l celebrating diversityof life on planet earth

l developing diversityof skills and knowledge

l committed to a bettertomorrow for all

BIODIVERSITYIS OUR FUTURE

2009/102009/10ANNUALREPORT

NR

FAN

NU

ALR

EP

OR

T20

09

/10

NRF Annual Report 2009/10ISBN 978-1-86868-069-6

PO Box 2600 Pretoria 0001 Tel: +27 12 481-4000 Fax: +27 12 349-1179

E-mail: info@nrf.ac.za www.nrf.ac.za

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CHAIRMAN’S OVERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4PRESIDENT’S STATEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6HIGHLIGHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8BOARD REPORT: CORPORATE OVERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Mandate of the NRF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Governance function of the NRF Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 The NRF Board Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Committees of the Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Meetings of the Board and its Committees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Governance Structures: Corporate Executives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Governance Structures: NRF Executive Directors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Governance Structures: Advisory Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Governance Support: Risk Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Governance Support: Safety, Health and Environmental Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Governance Support: Materiality Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Board Remuneration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Corporate Human Resources and Transformation . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Staff Recruitment, Turnover and Succession Planning . . . . . . 20Training and Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Employment Equity and Organisational Transformation . . . . 21People with Disabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Labour Relations Climate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Employee Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

CORPORATE FINANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Expenditure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

OVERVIEW OF THE NRF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27NRF Vision 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27NRF Mission Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Corporate Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Business Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Strategic Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Core Competencies of the NRF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Organisational Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28RESEARCH AND INNOVATION SUPPORT AND ADVANCEMENT (RISA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Purpose and Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29RISA Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Sources of Funding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Investment Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30RISA Structure and Programmes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Human and Institutional Capacity Development (HICD) . . . . 34Applied Research and Innovation (ARI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Technology and Human Resources for Industry Programme (THRIP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34International Relations and cooperation (IR&C) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Knowledge Management and Evaluation (KM&E) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Grant Management and Systems Administration (GMSA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

SOUTH AFRICAN AGENCY FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ADVANCEMENT (SAASTA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Purpose and Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Main Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

NATIONAL RESEARCH FACILITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Infrastructure Platform and Research Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Clustering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40National Research Facilities Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Main Challenges Generic to National Research Facilities . . 41South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO/MeerKAT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Hermanus Magnetic Observatory (HMO) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB) . . . 48South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50National Zoological Gardens of South Africa (NZG) . . . . . . . . . . 51

CONTENTS

NRF ANNUAL REPORT 2009/10 1

ANNUAL REPORT

09/10

2 NRF ANNUAL REPORT 2009/10

The United Nations declared 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity. It is

a celebration of life on Earth and of the value of biodiversity in our lives.

It is also the year in which the NRF celebrates 25 years of rating research

excellence.

The annual report outlines how the NRF explores the diversity of life on Earth by

developing a diversity of skills and knowledge, and commits its efforts to creating

a better tomorrow for all.

The concept for the 2009/10 annual report imagery is based on the

interconnection of life on Earth. The image on the front cover is a close-up of a

gladiolus capturing the natural sunlight from a warm Summer’s day, imbuing the

flower with its own light source.

The centre of diversity of the genus is located in the Cape Floristic Region,

where most species were discovered. The South African species was originally

pollinated by long-tongued anthrophorine bees, but some changes in the

pollination system have occurred, allowing pollination by sunbirds, noctuid and

sphingid moths, long-tongued flies and several others.

iThemba Laboratory for Accelerator Based Sciences (iThemba LABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Square Kilometre Array (SKA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

CORPORATE SUPPORT SERVICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Information and Communication Technology (ICT) . . . . . . . . . . . 57New Business Development (NBD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Corporate Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATOR REPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59FINANCIAL REPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 ACRONYMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

CONTENTS (continued)

NRF ANNUAL REPORT 2009/10 3

INTRODUCTION

Isi-Zulu – iNational Research Foundation iyaziqhenya ngokwethula

uMbiko woNyaka ka-2009/10, ofingqa umthelela wocwaningo

kwezesayensi emiphakathini yethu futhi ukhombisa nokusebenza

kwayo ekuthuthukiseni abantu abangaguqula iNingizimu Afrika ibe

wumcebo wolwazi.

IsiXhosa – NRF iyazingca ngokuthi thaca ingxelo yayo yonyaka

ka 2009/10 ebonakalisa inxaxheba yeliziko kubahlali kwakunye

nokubonakalisa imisebenzi yokuphuhlisa abantu bomzantsi Afrika

babengabantu abanolwazi ngezezimali.

TshiVenda – National Research Foundation i a di hudza u kumedza

Muvhigo wayo wa nwaha wa 2009/10 une wa bvisela khagala ndeme

ya thodisiso ya zwa saintsi kha u bveledza lushaka na u sumbedza

kushumele kwayo kwa u bveledza vhadzulapo vha lino vhane vha do

shandukisa Afurika Tshipembe u vha ekonomi yo di sendekaho kha

ndivho.

