CSIR, NRF, HSRC & TIA 2018/19 Annual Reports

Annual Reports 2018/2019 The Committee received briefings from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Human Sciences Research Council (CSIR), Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) and National Research Foundation (NRF) on their 2018/19 Annual Reports. The CSIR informed Members that it experienced challenges in attracting and retaining high-end skills. In addition, the challenging economic conditions also made it difficult for the Council to effectively achieve its mandate. Challenges such as government policy on contracting with state-owned entities limited uptake of CSIR’s technologies by government. In the last financial year, R382 million of government opportunities were lost due to tender processes. There was a decline in national R&D investment; cuts in Parliamentary grants and the negative business impact of wage freeze far outweigh minimal potential savings. That said, the CSIR had a solid governance structure, strong science, engineering and technology base and innovation capability to continue moving forward. Its total income for the year was R2.5 billion with only just R5.24 million attributed to royal and licensing income. In 2018/19, the CSIR made a net profit of R7.7 million. This was attributed to the implementation of extensive cost containment measures and improvements in internal processes. There was a zero percent growth in total income but net profit increased compared to the net loss of R14 million in the prior year. Targeted restructuring and cost cutting measures in operations were implemented. Members asked about transformation figures, statistics on youth representation and people with disabilities in the work place, tender losses, the entity’s impact on industries, the youth funded bursary versus the CSIR managed and funded bursary, the distribution of funds between historically disadvantaged universities and the ‘white’ universities and why certain targets were not met. They asked the entity to consider presenting material