the grand total will equal the original number of articles, namely 107 400. Table 79 shows that altogether 77% of the total number of articles, reconstructed from the fractional counts in the authorship dataset, was produced by authors affiliated with a South African institution, and only 8% by authors with a foreign affiliation. Moreover, for 15% of articles we do not know the author affiliation. (CREST 2007b).

Table 79: Distribution of articles in SAK by country affiliation and by year of publication Country affiliation (Percentages add up to 100% in rows)

Year of publication

South African

Foreign

Unknown

Total number of articles

1990

81%

4%

15%

6 623

1991

79%

5%

17%

6 813

1992

80%

5%

15%

6 846

1993

81%

5%

14%

6 751

1994

80%

5%

14%

7 055

1995

79%

6%

16%

7 285

1996

79%

6%

15%

7 119

1997

78%

7%

15%

7 118

1998

76%

9%

15%

7 021

1999

76%

10%

14%

7 407

2000

76%

11%

13%

7 764

2001

75%

11%

14%

7 533

2002

76%

12%

12%

7 648

2003

71%

14%

15%

7 515

2004

70%

15%

15%

6 902

Total

77%

8%

15%

107 400

Source: CREST 2007b, Table 3.3.

The above analysis can be taken one step further by investigating the trend in co-authorship with non-South African authors. A 2007 CREST document states the findings of such a study: • All fields of science have witnessed significant (three- or four-fold) increases in foreign collaboration over the past 15 years. • Scientific co-authorship patterns vary across scientific fields as one would expect with the highest foreign coauthorship in the field of physics and the lowest in humanities. • The largest (threefold or more) increases occurred in agriculture, biological sciences, chemical sciences, earth sciences, all the health sciences, psychology, sociology and other social sciences and also language and linguistics. • Foreign co-authorship is dominated in most fields by collaboration with American and British authors. Significant co-authors from Germany, the Netherlands, France, other European countries and Australia exist. (Crest, 2007b)

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The table below provides a summary of the main collaborating country per scientific field

Table 80: Main country co-authoring for each scientific field Australia Agriculture

USA

UK

Belgium

X

Biological Science

X

Chemical Science

X

Earth Science

X

Mathematical Science and ICCT

X

Physical Science

X X

Multidisciplinary Sciences Engineering & Applied Technologies

X

Basic Health Sciences

X

Clinical Health Sciences

X

Public and Community health

X

Economics & Management Sciences

X

Education

X

Sociology & related studies

X

Psychology

X

Other Social Sciences

X

Language & Linguistics

X

Law

X

Religion Other Humanities & Arts

X

Source: CREST 2007b. Summary of Tables 9.2.1.- 9.2.15

The article outputs of the higher education sector, science councils and national research facilities are provided in Figures 14, 15 and 16 below. The higher education sector accounted for 78% of the total South African peer-reviewed article output during 1990 – 2004. The top five universities produced, in combination, about 68% of the articles output in this sector (Figure 14). Eight more universities each produced about 2% – 6% of the total sector output. The combined output of the remaining universities comprised only 3% during that period. (CREST 2007b)

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Sarua Study on Science & Technology in SADC Countries

Figure 14: Institutional contribution to article output in the higher education sector, 1990 – 2004 ����� ������

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Source: CREST 2007b

The seven research performing science councils (SABS and NRF excluded) accounted for just over 6% of the total South African article output in peer-reviewed journals during 1990 – 2004, with three science councils dominating the sector. They are the Agricultural Research Council, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, and the Medical Research Council, which respectively produced 44%, 21% and 20% of the total sector output during this period (Figure 15).

Figure 15: Institutional contribution to article output in the science council sector, 1990 – 2004

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The six national research facilities produced approximately 1.2% of the total South African article output in peer-reviewed journals during 1990 – 2004. The two most prominent facilities are the South African Astronomical Observatory and the iThemba Laboratory for Accelerator Based Sciences. They respectively accounted for 43% and 30% of the total article output of research facilities over the period of interest (Figure 16).

Figure 16: Institutional contribution to article output in the national research facility sector, 1990-2004

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The remaining 8% of article output is produced by government-based research units; research NGOs and the private and business sector. The output discussed thus far looks at total output in both local and ISI-journals. Table 81 below presents data on ISI-papers (not publication units) only for the period 2001 – 2007.

