The pilot phase of a joint programme of the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) and the National Research Foundation (NRF), to bridge the gap between government and academia, was officially launched on Tuesday. Called the DSI-NRF Policy Placement Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme, it is intended to allow excellent researchers and academics to contribute directly to government agencies and inform their policy-making processes.

“This programme fills two very important gaps: one in which we have PhD graduates who have a lot of insight and ways of thinking that can be used by the policy environment effectively, but which cannot be extracted, and the other in the policy environment where we have the need for deep insight into what is happening, what does the available evidence tell us, et cetera,” highlighted DSI deputy director-general: research development and dupport Imraan Patel. “This postdoctoral policy Fellowship brings together those two needs into what I think is going to be an exciting and innovative programme.”

“The NRF and DSI are committed to driving national development through research initiatives that have a tangible impact on society,” affirmed NRF group executive: business advancement Dr Thandi Mgwebi. “Through the creation of opportunities for collaboration between academia and government, we aim to enhance the capacity of researchers in public policymaking, while at the same time ensuring that investments towards research culminates into impactful policies.”

The pilot programme involves the appointment of 14 postdoctoral fellows, 13 of them drawn from eight of the country’s universities, with the fourteenth coming from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. They have been assigned to key divisions within either the DSI or NRF. Those assigned to the DSI will be deployed in the Technology Innovation and Research Development and Support divisions. Those assigned to the NRF will be deployed in the Business Advancement, Research Analysis and Advice, Knowledge Advancement and Support divisions, in addition to Centres of Excellence and Research Chairs.

The main focus of the programme will be on human capital development and meeting social grand challenges. Within each of these themes, there are four policy focuses – research impact, internationalisation and partnerships, technology and innovation, and open science.

The expectation is that this programme will be scaled up in the coming years. There is already an open call for postdoctoral researchers to apply to join the programme next year, and beyond.

Separately, also on Tuesday, the NRF announced that it had appointed Dr Angus Paterson as deputy CEO: national research infrastructure platforms (NRIP). The appointment was effective from May 1. Paterson has been acting deputy CEO: NRIP since August last year. From 2011 to 2023 he was MD of the NRF-South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity.