The US funding cuts to the national system of innovation have exposed South Africa’s over-reliance on foreignresearch funding and limitations to its science, tech and innovation (STI) funding model.
This, as nearly R2.5 billion in research activities and more than 2 000 research positions remain at risk, following last year’s withdrawal of the US federal research funding.
This is based on the Ministerial Working Group on STI funding report that has been released for public comment, following approval by Cabinet.
The working group was appointed last May at the behest of science, technology and innovation minister, professor Blade Nzimande.
In the report, the working group assesses the country’s STI funding landscape and its role in supporting national priorities.
The group sought to determine the immediate and long-term implications of the withdrawal of funding by the US to key public research and innovation projects, identifying the potential significant consequence the cuts have had on South Africa’s research ecosystem.
Last year, president Donald Trump ordered that US funding to the country be halted, amid allegations of anti-white discrimination and that Afrikaner farmers were being deliberately targeted and killed.
As a result, all US state departments were ordered to suspend aid to SA. The North American nation reportedly allocated nearly $440 million (R7.8 billion) in assistance to SA in 2023.
According to the working group, the Trump administration’s implementation of Project 2025 was a turning point in the structure and terms of globally-funded STI collaboration.
The cuts threaten major South African research programmes, particularly in public health. In addition, clinical trials have been halted, research and development (R&D) value chains disrupted, and the delivery of vital public health services compromised.
However, according to the report, the broader shocks lay bare South Africa’s high dependence on limited foreign funding.
Foreign funders account for 17.3% of South Africa’s gross expenditure on R&D, disproportionately affecting health sciences, universities, science councils and NGOs, it notes.
The report further highlights that the national system of innovation has structural vulnerabilities of chronic underinvestment, siloed governance and a weakening talent pipeline.
Speaking at the official media briefing in Pretoria, Nzimande detailed the funding challenges, noting the current international STI environment is under strain due to geopolitical tensions and changing priorities from partners like the US, UK and EU.
“South Africa needs a stronger and more resilient domestic funding architecture, together with a firm commitment to protect public science infrastructure as a strategic national asset.
“Scientific sovereignty does not mean isolation or retreat from international collaboration. It means having the capacity to set our research priorities, sustain strategic capabilities, protect intellectual assets and deploy science in support of national development, while engaging the world through cooperation, solidarity and mutual respect.”
Nzimande underscored that South Africa’s national system of innovation is a vital catalyst for development and for realising the constitutional ideals of freedom, equality and democracy.
The minister noted that government cannot fulfil its constitutional and developmental commitments without adequate investment in science, technology and innovation.
In addition, relying on foreign funding in place of domestic investment for critical parts of the national system of innovation exposes the country to unacceptable risks from geopolitical and economic competition, sanctions, trade wars, tariffs and policies that may conflict with South Africa’s national interests.
“The withdrawal of funding has exposed a vulnerability, but it has also created an opportunity. Scientific excellence must be supported by financial resilience, institutional strength and strategic autonomy.
“No country in the world, including ours, will be able to make significant advances in terms of the development agenda without mobilising science, technology and innovation, and placing that at the centre of societal effort.”
The report identifies core recommendations that must be prioritised, including:
- Establishing predictable domestic funding for strategic research programmes.
- Protecting critical platforms in genomics, biotechnology, health and public health systems.
- Increasing research and development investment to reach the national target of 1.5% of gross domestic product.
- Strengthening coordination between government, universities, science councils, industry and municipalities.
- Ensuring international partnerships include fair arrangements for intellectual property, data, technology transfer, local manufacturing and skills development.
- Restructuring international collaboration for equity and impact.
- Establishing a fully-fledged sovereign innovation fund.
To comment on the recommendations presented in the working group’s report, click here.
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