Table 81: Number of ISI-papers per year: 2001-2007 Publication Year

Record Count

2001

4 709

2002

5 049

2003

4 974

2004

5 396

2005

5 680

2006

6 528

2007

5 896

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Table 82 presents a listing of the ISI-journals in which South African science most frequently publish. It reaffirms traditional strengths in medicine, bio-diversity, water resources, psychology, space science, geosciences and veterinary sciences to mention a few. However, a better indication of South Africa’s strength is gained by looking not merely at total output, but more closely at international recognition and visibility of SA papers.

Table 82: Number of ISI-papers by top Source Title (119 and more) Source Title

Record Count

% of 39245

1 200

3.1%

South African Journal of Science

869

2.2%

South African Journal of Botany

739

1.9%

Water SA

379

1.0%

South African Historical Journal

316

0.8%

Journal of the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy

293

0.8%

South African Journal of Psychology

277

0.7%

Journal of Dental Research

261

0.7%

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

256

0.7%

Journal of the South African Veterinary Association-

236

0.6%

South African Journal of Economics

218

0.6%

Bothalia

215

0.6%

South African Journal of Geology

203

0.5%

Lancet

197

0.5%

Acta Crystallographica Section E-Structure Reports Online

196

0.5%

Onderstepoort Journal Of Veterinary Research

189

0.5%

African Entomology

184

0.5%

African Zoology

181

0.5%

SAMJ South African Medical Journal

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Source Title

Record Count

% of 39245

South African Medical Journal

180

0.5%

Ostrich

177

0.5%

Journal of Southern African Studies

175

0.5%

African Journal of Marine Science

170

0.4%

Minerals Engineering

162

0.4%

South African Journal of Animal Science

161

0.4%

South African Journal of Surgery

158

0.4%

Aids

147

0.4%

International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease

144

0.4%

South African Journal of Philosophy

140

0.4%

South African Journal of Wildlife Research

135

0.3%

International Journal of Psychology

132

0.3%

Astronomy & Astrophysics

122

0.3%

Perspectives in Education

119

0.3%

Size of the R&D work force Universities & Public Sector R&D workforce The HSRC Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators (CeSTII) conducts an annual Frascati-based survey on Inputs to Research and Experimental Development (R&D Survey) for the Department of Science and Technology (DST). The 2006 report provides a breakdown of R&D personnel for Higher Education Institutions, non-Profit Organisations, Science Councils and government departments (including associated research institutions and museums performing R&D). According to their report a total of 37 001 researchers were active in these sectors during 2004/2005 whilst R&D support personnel for the same period amounted to 19 452. The majority of researchers and support personnel are situated within Higher Education institutions (50.5%) whilst non-profit organisations employ only 1.1% R&D personnel. A significant upward trend in the number of researchers is evident in business and higher education. The researcher numbers for both government science councils have declined when comparing the 2003/04 data with 2004/05 data. Table 83 provides a breakdown of the headcount per sector for both 2003/2004 and 2004/2005. (CeSTII, 2006)

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Table 83: Breakdown of R&D personnel by sector

2004/5

2003/4

Technicians supporting R&D 2004/5 2003/4

6 575

5 058

3 724

3 430

4 038

3 120

14 337

11 608

30.4

28.6

692 18 270

929 14 055

494 2 801

322 2 594

1 125 2 722

1 032 2 728.5

2 311 23 793

2 283 19 378

4.9 50.5

5.6 47.7

1 846

2 414

1 582

1 612

2 742

2 496

6 170

6 522

13.1

16.1

27 668

22 761

8 641

8 193

10 811

9 651.1

47 120

40 606

100

100

Researchers Business Sector Government Higher Ed Science Councils Total Doctoral & Post Doctoral Students Total incl doctoral & post doctoral student

Other personnel supporting R&D 2004/5 2003/4

2004/5

2003/4

2004/5

2003/4

Grand Total

9 333

9 333

37 001

56 453

%

Source: CESTII, 2006, Table B3

An analysis of researchers by race and gender profile reveals that the business sector still employs predominantly white males. Government institutions and NGOs staff better represent the different population groups and show a more even split between male and female. The table below shows the race and gender split for the “Researcher” group within the different sectors.

