HUMAN AND SOCIAL DYNAMICS IN DEVELOPMENT GRAND CHALLENGE

1. HUMAN AND SOCIAL DYNAMICS IN DEVELOPMENT GRAND CHALLENGE Briefing to the Portfolio Committee on Science & Technology 07 March 2012

2. Structure of Presentation • History • Context • Value Proposition • Achievements • Plans for 2012 to 2015

3. History • The White Paper on S&T highlighted the importance of the SSH: • As it relates to issues of innovation and technology change; and • As part of the evidence base to inform a whole range of policy areas in the socio-economic domain. • The National R&D strategy, however, did not sufficiently prioritise the SSH in the NSI. • This oversight was corrected in the TYIP with the introduction of a 5th grand challenge focusing on HSDD. • The TYIP recognises that innovation in the SSH remain fundamental in addressing societal challenges.

4. Science Plan • The DST has critically engaged with the research and policy communities to clearly identify the focus areas that need to be prioritised over the next decade. • A science plan was finalised in January 2011. • The emphasis over the next three years is on implementing the science plan through a range of instruments such as research chairs, directed research grants, policy dialogues, etc. • However, what has emerged strongly is the need for the DST to prioritise the research-policy interface to ensure that the knowledge being generated feeds into, and informs, policy processes.

5. Aims The HSDD GC aims to: • invest in socially and policy-relevant research, policy analysis, strengthening the science-policy nexus, and human capital development (HCD), • foster and support research collaboration, networks and institutional linkages within the SSH research community, • respond to the needs of vulnerable and marginalised groups in society by researching and analysing developmental problems, thereby contributing to the improvement of the quality of their lives, and • help build SSH research capacity.

6. Value Proposition The primary objectives of the HSDD GC are to: • inform policymaking, • generate new scientific knowledge, • create research career pathways for highly skilled young and emerging researchers, • contribute to addressing pressing socio-economic problems facing the country, as identified in the Draft National Development Plan and the MTSF, and • contribute to understanding how science and technology influences human behaviour.

7. DST’s Mandate • The DST is not a line function department like the Department of Social Development. • The DST’s mandate is to support R&D and innovation. • Our function is to support the science and to facilitate the use of the science in policy-making. • It is up to the line function department to decide what to do with the evidence-based research.

8. Innovation Focus Areas • There are strong links – both theoretical and empirical – across the four designated thematic focus areas, and hence room for integration to enable multidisciplinary research approaches: • Science, technology, and society. • The dynamics of human and social behaviour. • Social cohesion and identity. • Societal change and the evolution of modern society. • The four themes provide the basis for a structured research agenda, and identify priority areas for research investment designed to improve our collective understanding of : • social conditions and the process of social change, and • pressing social issues relevant to human welfare and prosperity.

9. Progress – Science Colloquia (i) 5 Science Colloquia were convened: • “Framing Migration Policy”, Mafikeng, 10 February 2011, North-West University. • “Knowledge Economy & Community Renewal”, East London, 7 March 2011, University of Fort Hare. • “Advanced Spatial Analysis and Modelling Platforms in Support of Integrated Planning”, Pretoria, 4 July 2011, CSIR & HSRC. • “Social Aspects of Climate Change in a Rural Context”, Polokwane, 24 October 2011, Universities of Limpopo & Venda. • “Can Land and Agrarian Reform in South Africa Create Opportunities for Smallholder Farmers and Help Reduce Rural Poverty?”, Cape Town, 28 February 2012, University of the Western Cape.

10. Progress – Science Colloquia (ii) • Enhanced policy-relevant interdisciplinary knowledge sharing at various HEIs. • Showcased cutting-edge research conducted at rural-based universities. • Stimulated ideas about building on and consolidating research agendas and collaborations: • e.g. migration studies, and population and development work at NWU, Mafikeng. • Provided a platform for MA and PhD students to present papers, and to encourage their interests in pursuing research careers. • Revealed opportunities for forging closer, mutually beneficial relations between HEIs and science councils.

11. Science Colloquium (iii)

12. Progress – Policy Briefs 6 Policy Briefs published: • Decisive Action to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). • The Gendered Dimensions of Food Security in South Africa. • Gender Equality in the Mathematics & Science School Curriculum. • Integrated Planning and Development Modelling. • South African Crude Oil Import Portfolio Risks. • Women’s Participation in Industrial Science, Engineering & Technology.

13. Progress – Policy Dialogues (i) • “Transformative Social Policy and the Development State”, 15 March 2011, Social Protection & Community Development (SPCD) and Human Development (HD) Clusters, Pretoria. • “The Tasks and Challenges of Improving Access to Basic Services in Developmental States”, 22 March 2011, SPCD & HD Clusters, Pretoria •  "Tackling Inequality: What Can We Learn From the Social and Economic Policies of the BRICS?" , 8 September 2011, SPCD & HD Clusters, Pretoria. • “Healthcare Financing and Service Provision: Promoting Equity & Efficiency”, 31 October 2011, SPCD & the Economic Sectors and Employment (EE) Cluster, Pretoria.

