South African National Space Agency (SANSA) & Human Science Research Council (HSRC) on their 2014 priorities

Meeting report

South African National Space Agency (SANSA) briefing
Dr Sandile Malinga, Chief Executive Officer (CEO): SANSA, said that the presentation would focus on SANSA programmes, 2014/15 priorities and deliverables, financials, and key performance indicators.

The CEO said that the mandate of SANSA was to provide for the promotion and use of space and co-operation in space-related activities, foster research in space science, advance scientific engineering through human capital, support the creation of an environment conducive to industrial development in space technologies. Its mission was to deliver space-related services and products to the citizens of South Africa and the region; support, guide and conduct research and development in space science and engineering and the practical application of the innovations they have generated; stimulate interest in science and develop human capacity in space science and technologies in South Africa; create an environment that promoted industrial development; and nurture space-related partnerships to enhance South Africa’s standing in the community of nations.

SANSA programmes included Earth Observation where they focus on image acquisition and distribution, and value-added services and products. In Space Science they looked at geo-space observations, space physics, and space weather. In Space Operations they focussed on launch support, in-orbit testing, emergency support, carrier monitoring, and hosting. In the Space Engineering programme, they look at satellite and industry development.

SANSA provides services and data provision to government departments:
• Management of Natural Resources through Space: it focussed on water management through Tiger and Tiger-net in collaboration with the Department of Water Affairs and the Water Research Commission and European Space Agency, and the provision of satellite imagery for agricultural management and food security.
• Sustaining the Natural Environment through Space: it focussed on the development of biomass and rangeland grazing capacity development products with the Department of Agriculture, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture and the GEOGLAM Rangelands and Pasture Productivity (RAPP) project, and the development of national vegetation layers that will provide useful national vegetation information.
• Management of the Built Environment: it was working together with the European Commission’s Joint Research Commission (JRC) and Department of Human Settlements, providing human settlement monitoring and management support, the management of servitudes and water supply with Rand Water, and providing large infrastructure monitoring for government.

• Service Delivery Monitoring and Planning: SANSA had done independent reports on progress made in infrastructure development, there was information to support population estimates, infrastructure planning, provision of amenities, and policies on environmental, natural resources and disaster management.
• Energy security: SANSA looked at the development of models for the monitoring and prediction of Geo-magnetically Induced Currents (GICs) in the South African electric power network in collaboration with NASA and UCT, and the use of satellite imagery for the detection of transmission line encroachment for Eskom.
• Disaster Management through space: SANSA looked at flood management with the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC), South African Weather Service (SAWS) and Limpopo Premier’s Office. It also looked at Advanced Fire Information System (AFIS) with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for early fire warning, and fire investigation services for insurance and court cases.
• National Security: SANSA focussed on satellite imagery for decision support, space weather and geomagnetic data support for communication and navigation, electromagnetic signature management, magnetic navigation support, border control, police intelligence, and national intelligence.

To extend the understanding of the universe, SANSA studied how the Earth’s magnetosphere shields us from the Sun’s bombardment. It created new knowledge on the space environment and its effects on their technologies. It maintained vibrant research at the South African National Antarctic Expedition (SANAE) in Antarctica and an extensive research infrastructure in South Africa and the Southern Ocean, and provided space science data distribution.

Support of High-Profile Global Missions & Operations: SANSA supported high-profile global exploration missions to Mars and the Moon (e.g. MSL, MOM, LADEE); There was support for global science missions like NASA’s carbon monitoring mission (OCO-2); supporting the de-orbiting of satellites (e.g. CoRoT) to ensure sustainable utilisation of space; and support of commercial satellites (e.g. Eutelsat). It was also exploring the improvement of satellite-based navigation.

The CEO concluded that its priorities addressed societal needs; creating new knowledge, technologies and innovation. It created capacity and transformed society; growing the South African industry; and making South Africa a global player. The slogan of their organisation was that “Space improves lives, saves lives, boosts the economy”.

Discussion
Mr C Mathale (ANC) asked for clarity about whether they had launched a satellite and/or were building another one.

The Chairperson noted that they could make satellites but they could not launch them. He asked who launched the satellites for them.

