PARLIAMENT INFORMATION SERVICES: RESEARCH

Nicky van Zyl

29 April 2003

STRUCTURE OF THE NEWLY CREATED DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY (DST) AND ITS CORPORATE STRATEGY FOR 2003/4 -
2005/6

Introduction
Over the past number of years it has become clear that the activities of the
Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology (DACST) have become
diverse - serving, on the one hand, the corresponding portfolios of arts and
culture, while, on the other, serving the corresponding portfolios of science and
technology. On 31 July 2002, the former Department of Arts, Culture, Science
and Technology (DACST) was dissolved, and on 1 August 2002 the President
signed a presidential minute allowing for the division of DACST into two
branches: Arts and Culture, and Science and Technology, under the same
political leadership.
The newly created Department consists of the Office of the Director-General,
which oversees and manages the activities of the following four components:

Science and Technology for Competitiveness, subdivided into Technology Missions and Science Missions.
Technology for Development, subdivided into Technology Transfer and Poverty Reduction.
International Co-operation and Resources, subdivided into International Co-operation and International Resources.
Government Science and Technology System, subdivided into System Investment and Governance and Finance.

The National System of Innovation (NSI)
The NSI was to develop into the backbone of the strategic development of science and technology in South Africa. The realignment process of the NSI was completed by 1999/2000, with the aim of developing the NSI into a modern and flexible framework based on the challenges associated with globalization and that of focusing on the elimination of poverty and uneven development. The
creation of a modern system of innovation placed the emphasis of a number of challenges in the field of research and development in South Africa. The development and nurturing of a new innovation system largely depends on the following challenges being addressed:

South Africa's previously inclusive technology development strategy resulted in a drop in the national research and development spending, from 1,1% in 1990 to 0,7% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 1994.
As part of risk management, adequate responses to new diseases are required while new forms of existing diseases has to be informed by local research.
Indications are that the South African private sector invested less in research and development, which could result in a loss of local control of the developing knowledge base.
The exploitation of South Africa's biodiversity, inventions and innovations must be curbed, and efficient measures for the protection of such knowledge is becoming increasingly important.
The contributions of all role-players in the field of research and development should be co-ordinated, including those of the various Government Departments and research institutions. The roles of line departments delivering services to specific sectors, such as Agriculture, Communications, Education and Health, and the Department of Science and Technology, should be clearly defined and integrated.
The Department has determined that the research and development strategy depends on doubling Government investment (in real terms) for science and technology over the next six years. This investment will be followed by more gradual increases. It is envisaged that this will increase the national investment in research and development to Just over 1 %.
The newly created Department of Science and Technology must develop and manage policy, institutional governance, performance and programmes. In addition, it must provide funding and a sound governance framework for science engineering and technology and monitor its performance.
The Department of Science and Technology must also promote national capacities for innovation and provide the science, engineering and technology (SET) human resources.
Ten entities are currently represented in the Science Vote. These are:

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, with the Department of Trade and Industry as line department.
The Medical Research Council, with the Department of Health as line department.
The Agricultural Research Council, with the Department of National Agriculture as line department.
The Council for Geoscience, with the Department of Mineral and Energy as line department.
The South African Bureau of Standards, with the Department of Trade and Industry as line department.
The Council for Minerals and Technology, with the Department of Minerals and Energy as line department.
The Human Sciences Research Council, with the Department of Science and Technology as line department.
The National Research Foundation, with the Department of Science and Technology as line department.
The Africa Institute of South Africa, with the Department of Science and
Technology as line department.
The Foundation for Education, Science and Technology, which was incorporated into the NRF by the end of 2002, with the Department of Science
and Technology.
As public entities, the Human Sciences Research Council, National Research Foundation, Africa Institute of South Africa, the National Laser Centre, the Foundation for Education, Science and Technology, the GODISA Trust, the Tshumisano Trust and the Academy of Science of South Africa report to the Minister responsible for Science and Technology.
The following 2003/4 allocations were made:



The 2003/4 and 2004/5 budget allocations have been increased by R250,3
million, approximately 32%, and R373,2 million, almost 48%, respectively.
Baseline funding decreased by R7,5 million. This was the result of the relocation
of some entities and functions to the National Research Foundation (NRF). It is clear from the above that the NRF, the council for Scientific and Industrial Research and the Agricultural Research Council have become priority areas in terms of research capacity.

Conclusion
The newly established Department of Science and Technology is regarded as an important stepping stone in unleashing South Africa's research potential. It aims to achieve its strategic objectives by means of five programmes. These are:
Programme 1: Administration, which incorporates the Department's centralized core functions, focusing on policy and executive actions relating to science and technology.
Programme 2: Technology for Development, for establishing strategic frameworks and institutional and other instruments for promoting the adoption and spread of new and existing technologies. This will be achieved through the development of local and provincial capacities and programmes for innovation. The application of science and technology in reducing poverty is a key focus of the Department. The Department will focus strongly on developing and supporting South Africa's Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) by means of policy and legislative interventions.
Programme 3: International Co-operation and Resources manages bilateral and multilateral co-operation in the fields of science and technology and focuses on building global partnerships with key institutions.
Programme 4: The Government S& T System provides the framework for governance and support of the science and technology institutions of Government. Through funding of Public Research Institutions, frameworks for co- ordinating the allocation of grant funding for science, engineering and technology activities for public research institutions are implemented and developed.
Programme 5: Science and Technology for Competitiveness, with the aim of establishing the key technology missions in the national research and development strategy. Science missions support the development of knowledge through the promotion of education and research in meaningful (South African) scientific disciplines, such as astronomy, bioscience /bio-resources,
paleontology and oceanic research.