Table 84: Numbers of researchers by sector, race and gender 2004/05

African

Coloured M F

M

F

Business: Researchers

7.6%

5.6%

1.7%

Government: Researchers

18.6%

13.7%

Higher Education Sector: Researchers

13.0%

NGO: Researchers Science Councils: Researchers

Indian

White

Total

M

F

M

F

M

F

0.6%

5.0%

2.8%

58.9%

17.8%

73.2%

26.8%

2.7%

2.8%

2.0%

2.8%

35.1%

22.%

58.3%

41.7%

7.5%

2.0%

1.8%

5.4%

3.1%

39.5%

27.6%

60.0%

40.0%

16.8%

13.6%

4.1%

5.1%

2.2%

3.8%

27.2%

26.9%

50.3%

49.4%

13.3%

8.1%

2.8%

2.0%

3.7%

4.4%

42.0%

23.7%

61.7%

38.3%

Source: CESTII 2006, Table B14, G10,H12,N11 and S11

Trends in masters and doctoral enrolments Detailed information on master and doctoral trends is available from a recent report compiled by CREST. This section will focus

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on different dimensions when analysing doctoral outputs. As a starting point the growth pattern of postgraduate students between 1995 and 2005 will be reviewed. The next theme of discussion will be a breakdown of the doctoral students produced by field again showing the growth pattern between 1995 and 2005 for five broad fields. Drilling down, the second section under this heading will look at the doctoral output patterns between 1990 and 2004 per institution. And finally, the race and gender profiles of postgraduate students will be studied. The table below shows the annual growth and growth rate of graduates between 1995 and 2005. Postgraduate bachelor degrees marked a decline of 12.8%, whilst master graduate students increased by 8.3%.

Table 85: Average annual growth and growth rate of graduates, 1995 to 2005

Qualification

Postgrad Dipl/Cert Postgrad Bachelors Honours Masters Doctoral Total

Period 1 1995-2000

Period 2 2000-2005

Avg. annual Avg. annual growth growth rate (%)

Avg. annual growth

Avg. annual growth rate (%)

Avg. annual growth

Avg. annual growth rate (%)

500 -541 1257 408 73 1697

10.0% -23.3% 11.1% 6.2% 7.7% 0.2%

184 -331 805 450 52 1161

3.3% -12.8% 7.9% 8.3% 6.1% 4.6%

-185 -255 125 350 26 61

-4.1% -6.7% 1.4% 7.7% 3.6% 6.4%

Total Period 1995-2005

Note: 1). Average annual growth is expressed as headcounts. It represents the mean growth (increasing or decreasing) over the years specified. It was estimated by fitting a linear regression trend line to the annual values. 2). Similar to the above, the average annual growth rate was estimated by fitting a linear regression trend line to the annual values but, for this estimate, the values were converted into logarithmic values and the exponents (number of years) of these values were taken. Source: CREST, 2007b

Doctoral Output by Broad Field The output of doctoral dissertations up to 2004 by broad scientific field (Figure 17) shows that slightly more than half (52%) of all doctoral studies has been in the humanities and social sciences. This is in line with the field distribution of article output where social science and humanities dominate with a 40% representation between 1990 and 2004.

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At the postgraduate diploma and master’s level student growth was strongest in the Natural & Agricultural Sciences. Doctoral graduate numbers recorded the most growth in the Social Science field for the 2000 to 2005 period. Table 86 illustrates the growth patterns per postgraduate category.

Table 86: Average annual growth and growth rate of graduates by broad field, 2000 to 2005 Postgrad Dipl/Cert Broad Field

Avg. annual growth

Nat & Agric Sc Eng & Appl Tech Health Sc Humanities Social Sc

51 69 98 49 397

Avg. annual growth rate (%) 20.8% 14.3% 16.1% 8.3% 10.5%

Honours

Masters

Avg. annual Avg. annual growth rate growth (%) 113 70 18 -8 1065

5.8% 28.3% 4.6% -0.7% 12.9%

Doctoral

Avg. annual growth

Avg. annual growth rate (%)

83 41 42 94 55

9.4% 8.2% 5.2% 8.1% 7.0%

Avg. annual Avg. annual growth rate growth (%) 17 2 11 9 34

6.8% 2.6% 9.5% 4.6% 11.6%

Note: 1). Average annual growth is expressed as headcounts. It represents the mean growth (increasing or decreasing) over the years specified. It was estimated by fitting a linear regression trend line to the annual values. 2). Similar to the above, the average annual growth rate was estimated by fitting a linear regression trend line to the annual values but, for this estimate, the values were converted into logarithmic values and the exponents (number of years) of these values were taken. Source: CREST, 2007b

Doctoral Output at University Level At the institutional level one finds that the main traditional white institutions (US, UCT, UP, WITS) still dominate the doctoral graduate output scene. The previously disadvantaged institutions such as University of Fort Hare, University of Venda and the University of Zululand although lagging behind in student numbers are showing a growth trend in doctoral graduates when comparing the 1999-2001 with the 2002-2004 period (CREST, 2007b).

