The National Research Foundation (NRF), which is the agency responsible for supporting and promoting scientific and technological research in South Africa by means of funding, human skills development and the provision of research facilities, highlighted on Friday that the uLwazi Node of the NRF’s South African Environmental Observation Network (NRF-SAEON) had won the National Science and Technology Forum- (NSTF-) South32 Data for Research Award. The uLwazi Node managed NRF-SAEON’s Open Data Platform.

“Our team is thrilled to have won the NSTF-South32 Data for Research Award and are proud to have been finalists alongside the University of Cape Town’s Digital Library Services and the Inter-University Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy, who are doing impressive work,” enthused NRF-SAEON uLwazi Node manager Leo Chiloane.

The award was actually made on Thursday. The Data for Research Award recognised individuals or teams that had made major advances in making research data available, including its re-use, as well as in the management of that data.

Key to winning the award was the value of the openly available data set, for re-use for the public interest and public good. The uLwazi Node has become an essential platform providing environmental data to researchers, policymakers and the public.

On its Open Data Platform, the Node hosted a number of projects funded by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. These included the Marine Information Management System, the Climate Change Information System, the South African Carbon Sinks Atlas, and the South African National Environmental Information Metadata System.

The NSTF is a nonprofit company that exists to promote science, technology, engineering and innovation in South Africa. Its membership includes businesses, science councils, universities, learned and professional associations, unions, and government agencies. South32 is an Australia-based multinational diversified mining and metals company. It has major operations in South Africa (Hillside Aluminium in Richards Bay and its South Africa Manganese operation, in the Northern Cape) and Mozambique (Mozal Aluminium).