Subscribe

CSIR profit defies odds

Admire Moyo
By Admire Moyo, ITWeb's news editor.
Johannesburg, 21 Oct 2015
The CSIR remains concerned about the current level of income it gets, says CSIR CEO Dr Sibusiso Sibisi.
The CSIR remains concerned about the current level of income it gets, says CSIR CEO Dr Sibusiso Sibisi.

Despite operating in a tough economic environment and limited funding, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has posted a net profit of R52.4 million in the 2014/2015 financial year.

In its annual report for the 2014/15 financial year, the CSIR says it has had sound performance against its scientific and financial targets.

The organisation says it remains financially sustainable and has exceeded its financial targets, with the total operating income increasing by 10.7% to R2.38 billion from R2.15 billion in the 2013/14 financial year.

The CSIR's total contract research and development (R&D) income increased by 12% to R1.68 billion from R1.50 billion in 2013/14. Its net profit amounted to R52.4 million in the financial year.

Constituted by an Act of Parliament in 1945 as a science council, the CSIR undertakes directed and multidisciplinary research, technological innovation, as well as industrial and scientific development to improve the quality of life of the country's people.

Parliamentary grant

With more than 1 800 researchers and an operating budget of about R2.4 billion, the CSIR is one of the biggest scientific research institutions on the continent.

The CSIR receives an annual grant from Parliament, through the Department of Science and Technology (DST), which accounts for close to 40% of its total income. In its 2015 budget vote speech, the DST allocated the CSIR a parliamentary grant of R827.7 million.

The remainder of the CSIR's income is generated from research contracts with government departments at national, provincial and municipal levels, the private sector and research funding agencies in SA and abroad. Additional income is derived from royalties, licences and dividends from intellectual property management and commercial companies created by the CSIR.

However, CSIR CEO Dr Sibusiso Sibisi says: "The CSIR remains concerned about the current level of income we get, but we do manage our resources well in order to meet and deliver on our mandate."

The other challenge is the tough economic climate it had to operate under, says Sibisi. The South African economy faces a challenging future and is constrained by a lack of certainty about electricity supply, Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago reportedly said.

Sibisi reiterates the organisation's commitment to demonstrating the value of investment in R&D, especially in the current tough economic climate.

"We need to show how the investment in scientific R&D is able to deliver immediate value for our country through, for example, increasing efficiencies within the private and public sectors, improving our ability to understand the environments within which we work and therefore to make better decisions, and to improve our national ability to deliver services," says Sibisi.

The CSIR says technology transfer remains a key priority, with the organisation exceeding all its scientific and technical targets, including producing 45 new technology demonstrators - well above the targeted 25. It was also granted 18 new patents, against a target of 15.

Royalty income

Sibisi reveals royalty income from the licensed technology amounted to R9 million in 2014/15, approximately 1% of the CSIR's revenue.

The organisation also places emphasis on building and transforming human capital. At the end of the financial year, 335 CSIR staff members in the science, engineering and technology (SET) base had a doctoral qualification, 15 more than the target of 320. The SET base comprised 55.8% black South Africans and 33.6% female South Africans.

Celebrating seven decades of existence, the CSIR highlighted some of its successful projects, such as the use of wave gliders to optimise fish stock surveys; a model to enhance the understanding of SA's transport sector to enhance decision-making; employing technology in the fight against rhino poaching; a new digital pathology database to train pathologists remotely; identification of renewable energy development zones for SA; using locally produced nanoclays for vastly enhanced plastics; and a platform that will allow entrepreneurs to operate their own television stations over the mobile Internet.

Minister of science and technology Naledi Pandor congratulated the CSIR on its performance and commended its collaboration with other African countries.

"I would urge the CSIR to approach every problem with one eye on how we can collectively progress with our neighbours. The complex developmental challenges confronting African countries have created an opportunity to be at the forefront of global scientific discovery, and we need to be ready to seize that opportunity," said Pandor.

Share