XiTsonga – Va National Research Foundation va tinyungubyisa hi

ku nyikela Xiviko xa Lembe ra 2009/10, lexi nyikaka nkomiso wa

ku nghenelela ka vulavisisi bya xisayinthifiki eka vaaki va hina na ku

kombisa matirhelo ya vona eka ku hluvukisa vanhu lava cincaka Afrika

Dzonga yi va ikhonomi leyi nga na vutivi.

IsiSwati – I-National Research Foundation iyajabula kwetfula uMbiko

weMnyaka wayo wanga 2009/10, lofinyeta umtselela werisetji lokhona

kumiphakatsi yetfu futsi ukhombisa kusebenta kwayo ekutfutfukiseni

bantfu labagucula iNingizimu Afrika yibe ngumnotfo lonelwati.

Setswana – National Research Foundation e motlotlo go fana ka

Pego ya yone ya Ngwaga ya 2009/10, e e sobokantseng kafa

patlisiso ya saense e amang dichaba tsa rona ka teng le go bontsha

kafa e dirang ka teng mo go fatlhoseng batho ba ba kgonang go

fetola Aforika Borwa go e dira naga e e nang le itsholelo ya kitso.

Sesotho – National Research Foundation e motlotlo ho nehelana ka

Tlaleho ya Selemo ya 2009/10, e bontshang tshwaetso ya diphuputso

tsa mahlale metseng ya rona le e bontshang tshebetso ya yona ya ho

ntshetsa pele batho ba ka fetolang Afrika Borwa hore e be le tsebo

ya moruo.

Sepedi – National Research Foundation e ikgantšha ka go hlagiša

Pego ya ngwaga ya 2009/10 ye e hlagišang ka boripana seabe

seo dinyakišišo di nago le sona setšhabeng sa rena le go laetša

phethagatšo ya yona ka go hlabolla batho bao ba kago fetolela Afrika

Borwa go tsebo ya moruo.

IsiNdebele – i-National Research Foundation yethula

ngokuzikhakhazisa, umBiko wayo wonyaka ka- 2009/10, oveza

imiphumela yerhubhululo lezesayensi elinayo emiphakathini yethu

begodu umBiko lo utjengisa ukusebenza kuhle kwe-Foundation le

ekuthuthukiseni abantu abangatjhugulula iSewula Afrika ibe mnotho

welwazi.

Afrikaans – Die Nasionale Navorsingstigting bied met trots sy

Jaarverslag vir 2009/10 aan, wat die impak van wetenskaplike

navorsing op ons gemeenskappe opsom en verslag doen oor die

ontwikkeling van mense wat Suid-Afrika se ekonomie kan omskep na

een wat op kennis gebasseer is.

The National Research Foundation is proud to present its Annual Report for 2009/10, which encapsulates the impact that scientific research has on our communities and demonstrates its performance in developing people who can transform South Africa into a knowledge economy.

ChAIRMAN’S OVERVIEw

The very name “National Research Foundation” defines us as a

body – the only one of its kind in Africa – which carries significant

responsibilities for ensuring the overall health and vibrancy of South

Africa’s national research and knowledge system. After the second

year of its term, the current National Research Foundation (NRF)

Board is in a position to consider to what extent it has fulfilled these

responsibilities – in particular, its duty of ensuring that the NRF

contributes actively and effectively to all aspects of research and

knowledge development and management in the country as a whole.

The NRF Board operates within a variety of legal and policy

parameters. Prime amongst them is the NRF Act itself. But

our mandate is also shaped by the National Research and

Development Strategy (NRDS), the strategic directions pro-

vided by the Department of Science and Technology (DST)

10-Year Innovation Plan and a range of other influences.

As is the case with national bodies such as this in other countries,

the NRF is required to work within parameters such as these while at

the same time experiencing increasing pressure to demonstrate ways

in which research activities, research training, research results and the

implementation of recommendations arising from research, contribute

positively to society. These pressures are, of course, particularly acute

in a developing society such as our own, where precious resources

spent on research need to be justified, often in the shorter rather than

the longer term.

Such short-term justifications are easily made in respect of large

areas of the activities of the NRF – student training, research with

immediate applications, and so on. But not everything we do can be

clearly understood as having social, economic and cultural benefits

unless a longer term perspective is adopted – something which

the NRF strives to do particularly through its support for rated

researchers, Centres of Excellence and Chairs. In the case of many

research areas, the true value of the research endeavour needs

to be assessed over time – and even then, it sometimes remains

difficult to quantify the enormous contributions made by a national

research body such as the NRF. For example, two papers published

on 9 April 2010 in the prestigious journal Science on the discovery

in South Africa of a new species of early human ancestor called

Australopithecus sediba* captured the imagination of the public and

researchers alike, and has challenged conventional wisdom about the

sequence, trajectory and manner in which human evolution took place.

