DHET Emerging Policy Priorities &
Initiatives Aimed at Improving the
Sector’s Research & Innovation
Performance
3 April 2012
Mr M Mabizela
Outline
1. National Development Plan (NDP)
2. Green Paper for Post-School
Education & Training
3. Improvements on current Policies
National Development Plan (NDP)
 Each university should have a clear mission that sets
out its unique contribution towards knowledge
production and national development.
 HE system should be diverse so that each institution
can build on its strengths and expand areas of
specialisation.
 No one institution can serve all of society’s needs.
 There is a need for a new framework in which the
knowledge production system operates and its
relationship to innovation and industry needs to be
reconfigured.
NDP: Targets for 2030
 PhD graduates, either as staff or post-doctoral
fellows, will be the dominant drivers of new
knowledge production within HE and science
innovation system.
 75% of university academic staff should hold PhDs.
 Produce more than 100 Phd graduates/million of the
population.
 Increase the number of African and women
postgraduates, especially PhDs, to improve research
and innovation capacity and normalise staff
demographics.
NDP: Policy Proposals
Build a properly qualified, professional,
competent and committed teaching,
academic, research and public service cadre.
Enhance innovative capacity of the nation.
Address the decline of humanities.
Build an enabling and high quality
differentiated system.
Support institutions in chronic distress
Green Paper for Post-School
Education & Training
Identifies the problem of ‘insufficient levels of
research and innovation’ in the system.
Economic development is dependant on
innovation.
Research & development are needed for
solving social problems.
DHET & DST need to work together to improve
research capacity at institutions and improve
number of PhDs.
Green Paper: R&I
 The objective is to ensure that the country commits
and sustains ‘long-term research that is
transformational, generates new knowledge and can
work towards strengthening society and the
economy’.
 DST and DHET will work to ensure increased support
for post-grad study and for senior researchers and
that there is coherence in overall policy.
 Current policies and regulations assume that all
universities should aim to have comparable research
outcomes and performance should be comparable to
that of top performing institutions. This is unrealistic.
Green Paper: R&I (cont.)
Emphasis is also put on the need for PhD
graduates needed for academic positions,
research, innovation and industry.
Universities with a relatively weak research
culture and record should be assisted and
funded to develop their research capacity in
particular areas of specialisation so that their
research culture can be built gradually over
time.
PhD Enrolments & Graduates, ’02 - ’10
14,000
11,590
12,000
10,000
8,000
7,766
6,000
4,000
2,000
1,421
985
0
2002
2003
2004
2005
PhD Enrolments
2006
2007
2008
PhD Graduates
2009
2010
Masters Enrolments & Graduates, ’02 – ’10
50,000
46,699
45,000
40,000
39,463
35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
8,633
6,975
5,000
0
2002
2003
2004
2005
Masters Enrolments
2006
2007
2008
Masters Graduates
2009
2010
Current Policy Improvements
 Research Development Grants
 Policy and Procedures for the Measurement of
Research Output of Public Higher Education
Institutions
 Enrolment Planning as a steering mechanism
 Review of the Funding Framework
Research Development Grants
These have always been calculated based on a
shortfall by institutions to meet their research
output norms.
RDGs have not always been used to develop
research as required/expected.
All institutions should qualify for RDGs.
The DHET will cluster institutions according to
their research development needs.
No of Staff with PhDs vs Weighted Research Output Units , 2010
3000
2500
2 388.450
2 169.386
2000
1500
1000
1 001.650
650
500
601
558
529
529
483
615.330
448
351
247
218 198
366.890
179
157
153
0
Staff with PhD as highest qualification
104
93
93
85
70
66
Total Weighted Research Output
62
46
9
Research Development Grants
Research intensive universities should
collaborate with less research focused
universities and develop postgraduates for the
whole sector
Middle research strength universities should
improve staff qualifications, collaborate,
develop postgraduates and develop niche
areas.
Low research strength universities should
improve staff qualifications and develop niche
areas.
