Question NW1266 to the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation

Reply:

The CSIR showcases its services and capabilities through various communication platforms, targeting multiple stakeholders, including the public sector, state-owned enterprises, the private sector, not-for-profit organizations and international entities.

With the support of the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), the CSIR carries out the following awareness-raising activities:

• Open/technology demonstration days – The CSIR open days showcase the CSIR's infrastructure, its people, skills, technologies, innovations and capabilities.
• Site visits and tours – The CSIR regularly hosts South African and international delegations from the public and private sectors to raise awareness of its capabilities and share information and knowledge.
• Biennial conference – The CSIR will be hosting its 8th biennial conference in October 2022. The conference objectives include sharing the organization’s progress, breakthroughs and impact in research, development and innovation, and illustrating how the CSIR can help them industries strengthen their offerings and their overall competitive edge.
• Mass media campaigns – The CSIR implements mass media campaigns. The current campaign, called "Did You Know?", aims to familiarize stakeholders with some of the technologies that the CSIR has developed.
• Career days – These events target grade 10 to 12 learners from rural schools. CSIR scientists and researchers showcase their work and share experiences with learners. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, career days were hosted at CSIR campuses across the country and at schools.
• General media engagements – There are general engagements with the media to communicate developments in research and opportunities that are available, such CSIR technologies that are open for commercialization.
• Exhibitions/trade fairs – The CSIR raises awareness of its services and capabilities at events such as Science Forum South Africa, the Innovation Bridge, BioAfrica, the Manufacturing Indaba, the Mining Indaba, the Digital Indaba and Africa Tech Week, among others.
• Public outreach – With the support of the South African Agency for Science and Technological Advancement, which falls under the National Research Foundation, an entity of the DSI, the CSIR participates in public outreach programmes, including visiting schools and exhibiting at science festivals to promote the public understanding of science.

Furthermore, in the past three years, the CSIR has ring-fenced some of the Industry Innovation Partnership funding received from the DSI to raise its profile and inform small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMMEs) about its activities and offerings, including the following:

• CSIR business development managers facilitate engagements with industry to discuss CSIR offerings that might be of value to their enterprise and supply chain development sections.
• Articles about SMMEs that the CSIR has supported are published and radio interviews are arranged. These emphasize that the SMMEs have received support from CSIR industry-facing centers.
• The CSIR facilitates tours of its facilities to raise awareness of products developed for SMMEs, the infrastructure on offer, and the expert scientists and engineers who work with SMMEs.