Address by Honourable Minister of Science and Technology, Mr Mosibudi Mangena, at the launch of 2006/07 Human Sciences Research Council Report in Pretoria

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

Those of you who are intimately involved in preparing such reports will no doubt agree that it is quite a rigorous governance instrument. From the requirement for audited financial statements and a report from the Office of the Auditor-General, to indicators on output-based, impact related performance reporting, this governance instrument certainly generates a clear picture to role players, government watchdogs, information-hungry students and interested observers on the strengths, weaknesses and relevance of the organisation. In this regard, the 2006/07 Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) Annual Report will not disappoint them.

In order to fulfil all the requirements, an organisation does need to get some advance indications of what the clients' expectations are to enable it to work towards achieving genuine results and the HSRC is no exception.

You will also be interested to know that the year under review is the first under which the relationship between the Ministry and the HSRC has been formalised in the form of a Shareholder's Compact. Through this instrument, the HSRC undertakes to achieve specified outcomes and outputs, and the Minister undertakes to provide the necessary support to enable the HSRC to achieve those outcomes and outputs. In this regard, I commend the governing Council, the CEO and the HSRC staff for the spirit of co-operation and collegiality that has characterised the relationship and mutual dealings among the signatories of the compact in pursuit of its set objectives.

This report does reflect the continued successes to which we have become accustomed, foremost among which is the prudent management of the HSRC resources as evidenced by unqualified audits on its annual financial statements. This report also serves as a communication tool on the research performance of the institution. As in the past, the HSRC set itself ambitious performance targets for the year under review, and I am not surprised that it has managed to achieve most of them. I will leave it to the Chief Executive Officer and the Chair of the HSRC Council to reflect in greater detail on some of these achievements.

However, let me comment on some areas of concern flagged by the Auditor-General's report. Specifically, managers in the HSRC need to strengthen the organisation by taking full and active responsibility for complying with policies, processes and internal controls. To monitor this compliance through risk assessment has been accepted as a good management practice worldwide. In fact, I might venture to add that institutional risk assessment constitutes a growing industry.

I do recognise that the forensic audits into payroll fraud, travel claims and telephone accounts actually came about because of the new systems that the HSRC has put in place for risk assessment, monitoring and early detection. I urge the organisation to continue to give this aspect of governance the high level of attention it deserves.

In the normal course of events, we receive quarterly performance reports from the HSRC that enable us to track the organisation's progress and potential challenges throughout the year, and I commend the HSRC for delivering on its mandated objectives, for taking its performance targets seriously, for managing its finances prudently, and for remaining committed to the development of research-based solutions to human and social problems facing our country.

Allow me now to spend some time reflecting on the broader context in which we conduct our work, and the special role that the social sciences and humanities should play in this regard.

Research, development and innovation do not happen in a vacuum; they must be located in the context of the total human experience. David Dickson cautions against the danger of promoting policies that see science and technology as the drivers of social progress and economic development, rather than components of innovation programmes in which other factors are just as important. Dickson asserts that: "Experience has shown that such investment is only part of the solution. The real challenge lies in embedding science in all spheres of government policy, and introducing educational, regulatory and fiscal measures to enable innovation to flourish across the economy."

Contextualising Research and Development is the lynchpin of our Ten-Year Innovation Plan for South Africa. We need to find and develop the social constructs that can enable us to undertake and promote the research that addresses the real and future development needs of our country and region. We expect the HSRC to take a leading role in addressing the Human and
Social Dynamics Grand Challenge, as identified in the Ten-Year Plan.

Some of the members of the audience may not yet be familiar with the
Ten-Year Innovation Plan already alluded to. The Plan is entitled
"Innovation Towards a Knowledge-Based Economy", and provides an exciting agenda for South Africa over the next ten years spanning from 2008 to 2018. This Ten Year Plan for the National System of Innovation introduces five "grand challenges" that should receive priority attention by government and the research community over the next ten years. The idea is not to simply throw away money by supporting any work associated with these particular challenges, and thereby hope to address the problems. Rather, we would like to see teams of people working in these areas, pay particular attention to finding ways of bridging the "innovation chasm" between research results and socio-economic benefits. For this to happen, we envisage significant investments in human capital development, the knowledge production infrastructure, and the exploitation of such knowledge for commercial purposes in those particular areas.

The five "grand challenges" identified include:

* the 'Farmer to Pharma' industry value chain to strengthen the bio-economy
* space science and technology
* energy security
* global-change science with a focus on climate change, and
* human and social dynamics.

The key objective of this plan is to articulate a national path of innovation to support our transformation to a knowledge-based economy. Such transformation is intended to expand the proportion and growth of national income derived from knowledge-based industries, the percentage of the workforce employed in knowledge-based jobs and the number of firms using technology to innovate.

In particular, we discussed and agreed within Cabinet to include "human and social dynamics" as a fifth grand challenge because these dynamics are at the core of nearly every major challenge facing South Africa -from climate change to creating a competitive and innovative workforce. I urge you to familiarise yourself with the contents of the Ten Year Plan. You will also note the emphasis on the need to increase our ability to anticipate the complex consequences of change; to better understand the dynamics of human and social behaviour at all levels; to better understand the cognitive and social structures that create and define change; and to help people and organisations better manage profound or rapid change.

Human and social constructs constitute the fabric that ties together all of human experience. It is not possible to design and implement developmental innovation without a full understanding of the human and social contexts of the communities for whom such innovations are intended. Technological development, be it the construction of dams, bridges, or housing projects, has profound human and social implications.

As a country we face significant challenges, and the degree of urgency is rising. We are committed, in terms of the Millennium Development Goals, to reduce the numbers of our people facing hunger and abject poverty, and those who are unemployed by 2014.

Likewise, the provision of affordable energy, clean and safe drinking water and sanitation, as well as access to affordable health-care and housing, and sustainable human settlements are some of the biggest problems in our lives. We cannot afford to fail. We all value some safe place to live, efficient public transport, decent treatment in a public hospital or clinic and a job to afford us a dignified way of life.

I do recognise and am pleased that the HSRC is playing a leading role in supporting government, to work out long term 'employment scenarios'; to deepen our understanding of migration trends, and the housing and transport problems of South Africans living in informal settlements; and to deepen and expand the interventions in early childhood development.

I invite the HSRC, in collaboration with other role players such as the National Research Foundation (NRF), Africa Institute of South Africa (AISA) and the broader science community, to assist us in fleshing out our initial ideas about the grand challenge of human and social dynamics. We would like to get a clearer idea of the research priorities in the social sciences and humanities in the context of the Ten-Year plan for Innovation.

May I, in closing, thank the HSRC Council, executive team and staff for a job well done. I trust this Annual Report will now provide you with the opportunity to reflect on your achievements and challenges, and I look forward to an even better report next year.

Thank you.

Issued by: Department of Science and Technology
23 October 2007