South African Science, Technology And Innovation Indicators 2020 - Naci

FOREWORD BY THECHAIRPERSONIt gives me great pleasure to present the South AfricanScience, Technology and Innovation Indicators Reportfor 2020. This annual report by the National AdvisoryCouncil on Innovation (NACI) provides statistics andan assessment of South Africa's Science, Technologyand Innovation (STI) performance contextualisedglobally since 2019.The report was compiled fromthe latest available domestic andinternational STI data. The challengesof generating and maintaining up-todate local data sets, however, remainproblematic. Some of the data setsthat have historically been relied uponhave now been found to be updatedless frequently and have thereforeimpacted upon this annual report.The release of this report coincideswith a global pandemic caused byan outbreak of a novel virus, thesevere acute respiratory syndromecoronavirus(SARS-CoV-2).TheCorona Virus Disease (COVID-19)pandemic has caused many deathsand exposed the inadequacies ofmany countries’ national systems ofinnovation especially at the intersectionwith the health sector. Without avaccine, the COVID-19 pandemichas tended to exacerbate economic,social and political inequities. InSouth Africa, this has meant that thestructural challenges of inequality,unemployment, poverty and ecologicaldegradation require even more urgentattention. There is global consensusthat progress towards the achievementof the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) of the United Nations hasalready been impeded. Difficultiesin transforming energy systems andfulfillingcarbon-reductiontargetsestablished at the 21st United NationsFramework Convention on ClimateChange (Paris Agreement) also imperilkeeping a global temperature rise thiscentury well below 2 C above preindustrial levels and to pursue efforts1to limit the temperature increaseeven further to 1.5 C. Developingcountries and emerging economiesare expected to become evenmore exposed to greater risks inagriculture, food security, prematuredeindustrialisation, health and socialcare systems. In all these challenges,the need for robust and resilientscientific and technological capacitiesand capabilities has become critical.In an uneven yet combined worldsystem, domestic systems ofinnovation are crucial to transformscience and technology into sociallyuseful products and practices.The 2020 STI Indicators Reportreflects progress on some indicators,while pointing to areas of concern.Although South Africa’s researchsystem, particularly public institutionssuch as universities and sciencecouncils, has shown a steadyincrease in scientific publicationsover many years, more recentperformance indicates a decline.South Africa's publications per millionpopulation declined from 371 in 2017to 360 in 2018. The world’s scientificpublications per million populationalso declined from 471 in 2017 to464 in 2018. In contrast, the uppermiddle-income countries increasedtheir scientific publications per millionpopulation from 317 to 327 during thesame period.Improvements continue to beevident at the school level. TheSenior Certificate pass rate inphysical sciences improved fromSouth African Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators 202058.6% in 2015 to 75.5% in 2019. Themathematics pass rate improvedfrom 49.1% in 2015 to 58% in 2018,before declining to 54.6% in 2019.Most of the doctoral degreesproduced in South Africa are inthe field of natural and agriculturalsciences, with 1 051 doctoratesproduced in 2018. Only 7% of thedoctoral degrees produced are inthe field of engineering. The numberof researchers within the businessand higher education sectorsincreased by 14.7 and 15.7%,respectively, between 2016/17 and2017/18. Unemployment is loweramong those with higher levelsof education. Among those withmaster’s and doctoral degrees,unemployment increased from 2.4%in 2018 to 2.8% in 2019.Financing of the National Systemof Innovation (NSI) continues tobe a challenge. In 2017/18, SouthAfrica's gross domestic expenditureon R&D (GERD), as a percentage ofgross domestic product (GDP) was0.83%, which remains below the1.5% target. Business expenditureon R&D (BERD), as a percentage ofGERD, also declined from 58.6% in2008/09 to 41.0% in 2017/18 and asa percentage of GDP from 0.52% in2008/09 to 0.34% in 2017/18. Theremay be some anecdotal evidencepointing to different reasons for thisdecline. However, it is important thata deeper and systematic analysisshould be considered to understandthe problem better.

