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Past NACI events
| OECD delegation to visit NACI |
| Aug 06 - |
| The OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) agreed to peer review South Africa as part of its National Innovation Systems review programme. The country review includes the preparation of a background report by the country, a site visit by an OECD expert group - due to take place between 28 August and 08 September 2006, and the drafting of the final report by the OECD. |
| Winner of the Distinguished Woman Scientist Award 2006 |
| Aug 06 - |
| The Dept of Science and Technology has created various awards for Women in Science to recognise the contribution of outstanding women in scientific research. A SET4W council member, Dr Valerie Mizrahi was announced winner of the Distinguished Woman Scientist Award 2006 on Friday night, 4 August at the prize giving ceremony in Gauteng. |
| Winners of the National Innovation Competition |
| July 06 - |
The winners were announced on 13 July at a gala function. Dr Wernich de Villiers, from the University of Stellenbosch, received the first prize, from Minister Mosibudi Mangena, for his Line Trap Tester that will benefit the power utility companies. The Line Trap Tester will allow them to do more effective and safe maintenance on High Voltage Power Line Carriers, without requiring a power outage.
Wernich was a runner up in 2003 for the NACI Postgraduate Innovation Award. |
| Innovative South Africa Conference |
| July 06 - |
The conference took place 26 - 27 June 2006 in Brussels. It showcased innovation developments in South Africa and provided a platform for developing an innovation policy dialogue between South African and European partners. A specific objective was to explore innovation cooperation opportunities between South Africa and Europe, including collaboration under the Seventh Framework Programme and the consideration of investment opportunities.
More information and some presentations |
| The new R&D Survey results are announced |
| July 06 - |
| The results of the annual R&D survey were announced on 22 June 2006 in Cape Town by the Minister of Science and Technology, Mr Mosibudi Mangena. The most important news is that the total percentage of R&D expenditure in South Africa has risen from 0.81per cent of GDP last year to 0.87 per cent this year. The government's goal of 1% of GDP by 2008 is within reach. |
| NACI and DST moved to a new building |
| May 06 - |
Our new contact details are:
Postal address:
The NACI Secretariat
Private Bag X894
Pretoria 0001
Physical address:
Building 53,
CSIR Campus
Meiring Naude Road
Brummeria
Pretoria
See Contact Us for more details |
| NACI International Workshop on Measuring Systems of Innovation: Inputs, Flows and Outputs |
| May 06 - |
The workshop concluded successfully on 25 April 2006. The presentations of the keynote speakers follow below.
Dr. Ammon Salter, Imperial College London - ‘The role of intangibles in the knowledge economy’
Dr. Ulrich Schmoch, Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research, Germany - ‘Describing national systems of innovation by means of indicators’
Prof. Sunil Mani, Centre for Development Studies, Kerala, India - ‘Valuing innovation systems: some international dimensions’
Dr. Johan Hauknes, STEP, Norway - ‘Innovation, technology and economic change – status and open questions’ |
| NACI International Workshop on Measuring Systems of Innovation: Inputs, Flows and Output |
| 24-25 April 2006 |
| The study is the outcome of a Cabinet request that output measures be introduced to complement the R&D survey in order to better inform Cabinet on the holistic nature and effectiveness of the national system of innovation. A key component of the study is a strategic, high-level workshop focusing on quantifying the relationship between R&D and innovation. Five international experts as well as leading South African scholars as keynote speakers, session chairs and discussants were invited. Leading South African academics, policy-makers and decision-makers were also invited to participate in the workshop. This was, therefore, be a high-profile event in the science policy arena, and provided a platform for some of the leading thinkers in the field to debate the issues, both econometric and policy-based. |
| Globelics Africa 2005 |
| 31 October to 4 November 2005, Pretoria, South Africa |
| The international Globelics (the Global Network for the Economics of Learning, Innovation and Competence Building Systems) conference, took place in Pretoria.
The two prior Globelics conferences have been held in Brazil and China respectively, and facilitated the exchange of ideas between scholars from the North, West, South and East. Developing country researchers benefited from more direct access to recent research in the US and Europe, while the field as a whole benefited from new insights into the nature and functioning of innovation systems, offered by developing countries' perspectives.
The third Globelics conference built on this work. Globelics Africa 2005 further examined the links between innovation, development and growth. The conference also aimed to build research capacity in Africa by establishing contact between researchers from Africa and from other regions of the world, both from leading academic centres, and from other developing contexts. |
| HR operationalisation workshop |
| 10 November 2004 |
A study on the dynamics of the supply and demand of human resources (HR) in the National System of Innovation (NSI) was recently launched when a workshop was held on
10 November 2004 to draft a framework. The workshop was attended by specialists from the NACI Council, NRF, HSRC, SAQA, several universities and the business sector. |
| Utilisation of Research Findings: Strategies for Improving Return on R&D Investment |
| 9-10 October 2003 |
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NACI has recently completed a strategically important study on "The Utilisation of research
findings". The study covered key conceptual issues, extensive empirical surveys of the extent
and dynamics of utilisation as well as a number of policy recommendations. The findings of
this study should make an impact on research and development in the country. One of the means by which NACI wanted to disseminate and test these findings was by hosting
this conference. |
| NACI talk: Shrum on Science |
| 18 July 2003 |
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NACI was privileged to host Professor Wesley Shrum from Louisiana State University on 18 July 2003. He spoke about Science and Summits with the gist of his presentation being on Science and Globalisation - the interconnection between Science and Technology Studies, Information and Communication Technology, and Development/Reagency. View his presentation. |
| Skills shortages in the petrochemical construction industry - first workshop |
| 16 April 2003 |
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As a first phase an exploratory workshop on skills shortages in the petrochemical
construction industry was held on 16 April 2003. The purpose of the meeting was to
create an awareness of the potential impact of project demands on the construction
industry over the next 5 years, and to enable NACI to initiate action in addressing the
major issues facing the construction industry. |
| NEPAD Conference |
| 9-10 October 2002 |
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Science and Technology (S&T) has and continues to play a key role in the sustainable development of the core economies of both developed and developing nations. The National Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI) has subsequently taken the initiative to organise a conference aimed at addressing conditions that may facilitate or inhibit S&T co-operation in Africa. |
| NACI Seminar: Technological innovation in context |
| 7 October 2002 |
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Seminar led by Prof Arie Rip of the University of Twente in the Netherlands. The presentation offered an analysis of the process of technological innovation and the points at which the process can be influenced. It offered two applications of the perspectives emerging from the analysis, namely of product innovations in industrial firms and low-input agriculture in the Netherlands and South Africa. |
| National system of innovation: Seminar on data and statistics |
| 14 March 2002 |
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The seminar was presented by Prof. Johann Mouton from the University of Stellenbosch's Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies. The presentation focused on the most recent S&T indicators. The presentation reflected on conceptual issues around indicators, presented best available statistics on R&D expenditure and R&D output and concluded with suggestions on the way forward. |
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