The Department of Science and Technology (DST) - which has seen two ministers this year - is highly rated by commentators for the work it has done during the year and "getting the big things right".
However, the department is blotted by shenanigans at the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) earlier this year, which saw its CEO and CFO removed, before its budget was drastically cut and it embarked on a retrenchment process. Solidarity has staved off the threat of as many as 64 staff being let go, at least until March.
During the year, the department succeeded in moving the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) along, and has made progress with research in several areas, including nanotechnology and hydrogen power.
Tech boon
ICT veteran Adrian Schofield notes the department is led by one "of the better ministers" in Naledi Pandor - who took over from Derek Hanekom after president Jacob Zuma shuffled his Cabinet in May. He adds Pandor stands out because of her "achievements, attitude and integrity".
Schofield notes the SKA project is also a boon to SA because it is "far more important to our future sustainability than bringing expensive sport and entertainment events to South Africa". Mark Walker, the IDC's regional director for sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East, Africa and Turkey, adds the DST gets top marks for the SKA, which has just received a R150 million injection for its first phase - the MeerKat.
Walker says the project remained local when it would have been easy for SA to disengage and let another country take the lead.
However, notes Schofield, one of government's good ideas - the TIA - fell apart because "those appointed to implement the idea did not have the capacity or the integrity to do the job". He says the agency should have resulted in the consolidation of disparate activities to make them more productive. Walker says the TIA mess is a "blot" on the department's report card.
Research outputs
Schofield adds there is little argument that the portfolio organisations in the research fields contribute much to SA's research output, especially the National Research Foundation, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, and the Human Sciences Research Council.
However, he adds, the department should be putting more pressure on the education departments to increase the number of learners taking the maths and science subjects at all levels from Grade 0 to PhD. "It takes more than funding to create research and innovation - the people participating must be equipped with the skills and desire to pursue ideas, test theories and challenge the status quo."
Schofield scores the DST a B-minus, noting it gets "most of the big stuff right" but needs to maintain levels of performance throughout all programmes.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) was kinder to the department, giving it a mark of 75%, and Pandor 80%.
Lacking funding
DA shadow minister of science and technology Annelie Lotriet adds, while there have been delays with the SKA, it is "still a project that places us firmly in the international arena".
However, she notes a main issue is the department's ability to encourage innovation. "Linked to this is the low uptake of the R&D [research and development] tax incentive. The process is cumbersome and applicants have to wait too long for approval. This process must be revisited and streamlined."
SA aims to get to a point where 1.5% of gross domestic product is invested in research and development. However, the DST will not meet its target of incentivising 285 innovation partnerships this year, because a guideline has yet to be developed.
Walker notes innovation is a tricky area to measure, and he has the sense much of that aspect has been left to cities to deal with. He adds the department should be playing a bigger role in coordinating innovative endeavours.
Yet, adds Lotriet, "on the whole the department is well managed". She adds: I believe the minister is doing her best to ensure the department delivers, but the reality is that this department is totally underfunded." For the full-year, the department receives a budget of R6.4 billion.