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International Relations and Cooperation and the NRF (National Research Facilities)
Posted by Daniel Makhura on 10 July 2017 9:40 AM SAST
How the above work together
The NRF Vision 2015 acknowledges the importance of internationalising the science and technology environment in achieving the national social and economic development imperatives of South Africa and has thus strategically positioned internationalization as a cross-cutting agenda. Within this ambit, the International Relations and Cooperation (IRC) Directorate plays a contributing role in the promotion of research excellence, with regards to the internationalisation of research and higher education, and in particular to the concerted focus on Africa within the NRF. Through the synergies of its core initiatives and strategic projects, IRC strives to make a significant contribution to human capacity development in the national system of innovation, particularly relating to issue of redressing inequality. The mission of IRC within the NRF is multidimensional and cross-cutting, viz.
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To contribute pro-actively to the internationalisation of science and of higher education,
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To facilitate the generation and transfer of knowledge and technology to achieve international competitiveness for South Africa,
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To enhance international science collaboration (networking), especially amongst emergent and developing economies,
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To promote and support continental/regional scientific collaboration in order to contribute to socio-economic and sustainable growth on the African continent,
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To contribute to an enabling process of accessing international (research support) opportunities throughout the NRF, in particular the National Research Facilities,
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To contribute to the imperatives of redress and equity within the national science system and, thereby,
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To promote and support strategic human resource development as a contribution to the national system of innovation.
Working closely with the Department of Science and Technology (DST), IRC assumes a proactive responsibility to facilitate and enhance international scientific collaboration between individual scientists, higher education institutions, research bodies and scientific and professional associations (unions) in South Africa and abroad.
IRC (as a directorate of RISA) derives its mandate from the National Research Foundation Act, No 23 of 1998. IRC contributes to the achievement of the NRF’s strategic goals and vision by sourcing funds for research (locally and abroad); facilitating and promoting international liaison between researchers and research institutions; promoting participation in international scientific activities through maintaining membership of appropriate international science organisations; and initiating liaison with structures involved in the protection of intellectual property rights.
