Human Scientific Research Council Reports

This report documents the monitoring, evaluation, reflections and learnings of the Technology for Rural Education and Development (Tech4RED) initiative spearheaded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in the Nciba Circuit in Cofimvaba, Eastern Cape. The DST initiated this distinctive and innovative intervention in 26 schools in the Nciba Circuit to enrich the teaching and learning of mathematics, science and technology in this rural environment. Conducted in partnership with the Department of Basic Education (DBE), the Eastern Cape Department of Education and the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, and operating within a policy context the initiative was intended to contribute to the improvement of teaching and learning, and change in materialconditions, in the schools through interventions in six focus areas. These areas are: Information and Communication Technology, Nutrition, Science, Health, Sanitation, and Energy. In the early stages of the conception of the Tech4RED initiative, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) was appointed by the DST to conduct the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) of the Tech4RED project. Noting that thelearnings and feedback from those involved in the intervention are instrumental sources of data in a comprehensive and accurate evaluation, the M&E framework was developed for the Tech4Red. This framework was designed to go beyond the traditional M&E processes of many studies similar in nature. To this end, the framework design included the processes of Reflection and Learning (R&L), to ensure that the Tech4RED was responsive during the project cycle. This lead to the development of a Monitoring, Evaluation, Reflection and Learning (MERL) framework. 

This report provides a holistic understanding of the current supply and demand for skills in South Africa, and represents one of the first attempts to analyse how the two interact to inform future skills policy to support an inclusive economic growth path. The analytical approach used in this report represents a radical departure from manpower forecasting and attempts to understand the complexities and intricacies around how supply and demand interact, and the corresponding implications for reform.Under this approach, using largely data for the 2010 to 2014 period from the StatsSA Labour Force Surveys and the Higher Education Management Information System, signals on current and intermediate demand for skilled, semi-skilled and low-skilled occupations are interpreted. The understanding of skills demand involved an exploration of the three inter-related aspects: the state of the economy; the characteristics of the employed and unemployed who make up the labour force; and current and intermediate demand from the analysis of changes in the structureof employment. We juxtaposed the signals of demand against the supply of skills from out of the formal school education system, the post-secondary education and training systems and also the workplace. The interaction between supply and demand provides the basis for interpreting signals on the nature and extent of skills shortages and mismatches facing South Africa. Only through understanding thecomplexities of how demand and supply interact is it possible to guide future investment and interventions, as well as support a move towards a more inclusive skills development path. The South African labour force is made up of 15 million employed and 7.5 million unemployed people. Three quarters of the employed and 90% of the unemployedare from the African population group. Youth unemployment is particularly high at45% and increasing as more young people join the labour force.  11.75 ..

This Statistical Report presents data tables from the 2015/16 South African National Survey of Research and Experimental Development (R&D survey). The report provides key findings of the survey with commentary and standard summary tables of the overall findings from 2015/16, along with time series data from previous instances of the survey. The Statistical Report is published together with the Main Analysis Report, which provides selected analysis of survey data.The survey covers the following institutional sectors that perform R&D in South Africa:• The business enterprise sector, comprising all size classes of enterprises, including state-owned enterprises (SOEs).• The government sector, comprising departments in the three spheres of national, provincial and local government with an R&D component, government research institutions and museums.• The higher education sector, comprising all public higher education institutions and private higher education institutions with an R&D component.• The not-for-profit sector, comprising non-governmental and other organisations formally registered as not-for-profit institutions.• The science council sector, comprising the nine science councils established through Acts of Parliament.

This Statistical Report presents data tables from the 2013/14 South African National Survey of Research and Experimental Development (R&D survey) with commentary, standard summary tables of the overall findings from 2013/14 along with time series from nine previous instances of the survey. The Statistical Report is publishedtogether with the Main Analysis Report which provides selected analysis of the survey data.The survey covers the sectors that perform R&D in South Africa, namely the business, not-for-profit, government, science councils and higher education sectors. This approach is followed in order to satisfy national data needs and, at the same time, maintain consistency with the institutional sector categorisation recommended by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in The Measurement of Scientific and Technological Activities: Proposed Standard Practice for Surveys on Research and Experimental Development, known as the Frascati Manual (OECD, 2002).