Entrance Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO)

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

’s National Research Foundation (NRF) is the intermediary agency between the policies and strategies of the

Government of South Africa The Republic of South Africa is a parliamentary republic with three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a parliamentary system. Legislative authority is held by the Parliament of South Africa. Executive authority ...

and South Africa's

research institution A research institute, research centre, research center or research organization, is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often i ...

s. It was established on 1 April 1999 as an autonomous statutory body in accordance with the ''National Research Foundation Act''. Dr Fulufhelo Nelwamondo has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of the National Research Foundation of South Africa with effect from 1 April 2021. The NRF Board is chaired by Dr Nompumelelo Obokoh.

Functions

The NRF has three main functions: #to support research and innovation, through its agency, ''Research and Innovation Support and Advancement'' (RISA); #to encourage an interest in science and technology through its business unit, the
South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement
' (SAASTA); # to facilitate high-end research through its ''National Research Facilities'' (

South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity The South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB), is involved in research, education and in applications of its knowledge and research to African fish fauna, for either economic or conservation benefit. The institute originally estab ...

;

Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory The Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO) is a radio astronomy observatory, located in a natural bowl of hills at Hartebeesthoek just south of the Magaliesberg mountain range, Gauteng, South Africa, about 50 km west of Johannes ...

; iThemba Laboratory for Accelerator Based Sciences;

South African Astronomical Observatory South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) is the national centre for optical and infrared astronomy in South Africa. It was established in 1972. The observatory is run by the National Research Foundation of South Africa. The facility's funct ...

;

Hermanus Magnetic Observatory SANSA Space Science, previously the Hermanus Magnetic Observatory (HMO) is South Africa's national geomagnetic research facility. The observatory is situated in the town of Hermanus (Overstrand Local Municipality) in the Western Cape Province and ...

;

National Zoological Gardens of South Africa The National Zoological Garden of South Africa (also informally known as The Pretoria Zoo) is an zoo located in Pretoria, South Africa. It is the national zoo of South Africa, and was founded by J. W. B. Gunning in 1899. Pretoria Zoo is one of t ...

) One of the NRF’s key objectives is to ensure appropriately qualified people and high-level

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

to produce the knowledge that makes South Africa a global competitor. Its "focus areas" are: *Research and Innovation Support *Astro/Space/Geo Sciences *

Biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity'') ...

Conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manageme ...

* Nuclear Sciences *Advancing Science Unlike other Science Councils whose role is

research Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...

performance, the NRF primarily fulfils an agency role, with a smaller portion of its activity allocated to actual research. Funding from the NRF is largely directed towards

academic research Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...

, developing high-level human resources, and supporting the National Research Facilities, although beneficiaries include students, and private individuals or companies. KZN Literary Tourism is a project which has received funding through the NRF.

Centres of Excellence

In 2004 the NRF founded seven Centres of Excellence (COE), which aim to facilitate inter-disciplinary research with the aim of enhancing research and capacity building. Additional COEs have been added since: *CoE for Integrated Mineral and Energy Resource Analysis *CoE in Human Development *CoE in Food Security *CoE in Scientometrics and STI Policy (2014): The Nodal Head is Rasigan Maharajh. *CoE in Mathematical and Statistical Sciences *Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences *The National Institute for Theoretical Physics *Centre of Excellence in Epidemiology Modelling and Analysis *Applied Centre for Climate and Earth Systems Science (ACCESS) *Centre of Excellence in Tree Health Biotechnology *Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research *Centre of Excellence in Catalysis *Centre of Excellence in Birds as Key to Biodiversity Conservation *Centre of Excellence in Strong Materials *Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology

References

External links

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Foundations based in South Africa Research institutes in South Africa Members of the International Council for Science Members of the International Science Council {{SouthAfrica-org-stub

Functions

Centres of Excellence

See also

References

External links