National science and technology policy is the responsibility of the Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology. The Minister is assisted by the Chief Directorate: Science and Technology of the Department of Arts, Culture Science and Technology. The Associated Scientific and Technical Societies of South Africa promote the interests of the various scientific, professional and technical disciplines.
According to the Government of National Unity's (GNU) Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), science and technology have an important role to play in the development of all sectors of society. Because South Africa's economy is charaterised by unequal distribution of resources, technology policy in order to meet the challenges facing South Africa's people. The public sector, in partnership with the private sector, has an indispensable role to play in technology development.
The CSIR is South Africa's largest organisation for community and industry-directed scientific and technological research, development and implementation, and is regarded as a valuable asset to the RDP. Its multidisciplinary approach to research and development has to led to products and services in respect of low-cost housing, primary health care, job creation, water supply, effluent disposal and transport systems.
The Foundation for Research Development (FRD) is an autonomous, statutory body with a mandate to ensure the affordable and balanced provision of human resources and expertise in science, technology and engineering, through the support of research and education, to meet the requirements of the nation.
Mintek is a body engaged in the full spectrum of minerals research. It is involved in the identification and development of markets for minerals and their products. Much of its work is carried out in close liaison with the South African mining and metallurgical industries. The importance of Mintek's work stems from the need to increase earnings from minerals by turning them into higher-value products before they are exported.
The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) is a parastatal with research experience in a wide field of applications. It is bound by its mission to provide its services and products to a wide variety of end-users at an affordable price. Some of the main issues being researched include
During 1994, the CSIR was heavily involved in its own transformation and realignment. In that year, an analysis showed that nearly 90 percent of the more than 400 research projects undertaken by the HSRC had direct relevance to the RDP.
The Medical Research Council (MRC) was established in 1969 to improve the health of South Africans through scientific research. This is done by fulfilling a role in the field of biomedical and community health research, establishing research priorities with key players in the health arena, and conducting or supporting fundamental and applied research nationwide.
The MRC is also charged with ensuring that health research leads to policy formulation at the highest possible level.
In 1994, the MRC adopted a new, integrated strategy for health research in South Africa known as Essential National Health Research. This collaborative approach for organising and managing health research embraces all role-players and disciplines necessary for promoting health and development on the basis of equity and social justice.
The objectives of the Council for Geoscience are, among other things, to reduce the geological and scientific investment risk for national and international entrepreneurs in the South African mining sector; provide the basic geological data to permit the development of safe, cost-effective physical infrastructure for South Africa; provide the basic knowledge to ensure safe, cost-effective and environmentally acceptable urbanisation and housing development, and to conduct research on the raw materials necessary to clothe and feed the nation. The council acts as a repository for African and Global Earth Science data to facilitate the economic and social integration of South Africa into Africa and the rest of the world.
The mission of the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) is to contribute, through its promotion of quality and standardisation, towards the strengthening of the South African economy and the enhancement of the quality of life of all the country's people. Standards provide a basis for determining whether or not products and services meet agreed requirements. It will therefore not be possible to determine the progress made in uplifting South Africans if agreed standards are not available.
Other research organisations include the
General research areas include Antarctic research; mine safety research; energy research; agricultural research; water research; fisheries research; environmental research, and coastal and marine research.
In the past, research on mining was carried out chiefly by the Chamber of Mines Research Organisation and the large mining groups. However, the Chamber of Mines Research Organisation merged with the CSIR in 1993 to form the division: Mining Technology.
The merger provided the CSIR with a much broader base of services
in the mining industry and, through consolidation with the CISR's
research development capabilities, resulted in a more comprehensive
and integrated component being added to the strength of South
Africa's research capabilities. Research is also carried out
by a large number of industrial companies.
go back