Table 87: Doctoral graduates by University for the period 1990-2004 Institution

1990-1992

1993-1995

2002-2004

Total

Col %

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

71

62

64

55

72

324

2.88

North West University

88

122

102

170

221

703

6.25

Rhodes University

57

65

71

81

124

398

3.54

Stellenbosch University

223

213

207

258

282

1 183

10.52

University of Cape Town

212

232

232

277

291

1 244

11.06

8

3

4

2

6

23

0.20

University of Johannesburg

138

148

163

211

118

778

6.92

University of Kwazulu Natal

185

203

194

179

225

986

8.76

University of Limpopo

17

9

18

24

36

104

0.92

University of Fort Hare

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1996-1998 1999-2001

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Institution

1990-1992

1993-1995

2002-2004

Total

Col %

University of Pretoria

322

357

286

378

482

1 825

16.22

University of South Africa

294

267

235

308

181

1 285

11.42

University of the Free State

159

149

132

171

206

817

7.26

University of the Western Cape

16

17

21

68

67

189

1.68

University of the Witwatersrand

228

231

199

206

243

1 107

9.84

University of Venda

0

0

1

2

2

5

0.04

University of Zululand

6

17

14

50

78

165

1.47

Vista University

18

20

27

27

20

112

1.00

Walter Sisulu University of Technology

0

0

0

1

1

2

0.02

2 042

2 115

1 970

2 468

2 655

11 250

1.00

Total output

1996-1998 1999-2001

Source: CREST, 2007b, Table 8.2

Gender and race profiles of postgraduate students A comparison between women graduates in 2000 and 2005 is provided in the table below. The social science field recorded the biggest growth in women postgraduate students. The health sciences, engineering and applied technology fields show marginal or no change in the number of honours, masters and doctoral women students. The natural and agricultural science field recorded a drop in women graduates at honours and doctoral level.

Table 88: Broad field distribution of women graduates per qualification, 2000 and 2005 Broad Field

Honours

Masters

Doctoral

2000

2005

2000

2005

2000

2005

Nat & Agri Sc

15%

11%

12%

13%

25%

21%

Eng & Appl Tech

0%

2%

2%

3%

3%

3%

Health Sc

4%

3%

17%

16%

19%

18%

Humanities

12%

11%

18%

20%

14%

17%

Soc Sc

68%

78%

51%

48%

37%

41%

Total

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

Source: CREST, 2007b

The final table (Table 89) draws an interesting comparison between the growth rate of the different population groups (age groups 25-34 and 35-44) and growth rates of masters and doctoral students for the same population groups. Between 2001 and 2005 the African population for the 25-34 age group grew by 3.2%. The number of doctoral and master graduates for the same population group however increased by 15.4% and 9.6% respectively. This trend is evident across all the population groups: the population growth rate is slower than the master and doctoral graduate student growth rate. When considering the doctoral graduate figures in isolation it is heartening that the biggest growth is occurring in the previously disadvantaged population groups. Comparison of the actual numbers shows that white postgraduate students remain dominant.