In contrast to the business sector,GERD increased from R4.1 billion in2008/09 to R13 billion in 2017/18; anincrease of 85% in 2010 rand value.Increased funding at universitiescontributed to an increase in thenumber of postgraduate students(which is a national long-termobjective) and the number ofpublications from universities. Thenumber of master’s degrees (byresearch) increased from 6 460 in2013 to 8 610 in 2018. The numberof doctoral graduates increasedfrom 2 051 in 2013 to 3 307 in 2018.The report suggests that, if theunderlying forces during the pastperiod remain intact, the numberof doctoral graduates will reach thetarget of 5 000 by 2030. Partnershipsbetween science councils anduniversities have contributed to thesignificant enrolment and graduationof both master’s and doctoraldegree candidates. Furthermore,it is identified that holders ofdoctoral degrees have a very lowunemployment rate (2 to 3%).Knowledgemanagementandapplications of innovations for economicactivity are intrinsically essential foran impactful NSI. A brief analysis ofdata in the United States Patents andTrademarks Office (USPTO) indicatedthat South African inventors receive arelatively small number of US patentswhen compared to other countries.However, South Africa is ranked 16thout of 55 countries in terms of plantvariety patents (equivalent to PlantBreeders' Rights), while it is ranked 30thin terms of utility patents. The latter issignificant as South Africa's commercialagriculture is highly competitive withsignificant exports of fruits and grains;thus contributing to GDP and jobs.Recent results from both the GlobalInnovation Index (GII) and the GlobalCompetitiveness Index (GCI) indicatethat South Africa has been losing itsrelative position to other countries thatare utilising their capacities, capabilitiesand competencies in science andtechnology better. It is therefore essentialto deepen our analysis based on highquality data about the real performanceof the NSI, and to clearly ascertain itsinefficacies and contradictions. It isonly upon such critical reflections that abetter-performing NSI is possible, anddeemed necessary to the developmentof the people of South Africa.We sincerely hope that NSI role-playersand stakeholders will find this reportuseful and a resource to appreciate theemerging STI trends, challenges andopportunities that are available bothlocally and internationally. We alsoencourage those interested to conductdeeper analysis of trends, some ofwhich are indicated in the report.On behalf of the NACI Council, I wouldlike to acknowledge inputs and reviewsby Dr Lehohla, Prof Kahn, Prof Kaplan,Prof Maharajh, Prof Mugabe andProf Pouris, among others, and thank allcontributors, including the employeesof NACI, who made the developmentof this report possible.Dr Shadrack MoephuliNACI Interim ChairpersonBY PLACING STI AT THECENTRE OF SOUTHAFRICA'S DEVELOPMENTAGENDA, WE HAVE ANOPPORTUNITY TO ENSURETHAT THE COUNTRYBECOMES A GLOBALCENTRE OF SCIENCE,TECHNOLOGY ANDINNOVATION.Dr BE Nzimande,Minister of Higher Education,Science and InnovationSouth African Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators 20202

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY1.1 BACKGROUNDIn order to continuously monitor the state of STI in South Africa, NACI produces the annual South African Science,Technology and Innovation Indicators Report. The 2020 STI Indicators Report provides information on the state of STI inSouth Africa over time and within a global context. It collates select STI data and information from different sources so thatit may become an integrated resource for NSI actors. It strives to be a factual source of South African and internationaldata. The STI Indicators Report contains a lot of quantitative evidence, which may require further analysis (includingqualitative) in order to understand some issues or questions better. As much as it is tempting, the STI Indicators Reportdoes not offer direct policy options nor does it make policy recommendations.1.2 FRAMEWORK FOR THE 2020 SOUTH AFRICANSTI INDICATORS REPORTThe 2017 South African Innovation Scorecard (SAIS) (as shown in Figure 1.1) informed the STI Indicators Report.The SAIS categorises STI activities into three broad categories or pillars: enablers, firm-level activities and outputs.FIGURE 1.1:THE SOUTH AFRICANINNOVATION SCORECARDSA an resources1Open researchsystemsFinance andsupportFirm investmentsLinkage andentrepreneurshipOUTPUTSIntellectual assetsEconomic effectsSocial effectsThe enablers pillar comprises the following components: STI human resources, an open research system, and STIfinance and support. In order to broaden the analysis of human resources across various STI activities, data on registeredengineers, a key human resource, has been incorporated into the report for the first time. NACI intends to deepen itsanalysis of this area in future, in partnership with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA).In order to support South Africa as the innovation champion of the Southern African Development Community (SADC)region, the analysis of knowledge generation, as part of the research system, is done at SADC level. The NationalResearch Foundation (NRF) and Horizon 2020 (H2020) research funding are analysed as part of the STI funding andsupport instruments.23The firm-level activities pillar comprises the following components: firm investments, linkages and entrepreneurship, andintellectual assets. In this report, the results of the Business Innovation Survey are used to show the key characteristics,factors and drivers of business innovation activities.Lastly, the innovation outputs pillar reveals the state of high-technology and commercial service exports fromSouth Africa, and discusses the country’s technology balance of payments in comparison to other countries.The STI Indicators Report benefited from the analysis of local and global STI trends,as well as local systems of innovation.3South African Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators 2020