RESEARCH OUTPUT 2010
Institution
Headcount of permanent Research Publication
staff
Units Accrued
Per Capita Output
Growth in Per Growth in Per
Capita output Capita output
09-10
06-10
UCT
US
RU
WITS
UKZN
UP
UFS
NWU
UWC
UFH
UZ
UV
UL
TOTAL UNIVERSITIES
982
917
321
997
1 403
1 691
795
1 086
509
292
253
321
770
10 337
1 253.03
1 034.70
325.33
936.14
1 146.51
1 187.46
496.49
585.94
266.82
142.22
66.66
76.76
93.25
7 611.31
1.28
1.13
1.01
0.94
0.82
0.70
0.62
0.54
0.52
0.49
0.26
0.24
0.12
0.74
3.63
-6.32
-7.02
-0.26
7.07
-3.32
-5.11
19.85
-1.23
23.72
-12.82
23.72
22.47
1.29
19.71
-7.01
9.63
40.74
19.37
-8.04
-11.77
35.31
12.18
77.10
-0.29
229.21
-9.69
11.09
UJ
UNISA
NMMU
WSU
TOTAL
COMPREHENSIVES
884
1 404
574
608
610.90
734.60
255.51
51.85
0.69
0.52
0.45
0.09
26.72
16.32
12.62
92.56
75.55
17.82
21.88
98.09
3 470
1 652.86
0.48
20.31
34.38
TUT
CPUT
CUT
VUT
DUT
MUT
TOTAL UoTS
820
749
260
322
574
152
2 877
188.06
155.26
39.56
44.73
48.45
7.57
483.63
0.23
0.21
0.15
0.14
0.08
0.05
0.17
47.82
16.76
6.59
17.60
-4.47
61.16
23.47
84.27
110.47
-12.04
98.83
35.58
9.57
69.43
ALL INSTITUTIONS
16 684
9 747.80
0.58
4.67
16.09
WEIGHTED RESEARCH OUTPUT 2010
Research
Doctorate
Total Weighted
Weighted
Masters
Graduates
Research
Output per
Graduates
(Weighted 3)
Output
staff member
(Weighted 1)
612.69
522
2169.39
2.37
434.17
480
2167.20
2.21
158.00
132
615.33
1.92
416.56
318
1670.70
1.68
437.34
489
2072.85
1.48
636.99
564
2388.45
1.43
243.06
300
1039.55
1.31
220.50
180
667.32
1.31
116.67
108
366.89
1.26
352.62
387
1325.56
1.22
51.00
57
174.68
0.69
137.78
30
261.03
0.34
31.25
24
132.01
0.41
15050.95
1.46
Headcount of
permanent staff
Research
Publications
(Weighted 1)
% Output of
the Norm
SU
UCT
RU
WITS
UKZN
UP
UFS
UWC
UFH
NWU
UZ
UL
UV
TOTAL UNIV
917
982
321
997
1 403
1 676
795
509
292
1 086
253
770
321
10 322
1 034.70
1 253.03
325.33
936.14
1 146.51
1 187.46
496.49
266.82
142.22
585.94
66.68
93.25
76.76
NMMU
UJ
UNISA
WSU
TOTAL COMPR
574
884
1 404
608
3 470
255.51
610.90
734.60
51.85
208.97
237.75
89.48
1.88
192
153
165
3
656.48
1001.65
989.08
56.73
2703.93
1.14
1.13
0.70
0.09
0.78
123
117
61
13
TUT
CPUT
CUT
VUT
DUT
MUT
TOTAL UoTS
820
749
260
322
574
152
2 877
188.06
155.26
39.56
44.73
48.45
7.57
105.50
84.00
14.50
10.00
32.50
0.00
66
33
9
12
36
0
359.56
272.26
63.06
66.73
116.95
7.57
886.13
0.44
0.36
0.24
0.21
0.20
0.05
0.31
88
73
49
41
41
10
ALL HEIs
16 669
18641.00
1.12
189
177
153
134
118
114
105
105
101
98
55
27
33