One of the greatest things the local science and technology industry has going for it is its people. Lesley Cowling reports
STATISTICS released this month confirm what South African scientists and engineers have long suspected: they work in difficult circumstances, no one understands them and they are brilliant.
The Foundation for Research Development’s recently published Science and Technology Indicators has produced a comprehensive profile of South Africa’s scientists. The picture is rather gloomy. But hidden among all the graphs and figures that ring warning bells for science and technology in this country is proof of one significant thing – we have some good people.
For example, one table shows that South African scientists were responsible for just over 0,5% of all the recognised science publications in the world in 1994. This seems at first glance to be rather small, but a look at some more of the numbers shows that this is a significant achievement. That’s because South Africa spends very little of the world total on research and design – less than 0,25% in 1991/92 – and has only 0,282% of all the world’s scientists.
This means, roughly, that local scientists do the work of two of their international counterparts with half as much money and resources.
The World Competitiveness Report, which looks at research and development (R&D) scientists in industry, ranks South African R&D scientists 11th out of 48 countries in its 1995 edition. This is also an impressive achievement for a country that invests comparatively little in R&D.
“South African scientists and engineers are quite a classy bunch,” says Adi Paterson, executive vice-president for technology and policy at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). “They produce more for less resources.”
Other experts say South Africans become good at what they do quite quickly, precisely because they are such a small group. Researchers in highly developed countries have to compete for research areas, and often start out with small, defined tasks. But South Africa and Africa offer a wealth of untapped areas of study. “Sometimes we solve problems because we didn’t understand they were so big,” Paterson jokes.
But where local researchers and innovators do have a problem is in making their research work for the country. A strong science and technology sector should contribute to a country’s competitiveness in world markets. But although the 1995 World Competitiveness Report ranks South African scientists in industry highly, it judges the country to be only 28th out of 48 countries in science and technology. And it is right at the bottom of the class when it comes to overall competitiveness (at 42nd).
Researchers are good at discovering new knowledge, but poor at turning that knowledge into products, machinery and systems that would create wealth for South Africa.
Why are we underperforming in that area?
Some argue it has to do with the type of research on which South African science focuses. The Foundation for Research and Development (FRD) publication talks of three types of research: basic, applied and experimental development.
Basic research aims to push back the boundaries of knowledge. Applied research is defined as original research as well, but directed at a particular practical goal. Experimental development looks at how to use existing knowledge to produce goods, equipment and systems.
Countries like Japan do little basic research, but concentrate on practical goals. South Africa does more applied research and experimental development than basic research, and many university scientists are doing more applied research than they used to. But the numbers suggest that for South Africa to become competitive, researchers may have to focus a lot more on practical goals.
However, even if the scientists and technologists become super-efficient and completely practical, the FRD statistics show that money is the most important issue. Government spending on all three types of research has dropped since 1991, and South Africa spent less than 1% of its gross domestic product on R&D in 1993.
International comparisons show that successful trading countries like Japan and Germany spend around 3% of their gross domestic product on R&D. France, the United Kingdom and South Korea spend more than 2%.
The only country that has bucked the trend is Malaysia, which is surprising because it is considered a very competitive country. But its strategy has been different to the other countries – it has invested in machinery and equipment to make goods.
South African scientists, engineers and technologists have a tough brief: working with very little support staff, money and equipment, they have the responsibility of kick-starting the economy.
Added to this is their isolation. They are not only a small, elite group, but one whose work is little understood by those around them.
A survey published by the FRD shows South Africans’ knowledge of the natural and environmental sciences is poor – not surprising considering that few students in Department of Education and Training schools studied science subjects.
South Africa came 18th out of 20 nations tested for science literacy – beating only Russia and Poland.
Worse than that, science and technology is viewed with suspicion, especially by people from disadvantaged communities. About 40% of black and coloured respondents told researchers they did not believe science and technology could make their way of life easier or better. And less than 40% agreed that the benefits of science outweighed its harmful effects.
All in all, it’s not a comfortable environment, even if it produces exceptional scientists. And the danger is that South Africa will lose even that resource. With increasing international collaboration, scientists and technologists will be exposed to many more opportunities overseas. Given the chance to pursue their hearts’ desires with all the necessary equipment and resources, good money and the respect of the community, many may be tempted to take it.
>From the statistics, the answer seems clear: the government needs to spend more money on R&D if South Africa is to develop. And an overdependence on the science and technology sector’s most important resource – its people – would be very dangerous.
Science and Technology Indicators is available from the FRD. Homepage at http://www.frd.ac.za