1.3 KEY HIGHLIGHTSThe main findings of the 2020 South African Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators Report are framed accordingto the following broad categories: STI human resources, STI funding, scientific outputs, firm-level innovation andtechnology exports.1.3.1 STI HUMAN RESOURCESAVERAGEFOR UPPERMIDDLEINCOMECOUNTRIES:2019HUMAN RESOURCES RANKINGThe country’s human resources ranking improved from 114th position onthe Global Competitiveness Index in 2018 to 108th position in 2019.The average of upper middle-income countries was 74th in 2019.201874THSTI EMPLOYMENTThe number of researchers within thebusiness and higher education sectorsincreased at 14.7% and 15.7%,respectively, between 2016/17and 2017/18.14.7%YEARON-YEARINCREASEBETWEEN2016/17 TIONThe number of full-time equivalent (FTE)researchers per 1 000 in total employmentis 1.8 in 2018, which is similar to what ithas been for at least the past 10 years.114TH108THGlobal Competitiveness Index EYEARON-YEARLOSS OF FTERESEARCHERSBETWEEN2016/17 AND2017/18The number of whiteresearchers increased by4.3% from 2016/17 to 2017/18,following a period of declinefrom 2015/16 to 2016/17.Between 2016/17and 2017/18, thescience councilslost 149 FTEresearchers andgovernment lost 70FTE researchers,which equates toa loss of 7.7% and7.2%, respectively.DOCTORAL RESEARCHMost of the doctoral degrees produced in South Africa are in the fieldof natural and agricultural sciences, with 1 051 doctorates producedduring 2018. Doctoral degrees in social sciences and humanitiesfollow with 913 and 759 doctoral degrees, respectively. Engineeringfared the lowest, with 229 doctorates during 2018.Only 7% of the doctoral degrees produced arein the field of engineering.1 051 913 759 229NATURAL ANDAGRICULTURALSCIENCESEngineering, as a career, is still male-dominated, although between2015 and 2018, there was a visible shift across all qualification typesin the proportion of female engineering graduates. The imbalanceis more at the doctoral level as the share of female graduates was21.8% in 2018, which increased from 17.9% in .9%21.8%Female engineering doctoral graduatesNATIONAL SENIOR CERTIFICATE PASS RATE IN SELECTED STI ERACYMATHEMATICSSouth African Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators 20204

1.3.2 STI FUNDINGGROSS DOMESTIC EXPENDITURE ON R&D (GERD) AS A PERCENTAGE OF GDPGERD, as a percentage of GDP, was 0.83% in 2017/18 (in constant 2010 rand values), andremains below the 1.5% target set by government. In constant rand values, GERD amountedto R25.96 billion in 2017/18, which was a small increase from R25.19 billion in 2016/17.2017/181 BUSINESS2015/162017/1842.7%41.0%OF GERDOF GERDR13.81R15.85BILLIONBILLION1.7%DECLINE2 HIGHEREDUCATION3 SCIENCECOUNCILSHigher educationexpenditure on R&D(HERD)2015/1617.7%3.1%INCREASE30.5%R&D funding for the businesssector remains constrained.As a result, businessexpenditure on R&D (BERD),as a percentage of GERD,declined from 42.7% in2015/16 to 41.0% in 2017/18.Despite this, the businesssector remained the largestperformer of R&D in 2017/18,with BERD amounting toR15.85 billion.OF LION6.2%OF 7/184.3%OF GERDR2.33BILLION1.9%0.4%DECLINEINCREASE2.7%OF GERD3.1%OF GERDOF 82015/162017/18BILLIONR891NRF RESEARCH For the past two years, NRF researchgrants have been on the decline(in nominal terms) from R1.72 billionin 2017 to R1.61 billion in 2018 andR1.52 billion in 2019.52016/172015/1616.3%OF GERD46.9BILLION4 GOVERNMENT2017/18TARGET2019South African Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators 2020OF GERDR1.22

