BI to the rescue

By Leon Engelbrecht for Department of Science and Technology
Johannesburg, 27 Feb 2008

Government is spending R40 million on a Web-based business intelligence tool to track, in real-time, research and development at universities, science councils and other government R&D funded agencies.

The Research Information Management System (Rims) will capture statistical information on human resources for science, engineering and technology, R&D capacity, and technology improvement and innovation.

The system was piloted at the Universities of Witwatersrand, Pretoria and Stellenbosch between January and April last year.

Speaking at a ceremony to announce the next phase - piloting at research councils - at The Innovation Hub in Pretoria yesterday, science and technology minister Mosibudi Mangena said Rims was a strategic tool that would be completely integrated with other existing systems at institutional level.

Mangena said Rims would provide government with the necessary tools to obtain a detailed, holistic understanding of where its R&D funds are invested, and how much it is spending on each area of science and technology.

To date, data on government-funded R&D has been compiled retrospectively using traditional survey techniques.

"As a national information system, there is value to be gained from the Rims project in terms of speed and ease of access to information on research activities," said Mangena.

"This will certainly enhance decisions in government and at the institutional level," he added.

Government has set aside more than R40 million for the development and implementation of the Rims project.

Mangena added that most science councils have expressed their support for Rims and the Council for Geosciences has already started with the pilot.