Pretoria – The National Research Foundation (NRF) and the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to support research in the humanities and social sciences.
The MoA will result in several research initiatives.
“The MoA provides an overarching framework within which specific activities will be conceptualised, agreed upon, and implemented by respective business divisions of the HSRC and the NRF,” said Dr. Fulufhelo Nelwamondo, the NRF’s Chief Executive Officer.
“Further, it improves the efficiencies in implementing the relationship between the NRF and the HSRC.”
In the recent past, the HSRC and NRF have collaborated in the implementation of the Science Granting Councils Initiative in Sub-Saharan Africa.
In this collaboration, the HSRC leads the initiative’s technical interventions to support the integration of gender and inclusivity in research and research support activities of the participating Sub-Saharan Africa Science Granting Councils (SGCs).
Of significance, the HSRC led a seminal study to contribute a greater understanding of intersectionality as a framework that supports inclusive gender transformation, with a focus on the strategic role of SGCs in advancing equality.
Adopting a mixed methods design, the project aimed to establish the extent and how an intersectional framework is integrated throughout the grant-making, human capital development, and research cycles.
It produced critical recommendations for action by science granting councils.
The signing of the new MoA allows for continued engagement between the NRF and HSRC to support the SGCs in implementing recommendations advanced by the study.
Two additional projects will be implemented in the immediate term.
- Firstly, the HSRC, through Prof Sharlene Swartz, will provide academic leadership to the NRF in the execution of a new global research programme on young people and relational well-being in 12 countries in the Global South, namely Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Morocco, Romania, Senegal, Tanzania, South Africa, and Vietnam.
- Secondly, the NRF and HSRC will collaborate on a project on engaged research that seeks to explore ways in which an agenda can be established, and these research principles and methods be strengthened, sustained, and leveraged for impact across the NSI.
HSRC Acting CEO Professor Leickness Simbayi said: “This MOA provides an opportunity for the NRF and HSRC to collaborate seamlessly in the immediate and long term in implementing projects that contribute to building the research enterprise in South Africa, on the continent, and beyond.”
About the NRF:
The National Research Foundation (NRF) is an independent statutory body established under the National Research Foundation Act.
Its mandate is to support and promote research through funding, human resource development, and the provision of the necessary research facilities to facilitate the creation of knowledge, innovation, and development in all ?elds of science and technology, including indigenous knowledge.
supporting and promoting public awareness of, and engagement with, science; and promoting the development and maintenance of the national science system and support of Government priorities, thereby contributing to the improvement of the quality of life of all South Africans.
Website: www.nrf.ac.za
About the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC)
The HSRC was established in 1968 as South Africa’s statutory research agency and has grown to become the largest dedicated research institute in the social sciences and humanities on the African continent.
HSRC is involved in cutting-edge public research in areas that are crucial to development.
The HSRC mandate is to inform the effective formulation and monitoring of government policy.
- The HSRC evaluates policy implementation;
- Stimulates public debate through the effective dissemination of research-based data and fact-based research results;
- Fosters research collaboration; and
- Helps build research capacity and infrastructure for the human sciences.
The Council conducts large-scale, policy-relevant, social-scientific research for public sector users, non-governmental organisations and international development agencies.
Research activities and structures are closely aligned with South Africa’s national development priorities.
Join the conversation at: www.hsrc.ac.za