14. Progress – Policy Dialogues (ii) • “Policy Dialogue on the Draft National Development Plan”, 6 March 2012, EE & Infrastructure Development (ID) Clusters, Pretoria. 3 Forthcoming in March 2012: • “Industrial Policy in South Africa and India: The Case of the Stainless Steel Industry”, 15 March 2012, SPCD, EE and the ID Clusters, Pretoria • “Small Scale Agriculture, Employment and an All-Inclusive Rural Economy”, 16 March 2012, SPCD, EE & ID Clusters, Pretoria. • "Grounding the National Development Plan in Theory-Based Evaluation”,19 March 2012, SPCD, EE & ID Clusters, Pretoria.

15. Progress – Policy Dialogues (iii) • They created space for policymakers and researchers to have in-depth discussions about both policy gaps and policy constraints, the theoretical underpinnings of various policy stances and the practical ramifications of various assumptions. • They provided opportunities to showcase the utility and relevance of research for policymaking and programme development. • They made researchers more aware of the imperatives and trade-offs confronting policymakers and exposed researchers to the immediate policy and programme demands of policymakers.

16. Government Cluster Policy Workshops

17. Progress - HCD Human Capital Development • Over 200 Honours, Masters, and PhD Students in the Social Sciences and Humanities have been supported through bursary awards. • 12 Studentships and 8 Internships have been funded. • 50 Honours and Masters Internships have been awarded.

18. Progress – CUPP • The Community-University Partnership Programme (CUPP) has been piloted at four rural-based universities, namely: Fort Hare, Limpopo, Venda, and Zululand. • The CUPP underscores the social compact of HEIs, and the need for HEIs to become: • more socially responsive and more accountable to society; and • more responsive to community aspirations, and for addressing the problem of poverty, underdevelopment, and inequality.

19. Progress – CUPP Highlights • 104 Honours bursaries were awarded to students to become ‘change agents’ in their communities. • A suite of projects were undertaken at UNIZUL to address food security and the Intuthuko project which: • aims to develop a local version of the University of Wageningen’s “Science Shops” in which student’s research problems are identified by communities. • Integration of the UFH CUPP into the Alice Regeneration Project (Fort Hare). • Establishment of rural community decision-making platforms for collective action against poverty and underdevelopment (UNIVEN).

20. Community Engagement in Action

21. Progress – WISA Funded the: • Distinguished Women Researcher in the Social Sciences and Humanities category of the prestigious Women in Science Awards (WISA) (2011 Winner: Prof. Aimee Stewart); and • Distinguished Young Women Researcher in the Social Sciences and Humanities category of WISA (2011 Winner: Prof. Pearl Sithole).

22. Progress – IPDM • The Integrated Planning & Development Modelling (IPDM) project is a web-based spatial analysis and modelling platform which supports integrated development planning and service delivery. • It does this by: • harnessing ICTs to make available spatial and temporal evidence of past, current and future development patterns and trends; and • enhancing the geospatial evidence baseavailable to planners and decision-makers in South Africa. • Phase 1 of the IPDM project will end in March 2012. • The DST has put in place a long-term sustainability strategy for the IPDM Project.

23. The IPDM – Innovation at Work

24. Progress – SARChI (i) 7 HSDD GC SARChI Chairs have already been established in the Social Sciences: • Prof. P. Harrison, Development Planning & Modelling, Wits • Prof. B. Cousins, Poverty, Land & Agrarian Studies, UWC • Prof. G. Minkley, Social Change, UFH • Prof. P. Alexander, Social Change, UJ • Prof. H. Bhorat, Economic Growth, UCT • Prof. S. Chakraborti, Social Statistics, UP • Prof. J. May, Applied Poverty Reduction Assessment, UKZN

25. Progress – SARChI (ii) • The themes of the Research Chairs were informed by the need to: • strategically grow specific research areas, and • the absorptive capacity of individual universities, and the university system more generally. • The Social Science Chairs have enabled the universities to be better positioned to contribute significantly to the broad policy targets set out in the MTSF, the 12 Government Outcomes, the New Growth Path, and the National Development Plan.

26. Progress - Publications 31 Scientific Publications have been produced thus far: • 15 peer-reviewed journal articles. • 9 book chapters. • 3 books. • 1 keynote/plenary address (conference paper). • 3 technical reports.

