Minister Nzimande invites public comment on the report of the Ministerial Working Group on Science, Technology and Innovation Funding (STI-WG)

Why the working group was set up

The Minister set up the working group in 2025, after the United States withdrew funding for research in South Africa. About R2.5 billion in funding was lost, and this put important research programmes at risk, mainly in health. The working group was asked to look at how South Africa pays for science, technology and innovation, and how to make that funding stronger and more stable.

Key findings and recommendations

The report finds that South Africa spends about 0.6% of its GDP on research and development. It makes five main recommendations:

Set up steady, predictable funding from within South Africa for strategic research programmes.

Protect key work in health, genomics, biotechnology and public health.

Increase public and private spending on research and development, working towards 1.5% of GDP.

Improve coordination between government, universities, science councils, industry and provinces.

Make sure international partnerships are fair on data, intellectual property, technology transfer, local manufacturing and skills.

"Relying on foreign funding in place of domestic investment for critical parts of the national system of innovation exposes the country to unacceptable risks," said Minister Nzimande.

Have your say

The Minister invites members of the public, researchers, universities, science councils, industry and civil society to read the report and send their comments.

Read the report: https://shorturl.at/wk6E4

Submit your comments: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=rc1Gb9emYEG2FQlaxRmY0jkq2sEJ9QNHqIZQxbkKcN5UN1NFWUU0QzZGMktBSUUwQTZCVFdQRzNYSC4u&route=shorturl

Closing date: 31 December 2026