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6 553 309

2005

194 905

6 398 565

2004

Headcount Growth

6 213 936

2003

3.2%

6 003 058

Growth rate

5 776 537

2002

Black

African/

2001

Year

7 704

1.0%

768 231

764 619

758 106

748 925

737 558

Coloured

2 793

1.5%

188 699

185 604

182 683

179 991

177 542

Asian

Indian/

SA Population 25-34 Years

-19 844

-3.7%

484 577

491 621

508 497

533 258

562 976

White

26 162

0.7%

3 767 983

3 709 546

3 682 123

3 670 679

12 864

2.3%

599 254

585 881

573 256

560 744

547 503

Coloured

White

1 484

0.9% -15 504

-2.2%

160 744 661 821

159 447 681 490

158 012 698 253

156 460 712 090

154 819 724 039

Asian

Indian/

SA Population 35-44 Years

3 656 608

Black

African/

36

15.4%

335

290

237

227

185

Black

African/

8

18.6%

68

50

50

50

29

Coloured

9

13.7%

78

100

90

70

49

Asian

Indian/

Doctoral Graduates

25

3.9%

693

646

653

633

577

White

206

9.6%

2 627

2 573

2 283

2 021

1 875

Black

African/

34

9.4%

457

423

410

378

308

Coloured

48

9.0%

648

643

699

551

456

Asian

Indian/

Masters Graduates

69

1.7%

4 133

3 894

4 001

3 915

3 780

White

Sarua Study on Science & Technology in SADC Countries

Table 90: Growth rate of population compared to student headcount growth rate

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Masters graduate student growth rates were marginal across the African/Black, Coloured, Indian/Asian population groups. The white masters graduate students recorded a mere 1.7% growth between 2001 and 2005. Human and institutional capacity development strategies The South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) founded in December 2006 is a recent initiative to develop and grow human capital. Initially the initiative included 21 research chairs but in September 2007 the Minister of Science and Technology announced a second cohort of 51 research chairs. This joint programme between the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the National Research Foundation (NRF) aims to retain and attract qualified research scientists, reverse the decline in the country’s research outputs, focus capacity at publicly-funded higher education institutions, science councils and research institutions, and contribute to stimulating strategic research across the knowledge spectrum. The main purpose of the initiative is to grow high-level research capital and production capacity in the higher education sector, and of the 51 research chairs established, 16 (i.e. 33%) are new in the South African higher education sector. The candidates come from local industries and science councils as well as from other countries such as Ethiopia, Nigeria, Kenya, Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom and Italy. Already, 59 MSc and PhD students have received DST-NRF bursaries, and are studying under the guidance of the 21 research chairs announced last year. (DST, 2007b). The DST corporate strategy report provides some other “human capital and science missions” for 2007/2008. Table 91 provides the detail.

Table 91: DST Human capital and science missions (2007-2008) Human Capital and Science Mission Output

Measure/Indicator

Target

Centres of Excellence

Two new centres of excellence established By 2010

The Youth into Science Strategy increases a pool of disadvantaged youth in science, technology, engineering & mathematics

Two-fold increase of youth participating in Annual increase of 25 000 youth National Science participating in national Science week

Two-fold increase of disadvantaged youth pursuing careers in SET

Annual increase of 750 disadvantaged youth participating in activities of the Youth into Science strategy

Provided unemployed graduates with opportunities to develop critical skills through youth service programmes

Internships and mentorship benefit 100 interns and mentors annually

Mathematics and science educators are equipped to support curriculum delivery and learners participating in competitions and Olympiads

Annually, mathematics and science educators from 450 schools are equipped with knowledge and skills to support curriculum-delivery and learners participating in competitions and Olympiads

Capacity-building programme benefits 15 Capacity of the Network of Science science centres annually. Programmatic Centres if strengthened to support the support is given to 15 science centres delivery of the Youth into Science strategy annually

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Human Capital and Science Mission Output

Science engineering and technology (SET) human capital programmes

Science engineering and technology (SET) human capital programmes

Science missions and platforms

Measure/Indicator Supported programmes for mid-stream human capital pipeline, supported honours students Established life skills support programmes and reference group Established support programme for unemployed science and engineering graduates Established support programme for engineering skills Extension of the professional development programme Decadal plan for Astronomy. Geographical Advantage Strategy developed and approved

Target Two hundred students supported by December 2007 June 2007 New programme implemented Concept approved and implemented: January 2008 Concept approved and implemented: June 2007 Plan presented for approval: December 2007

Grants under the African Origins Platform Palaeo-sciences (African Origins) research strategy given to individuals and groups development plan approved and funded of researchers: September 2007 Research grants funded for ACEP: June 2007 Marine Research Strategy incorporating ACEP developed and approved

Research grants for the rest of the strategy funded: December 2007

Key R&D Initiatives and Networks The following key R&D initiatives are underway: The South African Space Agency: Cabinet approved the establishment of the South African Space Agency in 2006. South Africa is increasingly becoming reliant on space-based services and competence in this area can change the future of provinces like the Northern Cape. Health innovations: an agreement between the National Department of Health and DST has led to the Health Innovation Strategy. In essence research and innovation will be undertaken in priority areas identified by the National Department of Health. When these preclinical phases of drug and treatment regimes reach the clinical development and use stages will be taken further by the Department of Health. ICT research and development: the ICT R&D strategy in essence will convert South Africa from a consumer of ICT to a producer of ICT over the next five to ten years. This initiative will cover advanced human capital development, international ICT R&D collaboration and infrastructural development amongst other things. Biofuels technologies and R&D: biofuels have been identified as potential contributors to rural development which encompass creating sustainable rural jobs in the agricultural sector and processing of biofuels. (DST, 2007a)