27. Progress – Research Grants (i) 10 X 3-Year Directed Research Grants have been awarded: • Science, Technology and Innovation Aligning with Socio-Economic Development Objectives (Prof. Gillian Marcelle, Wits). • SA’s Unfolding Human and Social Dynamics: Evidence from Longitudinal Data (Prof. Murray Leibbrandt, UCT). • Mapping the Third African Diaspora (Prof. Ari Sitas, UCT). • Place-Based Health Promotion to Reduce HIV, Parenting and Alcohol Risk in SA (Prof. Mark Tomlinson and Prof. Leslie Swartz, SU). • Cultivating Democratic Citizenship Education and Cosmopolitanism in Higher Education (Prof. Yusef Waghid, SU).

28. Progress – Research Grants (ii) • Cultural Brokerage as a Model of Healthcare Delivery in SA (Prof. Claire Penn & Prof. Jennifer Watermeyer, Wits). • Mining and Society (Prof. Karl von Holdt, Wits). • Social Cohesion in Emerging Communities in SA (Prof. IvorChipkin & Prof. Philip Bonner, Wits). • The Changing Role of the University in Inclusive Innovation in SA: Comparing the Role of Public Research Institutes (Dr. Vijay Reddy & Dr. Glenda Kruss, HSRC). • Promoting Integrated Sustainable Rural Livelihoods Through a Participatory Value Chain Approach (Ms. Grace Oloo, University of Venda).

29. HSRC & NRF - Progress • The HSDD GC has prepared the ground for a more meaningful integration of the SSH work of the HSRC & the NRF in the NSI. • The HSRC & the NRF have continued to support the DST in implementing the HSDD GC: • Annual Performance Plan, 5-Year Strategic Plan, and the Shareholder’s Compact. • The HSRC’s mandated objectives and areas of research involvement are closely aligned with the four innovation focus areas of the HSDD GC. • The HSRC & the NRF have a key contribution to make when it comes to the role of social scientific knowledge production and innovation in support of development.

30. Plans for 2012-2015 - HCD • We need to attract bright minds to SSH research and to encourage young scholars interested in pursuing a research career. • Grooming and mentoring young, black and/or women SSH researchers through a systematic internship and bursary programme is critically important for increasing the high-level skills base in groups previously marginalised. • As such, we aim to: • Ramp up the internship and bursary programme. • Initiate a post-doctoral support programme.

31. 2012-2015 – Policy Dialogues • During the period 1 April 2012 and 31 March 2013, we will convene four thematic policy dialogues focusing on the following thematic areas: water, renewable energy, social aspects of ICTs, and sustainable livelihoods (agronomy, agro-processing, and aquaculture). • These policy dialogues are intended to: • target senior policymakers and their advisers, • address real policy questions, bring up the existing evidence on alternative options, and facilitate discussion on options, and • enrich the policy discussion and thus help to raise the quality of dialogue and decision-making between stakeholders.

32. 2012-2015 - SARChI • 16 new SSH Research Chairs will be awarded in 2012/13 and 2013/14. • The distribution of the 16 new SSH Chairs are as follows: • 5 in Poverty Alleviation, Sustainable Rural Development and Local/Regional Innovation, • 5 in the open category with a focus on fundamental disciplines, scarce and critical knowledge fields, and • 6 within priority research areas as specified by the HSDD GC, including 2 earmarked Swiss-SA Bilateral Research Chairs in Migration and Diversity Studies.

33. 2012-2015– STEP SA • In April 2012, we will pilot a new user-driven institutional model for the web-based IPDM Geospatial Platform: • Rebranded as the Spatial and Temporal Evidence for Planning in South Africa (STEP SA) National Initiative. • By cooperating through a co-investor model, we will encourage a more effective & efficient fulfilment of end-user needs (government and public agencies). • The need for timely, high quality, and long-term geospatial information as a basis for sound decision-making is critical for SA’s long-term development prospects.

34. STEP SA

35. 2012-2015 – Policy Work • Over the next three years we aim to strengthen and expand the government cluster policy workshops and policy briefs programme as part of an ongoing effort to create platforms that enable access to research evidence, and to improve evidence-informed policymaking. • The interactions with researchers and policymakers have sharpened our awareness of the knowledge and evidence demands in policy development and implementation. • They also increased the awareness among members of the government clusters of how the scientific community could be of practical value, thus strengthening the nexus between policy and research.

36. 2012-2015 – Rural Innovation We will be focusing on: • How ‘systems thinking’ enhances rural innovation in a broad sense, i.e. a mixture of technological, social and institutional factors, • Elevating the importance of innovation systems thinking in the context of rural development, • Strengthening links between the knowledge and technology production communities and rural stakeholders, including government, and • Developing a “Rural Innovation Assessment Tool” (RIAT) to guide interventions in local contexts.

37. THANK YOU!