The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) has announced that it has nearly doubled its earnings from research contracts and grants - from R16 million to R28 million - for the 2001/2 financial year.
Speaking at the launch of the organisation`s annual report, CEO Mark Orkin said the HSRC has experienced sustained and rapid growth over the past three years, increasing earnings from R6 million, to the present targeted amount of R28 million.
"What is more, our research earnings for the current year have already exceeded our target, which was R45 million," he said.
"These earnings are an essential supplement to our parliamentary grant, as this enables us to hire more researchers with improved qualifications and representivity, thus extending our research services to our public sector users and other stakeholders."
Parliamentary funding of approximately R60 million per year is used to fund longer-term research; handle tasks for disadvantaged communities that cannot afford to commission work; create infrastructure; and update skills and technology.
"Unlike previous years, we have taken on fewer projects, but these have been much bigger undertakings, which have been conducted in collaboration with several other research programmes, as well as with tertiary institutions and NGOs, both in SA and elsewhere.
"The increase in earnings coincides with our handling fewer projects, as we have been able to focus our resources better.
"While we have focused on fewer, larger projects, and have reduced the number of small endeavours we have committed to, the majority of the contracts we are involved with fall into the medium category, somewhere between R100 000 and R500 000 per undertaking."
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