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Science Engagement Strategy-11
Science Engagement Strategy-11
Strategy
Though it may not be widely appreciated, South In 2012/13 the Department doubled the budget
African science and innovation are comparatively for its Chief Directorate: Science Communication,
productive and efficient. They have produced world- but further growth in investment will be absolutely
class knowledge and innovation – and continue to do necessary to exploit the above advantages fully.
so. It is important that these successes be profiled Tight coordination of marketing and communication
effectively to demonstrate the advancement of the efforts and campaigns across the DST entities is
country’s science system and its contributions to essential. Moreover, the Chief Directorate: Science
national development. There are fragmented efforts Communication has also produced a public
by some stakeholders and partners in the national participation strategy (and implementation plan),
system of innovation to raise public awareness of and annually produces a communications strategy
South African inventions and discoveries through, in response to requirements from the Government
for example, websites that publicise them. In 2010 Communication and Information System. These
the local science centre community published its first strategies should be considered complementary to the
book, Great South African Inventions. The science Science Engagement Strategy, and they considerably
centre community is working on the first travelling strengthen the Department’s communication efforts.
exhibition of South African inventions, which is
envisaged to be about 300 m2 in size. However, a central challenge remains. While science
and technology pervade national development
Through the NRDS and the TYIP, the Department in a very deep and broad way, the scope of the
has prioritised a range of thematic areas such Department’s formal mandate across the national
palaeosciences, astronomy, marine biology, nano- system of innovation is curtailed through a
technology, biotechnology, and space science combination of numerous research and development
and technology. For many of these areas detailed functions that report to other departments (such as
strategies and/or implementation plans have been the Medical and Agricultural Research Councils) and
drafted, setting out a range of interventions designed the limited scale of its operations (resulting from a
to develop and promote knowledge production and comparatively small budget). This contradiction
application, and many of them also provide plans for provides a central communication dilemma to the
science outreach or communication. The latter have Department in that it (a) needs to communicate the
generally been developed in close consultation with impact of science and technology across fields in
relevant stakeholders, especially SAASTA. which it has little or no footprint, like medicine or
agriculture, and (b) where the fields align with its
Internationally, South African science enjoys a mandate, the Department’s ability to generate macro-
comparatively high profile. In part, this results from level impact through its programmes is restricted by
the geopolitical importance attached to South Africa, the limited scale of its operations.
and the fact that, according to most indicators, it still
leads the continent. However, a large part of the The above context informs the set of interventions
country’s standing has been earned by the quality outlined below.
and global impact of South African science, which
has a scientometric impact that is considerably higher Proposed interventions
than the global average in a number of thematic
areas. In addition, especially since Africa was chosen • Strengthening the role of the Chief Directorate:
to host a major portion of the global Square Kilometre Science Communication in coordinating marketing
Array project, South Africa’s research infrastructure and communication activities across all DST
is increasingly attracting global attention, as are the entities, as well as in further systematising and
country’s geographic advantages for astronomy, formalising it.
marine and Antarctic research, palaeosciences, and • Establishing interdepartmental science commu-
Earth system sciences. Together, these strategic nication and marketing campaigns and structures
advantages present themselves as a very powerful around science councils and entities located in
platform, which is arguably not being sufficiently other government departments in conjunction with
Proposed interventions
• Making ongoing efforts to secure significant new
funding for the development of the science centre
infrastructure, and sustaining current funding
levels.
• Increasing science engagement core funding
to resource SAASTA’s coordinating role and