M Mangena: Launch of 2005/06 Human Sciences Research Council
Report

10 October 2006

Chairperson of the HSRC Board, Professor Jakes Gerwel,
HSRC Board members,
President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the HSRC, Dr Olive
Shisana,
Representatives from Science Councils, government and higher education
institutions,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

This year I interacted quite closely with the HSRC. Beginning with the
acceptance of its current business plan and strategic plan together with the
Chairperson of the Board, Professor Gerwel, we signed the HSRC Shareholder
Compact. I also accepted the HSRC's Annual Report for tabling in parliament and
the CEO, Dr Olive Shisana, will still deliver a presentation on the main issues
in the report to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee during this month.

In the year under review the report card I have on the HSRC shows that the
institution has conducted critical analyses of the country's priority
challenges, provided indispensable data on forward planning for state organs
and other institutions and devised mechanisms to help monitor the effectiveness
of policy interventions. I am confident that members of the Portfolio Committee
on Science and Technology will also find that the annual report we are
launching today attests to the important role played by the HSRC in social
science research in South Africa and the region.

The Chairperson and the CEO of the HSRC have really demonstrated true
leadership during the year under review. In the face of increasing levels of
poverty and various forms of deprivation, the ability of an organisation such
as the HSRC to undertake relevant research intended to provide solutions to
these vexing national questions came under serious scrutiny. Debates went so
far as to put the HSRC as an institution under the spotlight. We hope that the
recent Social Sciences Conference convened by the HSRC has been able to debate
some of these questions to a great extent. I understand that the participation
in numbers and quality of debates by social science researchers from local and
African universities, research organisations and networks was impressive.

No one can dispute the relevance and critical importance of social science
research in analysing and providing possible solutions to national development
challenges and responding to the impact of globalisation. In particular we
should not lose sight of is that as a developing country, South Africa
desperately needs a better understanding and well researched recommendations on
policy and intervention options to address her pressing national challenges. In
this context the relevance of social sciences in national and global
development dynamics relates more to the currency of the research being
undertaken and the value it can add to the lives of ordinary citizens.

Contemporary societies are confronted by many global challenges encompassing
areas such as governance, equity, human migration, racism, disease, pollution,
poverty and conflict to name but a few. A lot of research is being conducted by
social scientists the world over to develop causal theories and devise
strategies to mitigate these problems. For example, much still needs to be done
to strengthen the role of women in society and in the economy. To this end
studies are being conducted in various parts of the world on the impact of the
Beijing Conference +10 Strategy and finding the best ways of implementing its
principles so as to make a real difference in the lives of women.

Similarly, globalisation has led to increases in all kinds of cross-border
flows and human migration either voluntarily or through conflict related
population displacements. This has become a monumental problem affecting
virtually every nation and region on the planet. The problem does not only
impact on the economy it also impacts directly on the individual and society.
Consequently, massive international social science research is being undertaken
to devise theories, models and conceptual frameworks to analyse the economic,
social and cultural dynamics of migration and to generate new ideas and
empirical solutions to deal with the human cost.

Social science research has also prioritised the implementation of the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to alleviate poverty, reduce maternal and
child mortality, promote a healthier environment and combat HIV and AIDS and
malaria. In our own region this is achieved through collaborative initiatives
within Southern Africa's Development Community (SADC) and the sub-Saharan
region through formations such as the pan-African research organisation known
as the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa
(CODESRIA) based in Dakar, Senegal and the Southern African HIV and AIDS
Research Alliance (SAHARA) with offices in Senegal, Kenya and South Africa.

In South Africa the development and growth debate is shaped by focusing on
macro-economic indicators such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI), Producer
Price Index (PPI), Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and inflation as measures of
our economic progress. But we also need socio-economic indicators to answer
questions of how the material conditions of South Africans have changed since
1994 and what have been the trends in the organisation of social life with
regard to family, community organisation and economic relations. Whether major
social programmes have had any impact in terms of income poverty alleviation
and human capital development, what effects policies have had on small and
medium enterprises (SMEs) and how changes in social structure and social
mobility have affected the dynamics of income mobility?

These and other related questions are critical to understanding the impact
of government policies and programmes on the social upliftment of South
Africans. I do acknowledge that the HSRC has through its socio-economic surveys
and other research been instrumental in generating the data needed to monitor
some of these macro-social indicators and progress.

Government regards research across all fields and disciplines as an
indispensable tool in the country's development and accordingly allocates
significant human and material resources in this regard. International research
has shown that there is a robust relationship between spending on Research and
Development (R&D) and economic growth. What has also been established is
that the returns on private companies for spending on R&D are generally
between 25 and 27 percent, whilst social returns may be as high as 67 to 80
percent.

These social returns find expression in the larger numbers of scientists,
engineers and technology practitioners that are put to work when there is an
increase in research activities. It also finds expression in the new products
and technology-based systems that enhance our quality of life. We are
convinced, therefore, of the compelling reasons for the public sector to work
with the private sector to grow the research base.

The level of expenditure as a percentage of GDP is considered an appropriate
measure of the competitiveness of a country's economy and of the vibrancy of
its inventiveness. Accordingly, my Department commissioned the HSRC's Centre
for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators (CESTII) to conduct a survey
of the financial and human resource inputs into R&D in South Africa. The
survey revealed that the country spent about R12 billion from all funding
sources or 0.87 percent of GDP on research and experimental development in
2004/05. This represents a significant improvement on the figure of R10.1
billion for 2003/04. South Africa has set itself a goal of research expenditure
equivalent to one percent of GDP by the year 2008 and we are well on our way to
meet that target.

