NACI Studies, Reports and Publications (2001 - 2009)

2009

1. Achievements of the Second NACI Council: 2004 to 2009
   The effects of the Second NACI Council initiatives undertaken during the period 1 April 2004 to 28 February 2009 are summarised under the following headings: conceptual considerations, management processes, outputs, communication and networks, external evaluations, and overarching conclusions.

2008

1. Changing Perceptions of Women in the Science, Engineering and Technology Industry. This study was commissioned by the Science, Engineering and Technology for Women (SET4W) committee which is a permanent national advisory committee of the National Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI). It aims to provide advice on how to achieve equality between women and men in science, engineering and technology (SET) by integrating a gender equity perspective into policy-making and implementation of the National System of Innovation (NSI).
   During the course of 2007 the SET4W committer initiated a project on the current perceptions of women in SET. It was agreed that increased visibility on women’s achievements and contribution to the SET sector would encourage other women, particularly young women and girls to pursue careers in SET. It was in the context of this discussion that SET4W commissioned a research study, ‘Changing Perception of Women in Science and Technology and Engineering (SET)’. The study intended to capture career histories of the selected role models in SET sector.
   The purpose of the SET4W research study was to generate advice on what the government needs to do in order to support and possibly fast track the growth and the development of women in SET sector. To this end, the objectives of the SET4W study were as follows:
   • Factors that contributed to the role models’ success in their careers;
   • Obstacles and challenges that they were confronted with within their SET workplaces and academia; and
   • Way on how to effectively enhance the participation of women in SET sector.
2. Creating the Future South African National System of Innovation: Gender, Race and SET Sector Issues 2006. This is a revised version of the SET4W document that resulted into a gender policy advice which was presented to the Minister of Science and Technology in the year 2006. The objective of this document is to provide a framework for collaborative action on gender, race and the science, engineering and technology (SET) sector. The framework is intended for all SET institutions in South Africa's national system of innovation (NSI). It includes a monitoring and evaluation framework for achieving gender and race equity and diversity up to 2020. This is aimed at promoting greater participation of women in scientific production and ensure that South African women benefit from innovative research, products and services
3. An Assessment of the Participation of Women in Science, Engineering and Technology Industry. Women’s entry into the higher education in South Africa during the past decade, has increased but women remain under-represented within the Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) sector. The problem is evident at postgraduate degree levels, particularly in the field of engineering where fewer women register. Only a small number of South African women end up working in the SET sector. Constant gender imbalances in the workplace, especially in the SET sector continue to impact negatively on South Africa’s global competitiveness in growing the skills in the economy.

2007

1. Human Capital Knowledge Base Report This study focuses on the knowledgebase as it exists within South African higher education institutions, science councils, national research facilities and government-based units. (2007)

2006

1. Development of a Profile of Best Practices in the NSI. This document reports the result of an effort to identify international best practice related to the management of National Systems of Innovation and develop relevant recommendations for South Africa. (2006)
2. The South African National System of Innovation: Structures, Policies and Performance. This background report has been prepared as an input to the OECD Country Review  of the South African NSI. (2006)
3. Creating the future - Gender, Race and SET Sector Policies. The goal of this document is to provide a gender, race and SET sector policy framework within which institutions in the SA national system of innovation (NSI) can implement effective measures for ensuring that South African women participate fully in, and benefit from, innovative SET research, production of SET products and provision of SET services. (2006)
4. A Study on The Required Physical Infrastructure to attain the Vision of the NSI. The National Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI) commissioned a Study to Determine the Competitive Aspects of the Required Physical Infrastructure to attain the Vision of the National System for Innovation (NSI). Infrastructure in the context of the NSI refers to the combination, in a special context, of all the facilities to provide the base for education or research in a nation. (2006)

2005

1. A Monitoring and Evaluation Framework to Benchmark the perfomance of Women in the NSI. This study was commissioned by the Science, Engineering and Technology for Women (SET4W) Reference Group1, a sub-committee of the National Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI) in the Ministry of Science and Technology. (2005)
2. Women in SET: Exploring the Facts In 2004 the National Council for Innovation (NACI) published a study entitled Facing the Facts: Women’s Participation in Science, Engineering and Technology. The study found that in most Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) disciplines, and in the sector as a whole, women are significantly under-represented. In addition, only 6.4% of a sample of 17 000 research projects in the public sector was found to have an explicit gender perspective. In short, there was less science being produced by women and for women than by and for men.
   To work towards correcting these imbalances greater insight into their determining conditions was required. Consequently NACI, the South African Reference Group for Women (SARG), and the Department of Science and Technology (DST), commissioned a study exploring the experiences and perceptions of women working in the SET sector. This report presents the findings of that study, and the subsequent recommendations for policy formulation.