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Priority areas In 2004/2005 the gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD) was R12 010 million. This constitutes 0.87% of GDP. The breakdown of the R&D expenditure provides insight into the priorities of government. The purple highlighted boxes indicate the area where most research funding has been allocated for each of the five sectors. The business sector and science council earmarked the most of their R&D funding for engineering science research. Higher education and non-profit organisations invested the highest percentage of funding into the social sciences. Table 92 below makes a distinction between the Natural Sciences, Technology & Engineering and the Social Sciences and Humanities. Only percentages are provided. (CeSTII, 2006)

Table 92: R&D expenditure by research field for the five sectors (2004/5) R&D expenditure * Division 1: Natural Sciences, Technology and Engineering Mathematical Sciences Physical Sciences Chemical Sciences Earth Sciences Information, Computer and Communication Applied Sciences and Technologies Engineering Sciences Biological Sciences Agricultural Sciences Medical and Health Sciences Environmental Sciences Material Science Marine Sciences Division 2: Social Sciences & Humanities Social Sciences Humanities

Business

Government

Higher Education

Not-for profit

Science Councils

Total %

1.4 3.1 6.9 0.5

3.4 1.6 1.7 6.4

3.2 4.0 4.0 4.0

0.0 0.0 0.0 0.7

0.7 2.9 1.4 4.8

1.7 3.2 5.1 2.2

18.9

2.8

3.9

0.5

7.1

12.8

12.7

0.9

1.7

2.6

3.2

8.1

31.1 1.9 2.8 14.7 1.1 1.4 0.1

1.9 10.5 33.9 16.4 3.8 0.0 4.2

12.1 7.6 3.8 17.4 1.6 1.2 0.5

0.0 0.4 6.4 10.1 3.1 0.0 3.0

22.5 10.5 19.7 11.9 3.1 3.3 0.6

23.9 4.9 7.2 14.8 1.7 1.6 0.5

3.4 0.0

11.6 1.0

22.8 12.2

72.3 0.9

7.5 0.9

9.7 2.8

Source: CeSTII, 2006. Table 1.5 *R&D sources of funds include own funds, government, other local business, higher education, other South African sources, foreign, agency funding and science council funding

Collaboration through international and regional networks S&T Agencies and Institutions The Southern African Network for Biosciences (SANBio) is one of the four regional networks in Africa. The regional Hub is hosted by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in the Republic of South Africa. The network covers 12 countries in the sub-region which are: Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland, Seychelles, Republic of South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The region has identified the following areas of intervention in biosciences research and development: • Plant biotechnology • Livestock production

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Human health Anthropogenic activities on the freshwater ecosystems Mushroom production Indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) Enhancement of capabilities of the gene banking facilities in Southern Africa

Current investment in Bioscience research in Southern African countries is very low compared to developed countries and some Asian countries. Funds for bioscience research in the Southern African countries come mainly from foreign donors such as: • The European Commission (including the thematic priorities, International Cooperation and the Marie Curie mobility instruments), • The Rockefeller Foundation, • Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), • Welcome Trust, • UN agencies, • USAID, • The Royal Society, • Government bilateral projects. • Canadian government and also from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (CREST & High Impact Innovation, 2007)

Bilateral Agreements The aims of bilateral science and technology agreements are found on the DST website • Support NEPAD and SADC • Market South Africa R&D services and products • Create opportunities for joint projects • Share expertise and resources with less developed countries • Position South Africa strategically within emerging high growth markets in Africa. (DST, 2007c)

The following countries have bilateral agreements with South Africa • Tunisia – agreement signed in 1998 • Kenya – agreement signed in August 2004. Cooperation is taking place in forestry and medical research and negotiations are underway to extend this to indigenous knowledge systems, agricultural research and laser technology

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Egypt: agreement signed in 1997. At this stage there is limited cooperation at institutional level but discussions are ongoing Algeria: An agreement was signed in 1998 and a programme of cooperation signed in 2003. Good cooperation exists in several R&D fields Nigeria: Signed agreement in 2001. Projects around materials science and space technologies are being formulated Botswana: website indicates that a bilateral agreement would have been finalized in 2005. Angola, Lesotho, Mali Senegal & Namibia: bilateral agreements were in negotiation stages. Unable to confirm whether agreements have been finalized. Mozambique: no agreement but SA technology institutions provide various services to Mozambique Ethiopia: modalities of cooperation are being explored (DST, 2007c)