Of the total spend on R&D, R1.5 billion (or 12,5 percent) was spent on
social sciences suggesting that the country considers it critical to understand
its socio-economic and political situation. Clearly social scientists need to
systematically demonstrate the return on this investment. I urge the HSRC
Policy Analysis Unit to use the resources allocated to develop new
methodologies to analyse progress achieved in meeting the MDGs and to assess
the impact of social science in the socio-economic development of South
Africa.

Whilst we call for more relevant engagement by the social science research
community, we do recognise that there are other challenges facing research in
South Africa. These include the human resource capacity and the demographic
profile of the research community in terms of gender, disability, age and
ethnicity. South Africa has a total of about 18 000 full time equivalent (FTE)
researchers. This reflects a relatively low ratio to total employment compared
to nations at an equivalent level of development. It is generally acknowledged
that there is a critical shortage of researchers in the social sciences in
South Africa compared to other emerging economies.

As noted in the National Research and Development Strategy (NRDS) document,
the loss of scientists through attrition represents a significant threat for
the country's research capacity. Some of this attrition is attributable to
emigration as a consequence of globalisation and is cause for concern even in
industrialised Europe and Canada, whose best scientists are often enticed to
the better resourced United States (US). However, if South African scientists
emigrated for short periods in order to spend time alongside the best
scientists and then return to the country to apply their knowledge we should
see this as a cause for celebration.

On the positive side South Africa has shown steady improvement in the gender
profile of researchers with the proportion of women researchers having grown to
surpass those of Japan and Norway. Nevertheless, gender equity remains a top
priority in all spheres of life in South Africa.

The research community is skewed in terms of age and ethnicity. The extreme
shortage of black scientists is acknowledged and is a direct and logical
consequence of the apartheid policies of the bygone era. A study conducted by
the Academy of Science of South Africa on the national research outputs from
all disciplines and fields of intellectual endeavour, showed a significantly
ageing cohort of actively publishing scientists in our science system. In arts
and humanities, for example, in 1990 there were 18,2 percent of authors over
the age of 50 and by 2002 this proportion had increased to 46.1 percent.

It is therefore both appropriate and commendable that the HSRC has
prioritised capacity building in its strategy in order to increase and
rejuvenate the national pool and in particular to boost the numbers of black
and women researchers. One of the HSRC's mandates is to contribute to human
capital development. We are therefore pleased to note the HSRC's programmes to
train masters and doctoral students and to offer post-doctoral research
fellowships.

Developing a new generation of researchers is critical if we want to
maintain the capacity of our country to undertake appropriate research. As
incentive to keep them in the system, it is important to ensure that such
researchers have well-structured research posts and are adequately remunerated.
We need to provide them with the necessary tools to produce quality research
and use their work in shaping government policy.

In looking at the research output by HSRC researchers, two striking
observations emerge. The first has to do with the level of output as measured
by the number of publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals by HSRC
researchers which exceeds the target set for the year and is well above the
national norm. The second observation is that when the researchers are
disaggregated by race and gender, black and female researchers had a much
higher publication rate than the HSRC average revealing that far from
compromising standards and in contradiction to the usual assumptions, the
equity programme has possibly even enhanced them.

May I now briefly allude to the 'Social Sciences and Humanities in the
European Research Area' (SSHERA) mission to South Africa of August of 2005.
This was the last in a series of four international missions of members of the
SSHERA to a number of non-European countries. These missions are considered
important in enhancing the international dimensions of social sciences and
humanities research in Europe. The mission report describes the last 10 years
of South Africa�European Union (EU) Science and Technology collaboration as a
case of 'best practice' of international research collaboration. That this
could not be said of the South Africa-EU collaboration in the social sciences
area necessitated the mission to South Africa.

As many of you will recall, the mission report recommends that the HSRC,
Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the African network of New
Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) should develop a number of
specific networks for social sciences and humanities in order to bring together
the best scholars, centres of excellence and research units in both South
Africa and the EU to enhance the bilateral and multilateral research
co-operations in these areas. I urge you to take full advantage as this will
certainly provide much more favourable opportunities to leverage resources from
the European Framework Programme Seven and enhance the quality of the research
output arising out of collaboration by encompassing a wider cohort of
scientists.

In looking ahead I would like to repeat that one of the highlights of the
period under review was the conclusion of a shareholders' compact between the
governing council of the HSRC and my office, which articulates the expectations
of each party in terms of outcomes and outputs to be achieved.

The objectives include the consolidation of the HSRC's public purpose
functions: strengthening and broadening of its Africa focus, ensuring effective
implementation of its research output through implementation networks, pursuing
internal transformation, expanding its capacity building initiatives and
ensuring excellence in research and institutional financial sustainability.

In the agreement, my office undertakes to maintain a facilitative and
enabling relationship with the HSRC by ensuring that due obligations and
decisions are delivered in a co-operative and timely fashion.

I commend the HSRC Council for presenting a comprehensive and well
thought-out agreement for my signature which provides a blueprint for an
eventful and productive year ahead. The compact formalises the relationship
between the Minister and the HSRC and reduces the risk of future
misunderstandings regarding our respective roles, expectations and
obligations.

Let me conclude by applauding Professor Jakes Gerwel, Chairman of the
governing Council and his fellow council members for a very successful year
marked by commitment to accountability, transparency and good governance. In
terms of the Public Finance Management Act, the council is the accounting
authority for the HSRC and it can take pride in the fact that the organisation
ended the year without a deficit and with an unqualified financial audit.

I congratulate Dr Olive Shisana, President and Chief Executive Officer, the
management and staff for the laudable achievements of the HSRC during the time
of changing leadership and organisational restructuring.

I thank you!

Issued by: Department of Science and Technology
10 October 2006