The status of social sciences and humanities research in South Africa

1. The status of social sciences and humanities research in South Africa Dr. Olive Shisana President and CEO Human Sciences Research Council Presented at the Social sciences and humanities in Europe: New challenges, new opportunities 13 December 2005

2. Current state of social science and humanities in South Africa • Prior to 1994 social sciences research in South Africa largely excluded the majority of the population • It was largely qualitative in nature; • Post-1994, there has been an explosion of quantitative social science research: national household surveys done by STATSsa, HSRC, CASE • 1st national household survey was carried out in 1993 when the ANC requested data for decision-making on poverty and income inequality • Findings used by the post-apartheid government Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) • Household survey data has now transformed the way social science research is being done… more quantitative, more policy-focused • Research carried out in universities, science councils, NGOs, research organizations, private research organizations, policy research institutes (individually or at times collaboratively)

3. Knowledge-production by sector, South Africa

4. Key Areas of Social Science Research in South Africa • Poverty and income inequality surveys (cross-sectional and longitudinal) • Political opinion surveys -voting behaviour • Crime surveys: perpetrators and victims • Demographic Health Surveys • HIV/AIDS national surveys • Labour Force Surveys • Birth-to-20 longitudinal surveys • International maths and science study • Education Surveys • General Houshold Surveys

5. Quality of social science and humanities research, research infrastructure and human resources • Overall all scientific output: About 55% of South Africans scientific production appears in ISI indexed-journals.” The SA Knowledgebase currently contains information on more than 99 000 articles produced by South African authors between 1990 and 2004. “ • Universities are given incentives for publishing peer-reviewed articles; science councils use peer-reviewed articles as a key performance indicator. • Plethora of journals, most with enough researchers to support them • South Africa has a large pool of researchers, but is aging • Social science research is partly funded by the state in universities and science councils, and largely by private and donor funding • Donor funding seldom pays for core costs: salaries, accommodation, library, etc. • Endowment is a rarity

6. Future direction of social science and humanities in South Africa • More impact assessment research • More intervention oriented research, in addition to cross-sectional research • More panel studies aiming to produce knew knowledge • More multi-disciplinary research that combines social sciences with non-social sciences, leading to more comprehensive research agenda • More international multi-site, multi-country studies that permit comparative analysisin Africa, Europe, et al. • Increase in regional and continental research in Africa • Increase in humanities- using lens of history, culture, language to understand societies • Better co-ordinated research • Creation of implementation networks to increase impact of research

7. The role of social sciences and humanities in addressing key challenges and opportunities South Africa is facing • South Africa is facing key development challenges: poverty, inadequate service delivery, high unemployment, poor quality of education, HIV/AIDS and land reform. • Social scientists regularly respond to government tenders and seek donor funding to conduct research that addresses these challenges.

8. Funding of Social Sciences and Humanities in South Africa • OECD investment in R&D average across public and private sectors is 2.15% of GDP. For South Africa, it is 0.81%. • Higher Education research is conducted within the natural sciences (38.3%): life sciences, agriculture, information and computing, and physical sciences. • The social sciences (incl. economic sciences) and humanities (32.4%), • Health and medical research (20.9%) and • Engineering (8.4%). • The data shows that the largest single group of researchers (35.8%) indicated that their research is conducted for the purpose of making a contribution to economic development. Research to support the health sector (17.3%) and research in the pursuit of new discoveries or new understanding/s (17.7%) constituted the other main categories.

9. National agenda which corresponds to global issues and the relative priority accorded to these National and Global priorities • Poverty alleviation (including service delivery: access to water, sanitation, health, education) • Unemployment and economic growth • HIV/AIDS prevention, care and impact mitigation • Quality of education • Human rights ( include gender)

10. HSRC COUNCIL • International Liaison • Business Development • Corporate Communications • Council Secretariat • Internal Audit GENDER & DEVELOPMENT Prof. Cheryl Potgieter CHIEF OPERATING OFFICERMr Mike de Klerk CAPACITY DEVELOPMENTDr Romilla Maharaj FINANCEMr Martin Fox PRESIDENT AND CEO Dr Olive Shisana PUBLICATIONSMr Garry Rosenberg SAHARADr Gail Andrews CROSSCUTTERS ITMr Gerald O’Sullivan SUPPORTSERVICES KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMSProf. Michael Kahn EMPLOYMENT, GROWTH & DEV.Dr Miriam Altman HRMs Vicky Tlhabanelo POLICY UNITVacant ISMs Faye Reagon EDUCATIONQUALITYDr Anil Kanjee OPSMs Adeola Adesanya RESEARCH PROGRAMMES DEMOCRACY &GOVERNANCEProf. Adam Habib SOCIAL ASPECTS OF HIV/AIDS& HEALTHVacant EDUCATION, SCIENCES & SKILLSDEVELOPMENTDr Andre Kraak URBAN, RURAL &ECONOMICDEVELOPMENTDr Udesh Pillay SOCIETY,CULTURE &IDENTITYDr Xolela Mangcu CHILD, YOUTH & FAMILYDEVELOPMENTProf. Linda Richter Human Sciences Research Council

11. 21 64 22 51 24 43 40 * 51 30 53 23 79 64 92 COUPE indicators Mar.‘01-'05 Target 05/06 % 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 * 58% including interns

12. Perception and assessment of needs and opportunities for international cooperation • Global issues- poverty, unemployment and economic growth, quality of education, HIV/AIDS • Supporting the build-up of international research communities: -capacity building in quantitative research and multi-disciplinary research • Providing infrastructure for internationally comparative research- multi-country research studies • Establishment of research teams across the borders; joint proposal writing, sharing experiences in translation of research to policy options, facilitating implementation of science-based recommendations • Research fellowship programme

13. Common research areas between Europe and South Africa • Growth, employment and competitiveness • Sustainable livelihoods • Poverty • Migration • Identity, diversity, culture and social cohesion • Contribution of cultural production to economic performance • HIV/AIDS • Impact of research on policy