Facts and Figures on brain drain The South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARCHI)5 funded by the Department of Science and Technology and managed by the National Research Foundation has already been discussed under the Human Resource Development initiatives section above. The main objective of the programme is to increase the number of world class researchers at South African universities - the ultimate goal is to have established 210 Research Chairs at various higher education institutions by 2010. An interesting aspect of this initiative is that one of its stated objectives is to help universities “retain and attract back” qualified scientists, both in terms of those who are living abroad, and those who left academia for industry or government. (Mouton et al., 2007).) Comprehensive information on the health sector and brain drain recruitment strategies to counter the health brain drain is available and will be discussed in detail. The available statistics on the labour market in health reveal an uneven distribution of health workers between the private and public sectors, and between the urban and rural sectors. When reflecting upon the “anomalies” in the sectoral data, notwithstanding the causes, the explanation in most instances relates to migration patterns:

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External migration of health workers i.e. out of South Africa A 2006 OECD study reveals that a total of 37% South African doctors are working in the following eight countries: Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Portugal, UK and the USA. This makes South Africa the largest sub-Saharan African “supplier” of medical doctors to the developed world (World Health Report, 2006). Internal migration of health workers i.e. within South Africa The internal brain drain caused by an influx of health professionals from rural to urban areas and from the public to private sector can be attributed to an array of aspects, also referred to as “push factors”. Poor work climate, heavy workloads, limited career opportunities, unattractive remuneration, inadequate resources and management structures in the rural areas are just some of the contributing factors (Gilson & Erasmus, 2005). (CREST, Feb 2007) The following figure, from the OECD publication, Trends in International Migration (2004), confirms the increasing trend in emigration of Health Professionals.

Figure 18: Migration flows of health professionals in South Africa by categories, 1988-2000 Immigrant doctors

Immigrant nurses

Other immigrant health professionals

Emigrant doctors

Emigrant nurses

Other emigrant health professionals

Emigration

Immigration

2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1992 1991 1990 1989 1988 -500

-300

-100

100

300

500

Source: Doherty and Joffe. 2003.

When considering the demographic data of emigrants as documented by Stats SA, one can see that the majority of Medical emigrants are women (68%) and that 78% of female Medical emigrants are under 44 years of age, where male emigrants of the same professional classification, tend to be older (65% are under 44 years of age). Table 93 provides the breakdown

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Table 93: Age and Gender Demographics of Professional and Medical Emigrants: 2003 Occupation Total Total Professional, Male Semi-professional and Female Technical Occupations Unknown Total Medical, Dental and Male Related Health Services Female Occupations Unknown

Total 4 316 2 254 2 025 37 766 243 520 3

-20 11 5 5 1 1 0 1 0

20-24 176 68 107 1 23 2 21 0

25-29 890 402 483 5 128 31 96 1

30-34 1 003 497 500 6 190 50 140 0

35-44 1 247 694 545 8 221 74 147 0

45-54 671 390 270 11 138 56 82 0

55-64 252 158 90 4 53 24 28 1

65+ 66 40 25 1 12 6 5 1

(CREST, Feb 2007:32)

Recruitment strategies A major effort by the NDoH has been deployed in an attempt to “turn the tide” in rural areas as well as in the public sector. These include: • Reviving/ promoting the health system in the rural areas • Recruitment of medical professionals from abroad A number of initiatives have been introduced in South Africa to counteract migration from rural to urban. The initiatives can be divided into three types: • “Renovation” of the rural work environment • Rural area and public health sector retention policies/regulations • Other recent developments “Renovation” of the rural work environment Initiatives to transform the rural work environment for health workers aim to improve the diminishing work morale. Strategies include management development, improved remuneration packages, fair workloads and the hospital revitalisation programme. (Section 2b Human Resources for Health, 2001). In some instances these strategies are linked to formal legislation, which will be discussed in the following section. For example: the rural allowance policy puts in place financial incentives to retain health workers in the rural areas. The hospital revitalisation plan addresses the poor physical infrastructure and inadequate equipment in rural and under-served areas of the health sector. In 2004, 27 hospitals were “revitalised” with a budget of R717 million. The budgets in 2006 were projected to have been more than R1 billion. (NDoH Media Room, 2004). Rural area and public health sector retention policies/regulations A range of policy documents exist on “preserving” health workers in the rural areas and public health sector. Policy revolves around tactics such as extending community service to most medical professions, introducing financial incentives for rural health professionals as well as broadening the health professional base by governing traditional healers. Some of these policies, with a short description are listed below: • The Pharmacy Amendment Act of 1997 ruled that people other than pharmacists were allowed to own pharmacies ensuring sufficient supply in rural areas (Breier & Wildschut, 2006). • In 1996, the Policy on Community Service by Health Professionals initiated the compulsory one year community service for medical professionals (NDoH, 2006d). The community service was extended to dentists and pharmacists and in 2003 extended to include the following disciplines: radiography, speech and hearing therapy, occupational therapy, environmental health, dietetics, psychology and physiotherapy (Paradath et al. 2004). The 2006/07-2008/09 strategic plan has indicated the implementation of community services for nurses by 2007 as a priority area (NDoH, 2006c).