2004

1. A Profile of Postgraduate Higher Education and the Academic Research community in South Africa. The report provides a profile of the postgraduate sub-sector of HE and the HE research community in South Africa with a view to informing policy- makers and stakeholders of key trends and issues. Postgraduate education and HE research form a pivotal part of the national science and innovation system and therefore have a key role to play in contributing towards national development. It is therefore important to track and analyse trends in these domains. (2004)
2. South African Innovation: Key Facts and Figures. This publication intended to contribute the latest available reliable and valid information to the crucial debate about the value placed in our economy on knowledge and its appropriate use through innovation by the public and private sectors. It is a potentially valuable resource to enrich discussion and to assist South Africa to better make choices in the future. (2004) 
3. Facing the Facts: Women's Participation in Science Engineering and Technology. The study not only addresses not only the participation of women in science SET but also the extent to which women benefits from SET. (2004)

2003

1. National Advanced Manufacturing Technology Strategy for South Africa. This document presents the National Advanced Manufacturing Technology Strategy (AMTS) for South Africa. The process for developing the strategy was one of extensive consultation within the private, public and education sectors, and care was taken to ensure strategic fit with other national strategies and the avoidance of unnecessary duplication. (2003)
2. National Advanced Manufacturing Technology Strategy for South Africa - Volume 1.It presents the AMTS for South Africa. The process for developing the strategy was one of extensive consultation within the  private, public and education sectors, and care was taken to ensure strategic fit with other national strategies and avoidance of unnecessary publication. (2003)
3. The Potential impact of skills shortages on the innovative capacity of major capital engineering projects. The results of this study showed that the challenges facing the construction industry were broader than the skill-related issues. (2003)
4. Flight of the Flamingoes - Study on mobility of research and development workers. Emigration figures of highly skilled researchers remain high, but the greatest mobility of high–level skills is now within the country. This is a key finding the Study on Mobility of R&D workers, released by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC).  The study, commissioned by NACI, confirms earlier findings regarding the under reporting of emigration to major consuming countries. This flow is up to four times higher than the official figures of Statistics South Africa. (2003)
5. Utilisation of Research Findings: Extent, Dynamics and Strategies. The document reports on a comprehensive study on the extent and nature of the utilisation of South African research findings, suggests strategic steps to improve such utilisation. This report will serve as a basis for the recommendation of policy guidelines to government, research funding agencies and institutions in the national system of innovation. (2003)

2002

1. Free/Libre and Open Source Software and Open Standards in South Africa. A Critical Issue for Addressing the Digital Divide. Discussion document by the National Advisory Council on Innovation Open Software Working Group. (2002)
2. South African Science and Technology: Key Facts and Figures 2002. The publication gives easy access to selected key information about the science and technology (S&T) system of South Africa. It summarises policy and strategic issues, and offers data on selected S&T indicators. (2002)
3. Open Software and Open Standards in South Africa - A critical Issue Addressing the digital Devide This is a living document, updated from time to time, distributed under the open content license (http://www.opencontent.org/). (2002)
4. Schematic Representation of the National System of Innovation A diagram outlining the National System of Innovation in South Africa. (2002)
5. South African visit to Finland to review the National System of Innovation and the Oulu Region Center of Expertise The visit to various institutions in Helsinki and Oulu were initiated by DACST as a follow-up to the Ministerial visit in 2001. (2002)
6. The feasibility of a national system for ranking competitiveness A report of international investigation for the National Advisory Council on Innovation. (2002)
7. A framework for implementing the competitiveness ranking system for South Africa Competitiveness has become the primary focus of national policy and investment in the developed and developing worlds of the 21st century. South Africa must, without delay, establish its own competitiveness ranking system. (2002)
8. International science and technology scene trends and policies in the millennium This document provides a brief overview of international trends in Science, Technology and related policies. (2002)
9. International rating systems of competitiveness and how to strategise to use them better This report relates to a research tour undertaken by NACI in order to get insight into competitiveness ranking as they are applied internationally and nationally, how these are constituted and what lessons the instituting of these systems hold for similar initiatives in South Africa. (2002)

2001

1. Growth and Innovation Report. The report provides a brief general overview of performance of South Africa economy in terms of growth and innovation. (2001)
2. Proposed role of NACI in the science vote process. An outline of some of the functions of NACI. (2001)