Putting women at the forefront of scientific research has been one of the greatest challenges of the National Research Foundation (NRF).
Born from a consolidation of the Centre for Science Development and the Foundation for Research Development in 1999, the object of the NRF is to support and promote research through funding, human resource development and the provision of research facilities, in order to facilitate the creation of knowledge, innovation and development in all fields of science and technology.
It has been instrumental in its association with Sasol SciFest and the promotion of the sciences in South Africa.
And now, the foundation’s Thuthuka programme has taken up the challenge of changing the face of traditionally male-dominated sciences.
Named after the Zulu word for develop or advance, Thuthuka is aimed at strategically positioning formerly disadvantaged researchers within the research, innovation and knowledge generation arena and ensuring they become significant players in that arena.
The strategic objectives of the programme are:
improvement of the qualifications of the designated research group to doctoral and postdoctoral levels;
accelerate the progression of the designated research group into the mainstream of competitive national and other research support opportunities;
contribute to the sustainable research capacity development of the designated research group; and
increase the number of NRF-rated researchers from the designated group in research nationally and internationally.
Thuthuka’s ultimate aim is a local research community that is representative, equitable and successful, and plays a leading role in the world of science and technology.
To this end, Thuthuka established 17 grant-holders in its first year in 2001. This has grown over the years to its current 267 grant-holders.
The programme’s role within the NRF is to address equity issues in knowledge production by focusing on formerly disadvantaged, women and disabled researchers. By contributing a third towards the budget of each research project (the participants’ institution contribute two-thirds), Thuthuka provides a systematic framework for improving the qualifications and research skills of full-time academic staff members in accordance with the Skills Development Act.
Researchers are also assisted to network, mentor and monitor each other. The final objective of the Thuthuka programme is to increase the number of formerly disadvantaged and women researchers who are rated in the NRF’s international benchmarking system, while increasing their numbers in postgraduate studies.
There are three sub-programmes within Thuthuka:
Researchers-in-Training (RiT);
Women-in-Research (WiR); and
Research Development Initiative for Black Academics (Rediba).
These sub-programmes promote and support research development and research capacity building, in particular with regard to formally disadvantaged groups and individuals, such as women and individuals at historically disadvantaged institutions (HDIs).
The participants that typically benefit from Thuthuka funding and support are:
WiR: women without a rating for postdoctoral research;
Rediba: young, black researchers without a rating for postdoctoral research; and
RiT: other researchers without a rating who fail to access funds through the proposal route and researchers from HDIs who are not eligible for support in the institutional programmes or focus areas programmes through the proposal route.
The three sub-programmes have integrated objectives and aims:
to promote the development of appropriate human resources and high-level skills; and
to develop research capacity in the natural sciences and engineering and the social sciences and humanities.