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LMS Issue 3 | 2014
Under the microscope
SA’s Investment in Research and Development Increases
R
esearch and development (R&D)
plays a significant role in SA society
and its economy. However, since 2006
the country has seen investment in this
specific area in a steady decline. The
recently released results of the 2011/12
National Survey of Research and Experimental Development (R&D Survey) have
revealed that this trend seems to have
come to an end. Indeed, the survey
conducted between 2011 and 2012 has
shown that the country increased its
investment in R&D during this period.
R&D has a major impact on the
economic growth and development
of any country. In SA, this area is also
directly responsible for the technological
advancement of the country and thus is
closely monitored. Every year the Centre
for Science, Technology and Innovation
Indicators (CeSTII) team conduct the R&D
Survey throughout SA in order to assess
the investment in South African R&D, and
to understand the country’s current R&D
profile. In April, SA’s Minister of Science and
Technology, Derek Hanekom, announced
the results of the 2011/12 R&D Survey.
While the two previous surveys
(2007/2008 and 2009/2010) recorded a
steady decline in the R&D spend in the
country, the Minister announced that
the 2011/12 survey revealed that SA
had increased its investment in R&D to
R22.2bn. Therefore, the R&D spend in the
country had increased by R2bn in the last
year. Hanekom said that he believed that
this indicated a turning point for South
African R&D investment.
However, while the news of the
increase is a step in the right direction,
SA still has a long distance to walk before
it can achieve the world average of R&D
investment. Currently, SA’s gross expenditure on research and development
(GERD) is 0.76% of the gross domestic
product (GDP) and has remained the
same since the last survey was conducted. The world average GERD is
presently 1.77% of the GDP, with China
and Brazil achieving GERDs of 1%.
R&D in SA
While the South African R&D spend
still has some catching up to do, the
current investment in th