South Africa is driving a comprehensive transformation of its research landscape through coordinated investments in human capital development and digital innovation.
The National Research Foundation (NRF) is leading this evolution through programs that combine next-generation researcher development with cutting-edge technological capabilities, aiming to take South African science to new levels of global impact.
Key Points:
- The National Research Foundation is leading a comprehensive transformation of South African research through coordinated programs addressing human capital development, digital innovation, and research impact measurement. This integrated approach aims to build capacity while ensuring research addresses national priorities.
- The NRF is actively addressing the challenge of an aging research workforce by substantially increasing support for next-generation researchers. Support for Black South African postgraduate students has risen from 73% to 86% between 2018-2023, while funding for women researchers increased from 53% to 61%.
- Digital transformation is revolutionizing South African research capabilities, with new technologies enabling enhanced data analysis, collaboration, and research impact. This was demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic when South African researchers made significant contributions to understanding virus variants.
- A fundamental shift is occurring in how research impact is measured and achieved, moving beyond traditional academic metrics to emphasize societal impact and practical applications. New frameworks require researchers to plan for and demonstrate real-world benefits from their work.
“South Africa is clearly punching above its weight given our low level of investment in research and small researcher capacity,” explains Dr Mbulelo Ncango, Executive Director of Next Generation Programs at the National Research Foundation (NRF). “Compared to similar countries like Argentina, Chile, Greece, Malaysia, Mexico, Poland, and Turkey, we’re performing exceptionally well in terms of research outputs, international collaborations, and citation impact.”
The NRF, as South Africa’s premier research funding organization, is working to address these structural challenges through a comprehensive transformation of how research is funded, conducted and measured. This includes expanding support for next-generation researchers, embracing digital innovation, and ensuring research creates meaningful societal impact.
South Africa’s Research Funding Challenge: Building Capacity for the Future
The pressure to develop new research talent is becoming increasingly urgent. “Looking at our rated researchers, the majority are senior professors nearing or past retirement age,” explains Dr Ncango. “The national system of innovation hasn’t yet built sufficient capacity for people to take over from them.”
The funding constraints amplify this challenge. The NRF receives just under 5 billion rand in funding but faces around 14,000 postgraduate applications annually, of which it can only fund about 5,000. Similar funding gaps exist for post-doctoral fellowships, researcher funding, and research infrastructure development.
Despite these constraints, the NRF has made remarkable progress in transforming South Africa’s research community. Support for Black South African postgraduate students increased from 73% to 86% between 2018-2023, while funding for women researchers rose from 53% to 61%. These gains reflect a deliberate strategy to build a more inclusive and representative research ecosystem.
“Beyond addressing capacity issues, young researchers bring fresh perspectives that seasoned researchers might not,” notes Dr Ncango. “They’re more open to integrating technology into research and embracing entrepreneurship. While senior researchers were trained along classical lines – focusing on publications and citations – younger researchers are more focused on commercialization, entrepreneurship, innovation, and impact.”
The NRF has implemented specific programs to accelerate this transformation. The Thuthuka developmental grant program specifically capacitates South African Black emerging researchers and women researchers across all disciplines. Additionally, the organization maintains about 17 Centers of Excellence and approximately 270 South African Research Chair initiatives, providing substantial funding to drive research transformation.
Digital Innovation: Transforming How South African Research is Conducted
The revolution in research capabilities is being accelerated through comprehensive digital transformation. Dr Gugu Moche, Group Executive for Digital Transformation at the NRF, is leading efforts to modernize South Africa’s research infrastructure and capabilities.
“Emerging technologies like AI, immersive tech, cloud computing and blockchain are opening up tremendous opportunities,” explains Dr Moche. “AI can enhance data analysis, predict trends and automate routine tasks – freeing up researchers to focus on core work and enabling more seamless collaboration. Cloud and decentralized technologies make it easier to share data and infrastructure.”
The NRF’s digital transformation strategy focuses on five key priorities: modernizing internal systems and infrastructure, developing digital skills and capacity within the organization, establishing expertise in cybersecurity and ethical data use, driving innovation discourse and adoption of transformative technologies, and enhancing research collaboration and partnerships.
This digital transformation is already showing results in practical applications. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, South African researchers leveraged these enhanced capabilities to contribute significantly to global understanding of the virus and its variants. The ability to process and analyze large datasets proved crucial in identifying and tracking new variants.
Reshaping Research Outcomes
The NRF is fundamentally changing how research impact is measured and achieved. Dr Genevieve Simpson, Head of Research Analysis and Advice, is spearheading efforts to move beyond traditional academic metrics towards research that creates meaningful societal change.
“Historically, the view has been that researchers do the research and it’s likely that some of that will have an impact beyond academia,” notes Dr Simpson. “The focus has shifted towards being more deliberate about that and making sure that when you start a research project, you’re already thinking about what challenges you’re focusing on.”
The NRF has implemented a new framework requiring researchers to submit impact statements as part of their research proposals. These must identify the challenge being addressed, who will benefit, and how impact will be achieved and measured. Researchers are also encouraged to engage with end users and communities during the planning phase to ensure their work meets real needs.
This approach has already yielded notable successes. Dr Simpson points to examples like the DSI-NRF Center of Excellence for Biomedical TB Research, which developed rapid TB testing technology now used internationally, and the DSI-NRF Center for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis, which helped guide South Africa’s COVID-19 response.
The Path Forward: South Africa's Research Future
There is measured optimism about South Africa’s research future. The country continues to attract top international talent, with studies showing many researchers in Africa prefer South Africa over opportunities in Europe or Asia.
“We need to shift from viewing research as an expenditure to seeing it as an investment in South Africa’s future,” concludes Dr Simpson. As the country works to address challenges around unemployment, inequality and poverty, developing robust research capabilities could be key to unlocking sustainable economic growth and social development.
“Our vision for creating new industries may be ambitious, but we’re confident that it can be achieved,” says NRF CEO Dr Fulufhelo Nelwamondo. “By leveraging our scientific resources, funding agencies, government commitment, and partnerships with other African nations, we can drive development even in emerging sectors.”
This optimism is grounded in concrete progress. The NRF’s integration of impact measurement, digital capabilities and talent development is creating new possibilities. As Dr Moche explains: “Very few of us anticipated how quickly AI and big data would come to the fore, but South Africa is positioned there. We’re seeing convergence between disciplines as everyone gets involved with big data at different scales.”
The focus on societal impact is also energizing a new generation of researchers. “Many young researchers really enter the field wanting to bring about change, not just focus on the ‘publish or perish’ system,” notes Dr Simpson. “If we focus more on societal impact, researchers will be more excited about the potential to address real challenges.”
While significant hurdles remain, particularly around funding and capacity development, South Africa’s research transformation efforts suggest a clear path forward. “It’s about facilitating the smooth transfer of knowledge from knowledge creators, such as universities and research institutions, to the end-users,” concludes Dr Ncango. “When industries interact with communities and say, ‘We see you’re solving our problems, and we can manufacture more of these products,’ it’s a strong indication of your relevance and the direct impact of your work.”
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