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The Policy on commuted overtime for medical and dental practitioners provided for the compensation of public sector medical and dental practitioners for overtime that is required outside their standard working hours. (NDoH, 2006d). The National Health Act of 2003, circulated in 2004, stipulated that all practitioners acquire a “certificate of need” to practice in a certain area. Renewal or issue of such a certificate will take into account reasonable distribution of health services as well as the suitable mix between public and private health service. (Paradath et al. 2004). The Traditional Health Practitioners Act of 2004, circulated in 2005, endorsed the commencement of the Interim Traditional Health Practitioners Council. Padarath et al. (2003, as cited in Breier & Wildschut, 2006) claim that there are 200 000 traditional healers practising in South Africa and that 80% of the population consult them before consulting biomedical health practitioners. The Act formalizes the registration, training and practice of traditional medicine. The Rural and Scarce Skills Allowance, backdated to July 2003 attempts to lure health professional to the rural areas, specifically in the public sector. The estimated budget for 2006 is anticipated to have been more than R1 billion (Paradath et al. 2004). In 2004 it was estimated that more than 33 000 full-time health professionals qualified for the rural allowance, whereas the scarce skills allowance applied to more than 60 000 full time health professionals across the sector (Pauw et al., 2006). The scarce skills allowance will be discussed in more detail in the National policy context section.

Recruitment of medical professionals from abroad Currently medical officers’ vacancies in some rural hospitals are estimated at 80% to 90% (Keeton, 2007).The loss in skilled medical professionals to the developed world has to be compensated for in one way or another. Although internal measures are taken to retain staff within the public sector and rural areas this is not adequate to fulfill the health needs of the country.

National policy initiatives to recruit skilled professionals Regulating recruitment from abroad To what extent are recruitment processes regulated by government and what have been the latest developments in this area? Some of the ways to control the movement of health professionals in to South Africa and attempts to preserve skills for the local health arena are as follows: A Memorandum of Understanding, signed in 2003, exists between the UK Department of Health and the South African National Department of Health. Following a survey conducted in many countries (including South Africa) it was found that the main reason for migration was the opportunity to gain international exposure. This has led to an agreement whereby South African health professionals will be able to work in the UK for up to two years and then return to South Africa to apply that knowledge locally. Opportunities are also created where British health professionals can work in rural and underserved areas in South Africa. (NDoH Speeches, 2004) The development of the policy document “Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Health Professionals in the Republic of South Africa” emanated from the Ministers of Health in the SADC region. It aims to regulate the “recruitment, employment, migration and support towards the residency status of foreign health professionals in South Africa” (NDoH, 2006b). Amongst other things the policy clearly stipulates that foreign health professionals will be recruited to address the health needs in under-serviced areas in South Africa. Full-time employment for foreign health professionals will only be considered if no qualified South African is available for the same position. Foreign doctors are also required to register with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (Paradath et al. 2004).The recruitment of health professionals from any developing country will not be supported. The Association of South African Nurses in the UK (ASANUK) has agreed to “mobilise South African nurses in the UK to engage in issues relating to health service provision and development in South Africa”. The body also enables them to share specific knowledge, information and advice with colleagues in South Africa. A meeting requested by ASANUK, was held in September 2005 between the Minister of Health

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of SA and approximately 200 nurses working in the UK. At this meeting the NDoH encouraged nurses to return home and used the opportunity to enlighten UK nursing professionals of contemporary strategies that were implemented to improve working conditions in the public sector. (NDoH Media Room, 2005c) Human resource planning that addresses the skills shortage in the health sector The revised draft health charter of 2005 recommends that: “A comprehensive analysis, involving tertiary institutions, must be undertaken to identify gaps in all the areas that relate to healthcare supply and service delivery, and that

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skills development and human resources targets in the health scorecard are set commensurately”. The health charter further recognizes that the health challenge can only be addressed if the higher education institutions are on board. Shortages in the health sector can only be tackled effectively if higher education institutions’ strategies and programmes are aligned with market needs. A further challenge is the representation of black people at senior management level. It is important that transformation takes place over the total value chain i.e. senior management, middle management, junior management and professional and skilled workers. (NDoH, 2005).

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