SA research bodies under financial strain
• Dwindling state funding and weak economy have harmed the output of several scientific agencies
SA’s most important agencies for funding local scientific research are battling under the strain of declining government support and a weak economy, a series of annual reports tabled in parliament on Thursday show.
SA’s most important agencies for funding local scientific research are battling under the strain of declining government support and a weak economy, a series of annual reports tabled in parliament on Thursday show.
The National Research Foundation (NRF), which provides grants to researchers, said its R926m parliamentary grant for the 2017/2018 financial year failed to beat inflation, and fell by 0.3% in real terms compared with the year before.
The continued decline in the parliamentary grant, which had diminished steadily over the past five years, threatened the operational and financial stability of the organisation, it said in its 2017/2018 annual report.
The NRF announced in October 2017 that it was forced to cut grants for top scientists from January 2018 in order to restructure one of its most important funding programmes.
It slashed multi-year grants to people at the top of the profession, saying at the time it did not have enough money to go around.
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) recorded a R14m loss for the 2017/2018 financial year, which it attributed to a general decline in investments in research & development and a drop in public sector income. “This has been a particularly challenging year for the CSIR from a financial sustainability perspective,” it said in its report.
The CSIR is the biggest organisation of its kind in Africa and focuses on applied research and development. Its parliamentary grant accounts for about 40% of its total income, and it relies heavily on revenue from contract research for the public and private sector.
SHIFTING PRIORITIES
In the year under review, its public sector income dropped from R1.58bn to R1.4bn, which the CSIR said was due to an apparent shift in the government’s priorities and changes in procurement requirements imposed by the Treasury.
Its parliamentary grant remained virtually flat at R722m, versus R714m the year before.
The Agricultural Research Council (ARC), which conducts research to meet SA’s agricultural needs, said financial pressure, combined with drought, knocked its scientific performance in 2017/2018.
Drought hampered cultivar development and derailed crop trials for evaluating breeding lines. Only seven plant breeders rights were registered in 2017/2018, which was less than a quarter of the number registered five years earlier.
ARC’s parliamentary grant was cut by R252m over the three years to March 31, while its allocation for operating a national gene bank was cut by R40m over the period.
ARC reported a net deficit of R63.4m for the year under review, continuing the previous year’s trend, when it reported a R84.2m deficit. It received a qualified audit from auditorgeneral Kimi Makwetu, who questioned its financial sustainability. The ARC said it had reviewed its cash flow and was satisfied that it had adequate resources to continue.
The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) said its budget was cut by R22m in 2017/2018, putting pressure on it to obtain a greater proportion of its operating budget from external sources.
The SA National Space Agency also flagged funding issues, saying financial constraints raised concerns about the EOSAT-1 satellite mission, slated for launch in 2020.