Director-General of Science and Technology, Dr Phil Mjwara, took part in policy colloquium on 9 January 2015 on the margins of the third Southern African Young Scientists Summer Programme (SA-YSSP). The three-month SA-YSSP is designed to develop capacity in systems analysis and expose young scientists to an array of additional competencies and skills required to be successful in knowledge-driven societies.
The SA-YSSP provides the opportunity for doctoral candidates to advance their research under the direct supervision of International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and South African senior scientists, and at the same time contribute to IIASA's ongoing scientific agenda, which overlaps with the objectives set out in the Department of Science and Technology's Ten-Year Innovation Plan for South Africa.
Many of the SA-YSSP participants attended the colloquium in Stellenbosch, in the Western Cape. The event was organised by the Department of Science and Technology in collaboration with the National Research Foundation and IIASA.
High-level representatives including Malebona Precious Matsoso (Director-General of Health), Dr Olive Shisana (CEO of the Human Sciences Research Council), Dhesigen Naidoo (CEO of the Water Research Commission), Dr Glenda Grey (CEO of the Medical Research Council), Dr Velaphi Msimang (Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection's Faculty Head: Knowledge Economy and Scientific Advancement), and senior representatives of government, science councils and academic institutions.
Challenges in the areas of energy, water, food, agriculture and the environment, among others, were discussed at the colloquium, which was themed "Integrated and Informed Policy Approaches for National and Global Challenges". Policy formulation is key in addressing problems in these areas.
Internationally, there is more and more advocacy for evidence-based policy making (EBPM), as this improves the effectiveness of policy. EBPM aims to increase the use of scientific research (social and economic) to inform policy making by asking questions about the nature of the problem under scrutiny, how it has been addressed elsewhere, and the cost, benefit and effectiveness of interventions.
Introducing the first session, Dr Lindiwe Sibanda, CEO and Head of Mission of the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resource Policy Analysis Network said: "The process of policy development is not linear; it involves an ecosystem of many stakeholders." Dr Sibanda coordinates policy research and advocacy programmes on the continent.
The first session was a discussion on linkages between research, policy formulation and government decisions. Other sessions covered topics such as the nexus of food, water, energy and climate, and inter-linkages between policy-oriented scientific research and governance.
About IIASA
IIASA is an international research organisation with its headquarters in Laxenburg, Austria. It conducts interdisciplinary scientific studies on environmental, economic, technological and social issues in the context of the human dimensions of global change. IIASA focuses on policy-oriented scientific research in three global problem areas (energy and climate change; food and water; and poverty and equity), and three crosscutting areas (drivers of global transformation; advanced systems analysis; and policy and governance).