1.3.3 SCIENTIFIC OUTPUTSPUBLICATIONS371AVERAGEFOR UPPERMIDDLEINCOMECOUNTRIES:360The number of scientific publications per million populationwas 360 in 2018 and 371 in 2017. The average of uppermiddle-income countries was 327 in 2018.77.4%South AfricaSouth Africa accounts for 77.4% of thepublications arising from SADC countries.2018The publications on infectiousdiseases appear among the topthree most prolific scientific disciplinesin 15 of the 16 SADC countries.CO-AUTHORS1.3.4 TECHNOLOGY OUTPUTSPATENTSThe majority of patent applications filed with theCompanies and Intellectual Property Commission(CIPC) are in the following areas:5 609 4 469ORGANIC FINECHEMICALS2 892BASIC MATERIALSCHEMISTRY2 635BIOTECHNOLOGYNote: Out of 44 204 foreign patents (2008 to 2015)The majority of patents were granted to non-residents of South Africa.PATENTSGRANTED2017Publications in the engineeringdiscipline only appear inpublications from Botswana,South Africa and Mauritius.HIGHLY CITED PAPERSSouth African scientificpublications are co-authoredwith scientists from variousSADC countries. Between2013 and 2017, the majorco-authors for South Africawere Zimbabwe (1 113),Namibia (578), Botswana(560) and Malawi (555).PHARMACEUTICALS3272017595RESIDENTS4 940NON-RESIDENTS2 022GLOBALLY RECOGNISED32NDSouth Africa is ranked 32nd in the world in terms of mosthighly cited papers, with 2 022 papers recognised assuch between 1 January 2010 and 29 February 2020.South Africans are granted a limitednumber of patents in the USPTO – thelargest technology market in the world.During 2017, South African inventors received 182 utilitypatent and 10 plant patent grants. South Africa is ranked30th in the world in terms of utility patents and 16th interms of plant patents.1018216TH30THGrantedplant patentsSouth Africa rankedglobally for plantpatentsGrantedutility patentsSouth Africa rankedglobally for utilitypatentsSouth African Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators 20206

1.3.5 FIRM-LEVEL INNOVATIONInnovation-active industrial and service sector enterprises69.9%20142016During the period 2014–2016, 69.9% of the enterprises from the industrial and service sectors were innovation-active.Service sectors are more likely toget the information that theyrequire to innovate from educationand research institutions than isthe case with industrial sectors.Between 2014 and 2016, 11.9% of servicesector enterprises derive the information thatthey require to innovate from public researchinstitutions; 11.1% from government.By contrast, only 1.2% of industrial-sectorenterprises derive the information that theyrequire from public research institutions and1.5% from government.Information for innovation for service sector enterprises11.9%2014 11.1%GOVERNMENT2016PUBLIC RESEARCH INSTITUTESInformation for innovation for industrial-sector enterprises1.5%1.2%GOVERNMENTPUBLIC RESEARCH INSTITUTES201420161.3.6 TECHNOLOGY EXPORTSSouth Africa’s exports arefocused in primary products andmedium-technology manufacture.The country’s high-technology exportsincreased from US 500 million in 1993to US 2.5 billion during 2018.201826.6% 28.2%Primary productsMedium-technologymanufactureSouth Africa has a low share ofhigh-technology exports as apercentage of manufacturedexports.5.2%South Africa30% Korea and China1993US 500US 2.5MILLIONBILLIONCOMMERCIAL SERVICE EXPORTS VS IMPORTSUS 120ReceiptsRANKEDMILLION30THExporter ofcommercial services7South African Science, Technology

South African Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators 2020 ii LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1.1: The South African innovation scorecard 3 FIGURE 2.1: Educational attainment of the 24- to 35-year-old cohort, 201810 FIGURE 2.2: Ratio of South African patents to the total patents at USPTO 14 FIGURE 3.1: Annual NRF grants 17 FIGURE 3.2: Distribution of NRF grants by type 18