The impact of such research is difficult to measure using simple and

short-term cost-benefit assessments. Curiosity and passion, as well

as long-term investments in researchers, research sites, collaborative

work and many other things, were fundamental to the capacity of

the scientists concerned to undertake dedicated scientific work on

a fossil site that has been investigated continuously since the first

discoveries were made in 1935. And more time will be needed before

we fully understand the impact of this work on our scientific and self-

understanding.

SPEcIFIc cONcERNS OF ThE BOARd

hIgh-qUALITy RESEARch

As the oversight body for the NRF, the NRF Board is most often

concerned with matters of quality control rather than of detailed

research management. In this respect, the Board is always enormously

grateful for the significant effort put into the assessment of quality

that a large body of helpful and cooperative local and international

peers put into the assessment of research proposals, the evaluation

of researchers themselves, and the evaluation of research outputs.

This important work, which effectively underpins the ability of our

research system to claim international legitimacy, underlies all NRF

decision-making and ensures the promotion of quality research and

researchers. The NRF has an obligation to facilitate and use peer

review processes with the highest level of meticulousness and integrity.

The responsibility of the NRF in this regard cannot be overestimated,

as knowledge directly influences the course of society and continues

to be one of the most important products of society.

TALENT TRAININg

The NRF Board would be remiss if it did not concern itself with the

long-term sustainability of our research and knowledge system. This is

of particular concern given that the NRF – with its mandate to support

high-end human resource development – is required to grapple with

the many well-known structural shortcomings in the South African

education system in general and in the higher education system in

particular. The Board is therefore particularly pleased that the NRF

and its partners have developed a variety of ways of attracting, training

and retaining young talent into research, ensuring a steady (but of

course never sufficient) influx of young talent into the knowledge

system. The facts and figures in the 2009/10 Annual Report provide

evidence of the contribution the NRF makes to skills development

and the transformation of the talent pool.

4 NRF ANNUAL REPORT 2009/10

*Australopithecus sediba is a species of Australopithecus, based on fossil remains dated to 1,78 to 1,95 million years ago in the Pleistocene.

RESEARch FAcILITIES

The current NRF Board has, in its first two years’ made every effort to

visit all of the nine National Research Facility sites under its authority,

and has been impressed by the degree to which they illustrate that the

country has to hand both the research skills and resources and the

high-end technological expertise necessary to successfully operate

high-end and large-scale research infrastructure. however, the Board

has come to appreciate that some of these facilities are outdated and

most of them are under-resourced. The NRF Board lauds staff for

their innovativeness in stretching limited resources to the optimum

and for working tirelessly with the DST to improve the scale of our

investments in this area.

STAkEhOLdER RELATIONS ANd SERVIcE dELIVERy

The Board oversight includes consideration of the relationship

between the NRF and the huge variety of groups, institutions and

individuals that interact with it – its stakeholders. Independent review

results confirmed the importance of the intermediary function of

the NRF in the National System of Innovation (NSI). with regard

to NRF programmes and processes, genuine consultation with the

broad stakeholder community, clear communication and considered

implementation of programmes cannot be compromised. The quality

of NRF service delivery should also always be examined.

I commend the NRF management for its boldness in commissioning

independent reviews and for the constructive manner in which

review results are being dealt with to transform and strengthen the

organisation. I am also looking forward to receiving the results of the

NRF Five-yearly Institutional Review that should be completed by

December 2010.

hUmAN RESOURcES ISSUES

During the reporting year, the NRF Board provided guidance on

human resources and remuneration issues and determined that,

although NRF staff for the first time in its history resorted to strike

action, negotiations regarding salaries and working conditions as well

as matters related to internal discipline, were concluded satisfactorily.

cONcLUSION

I am certain that by promoting the creation and application of

knowledge, by supporting the training of talent, by providing access to

research infrastructure and by striving to deliver an excellent service,

the NRF has made an enormous contribution to the well-being of our

society. The NRF Board is extremely proud of the achievements of the

NRF in all of these areas.

APPREcIATION ANd AckNOwLEdgEmENTS

I would like to acknowledge the support that the NRF Board has

received from Minister Naledi Pandor and Deputy-Minister Derek

hanekom during the 2009/10 financial year. I have immense

appreciation for the way in which we have been able to forge fruitful

working relationships amidst turbulent times. I am looking forward to

our continued constructive collaboration and trust that our mutual

commitment to “…contribute to the improvement of the quality of life

of all the people of the Republic” will show pleasing results.

To my fellow Board members, I express my deep appreciation for

their commitment and wise counsel. They have given generously of

their time and expertise. Their dedication has been fundamental to

guiding and governing the NRF prudently.

The NRF can look back with pride on its work and the achievements

of researchers and collaborators doing pioneering work with

NRF funds. It is therefore, finally, my pleasure to acknowledge

the leadership of the NRF President and Chief Executive Officer,

Dr Albert Van Jaarsveld. I am confident that he and his executive

team are well positioned to take the National Research Foundation

forward.

Professor Belinda Bozzoli

chairman: NRF Board

NRF ANNUAL REPORT 2009/10 5