Dr A Lotriet (DA) thanked the presenter for the fascinating presentation. She asked whether it was possible for the presenter to give them the extent to which the information was used. For example, did municipalities use it for planning human settlements. How readily accessible was that information for the public?

Ms L Maseko (ANC) asked about satellite development and whether African partners had committed funds towards the African Resource Management Constellation (ARMC). Secondly, with the new board that was supposed to be in place in September, what was the state of readiness in terms of ensuring a smooth transition and what was the retention rate for ensuring continuity?

The Chairperson asked Mr Malinga what his academic qualifications were.

The CEO, Dr Malinga, replied that he was a PHD graduate from Rhodes University and Rhodes has a strong space physics history. He was a space doctor. South Africa has built three space satellites, the one before 1994 called Greensat was never launched. And they have built two satellites since then both of which were launched, Sunsat which was built by Stellenbosch University after which they spanned out as the company, Sunspace, which was launched in 1997. And then the Sumbandila satellite was built by Sunspace which was completed in 2006 and finally launched in 2009 by the Russians. They acquired data from it, but lost contact with it in 2011 [due to damage caused by a solar storm]. They still track it for occasional research purposes but are unable to acquire data from it. Those are some of the issues they faced when they build a satellite – whether to put propulsion on it or de-obit which was what they did for the other entities that have satellites that were more sophisticated than theirs. At the moment they are building another one.

Dr Malinga said they did not launch satellites. He hoped that the Portfolio Committee would take a tour of the Western Cape in future and visit Houwteq near Grabouw where the satellites were integrated. They would see a model of the Greensat as well as visit their satellite centre. They should also go to Arniston where they would see the launch site that was developed in the past but never used to launch the Greensat. They have never launched. They have done launching of rockets but never a satellite. There were approaches from NASA and other companies which wanted to rekindle this but that had not been done as yet.

In terms of usage, he gave the example of the French satellite which was used very often by about 60 public entities, and annually they distributed that information to entities like Statistics SA which used it to plan their census. It was also used by Eskom to estimate the demand on electricity. They use it for water planning, and it is used by municipalities for human settlements to monitor where things had been built, such as mushrooming of shacks, for example. A study was done of Rustenburg which indicated housing expansion in terms of what had happened due to mining in that area over the last couple of years. Those were some of the uses of the information.

Their information was very accessible because one could visit the SANSA website and register as a user and then access the data that one needed. It could be a challenge when the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) was doing a mission on the African continent in terms of getting the images when they wanted it. This was because either there were clouds or the satellite was not where it should be at the time they wanted the images which might take about three months to get these.

Dr Malinga said African partners were on board and they were committed. At the moment there was a sort of a space race on the African continent because Nigeria had three satellites: one satellite for communication, and two as observation satellites. One of their observation satellites was Nigeria’s contribution to the ARMC. They were in discussion with the Nigerians and had set up a meeting for 9 September 2014, where they would be looking at the possibility of developing a joint programme for the ARMC. The Kenyans have just started their space programme and were a bit behind.

In reply to the question about the new board he would defer that question to the Department of Science and Technology to answer because they were in a better position to indicate the status on selecting the new board.

The Chairperson thanked the SANSA delegation for their presentation and responses.

Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) briefing
Dr Themba Masilela, Deputy Chief Executive Officer (DCEO): HSRC, said that the presentation would focus the HSRC strategic goals; research programmes; flagship projects; performance indicators, targets and budget for 2014/15; measuring return on human capital investment; management of human capital investment losses; and the transformation/equity redress.

The HSRC objectives were to address developmental challenges by means of strategic basic and applied research in human sciences, inform formulation and monitoring of policy, and evaluate the implementation thereof, stimulate public debate through dissemination of research results, build research capacity and infrastructure for the human sciences, foster research collaboration, networks and institutional linkages, respond to the needs of vulnerable and marginalised groups through its research, and make available data sets underpinning research, policy development and public discussion of developmental issues.

In terms of policy mandates, he said that South Africa’s Outcome 1 was the improved quality of basic education, Outcome 2 a long and healthy life for all South Africans, and Outcome 5 a skilled and capable workforce to support an inclusive growth path. The strategic intention was to address key priorities facing South Africa through research and to generate new knowledge that helped them understand the changing human and social environment in which we live.

There were about 178 research projects, most touched people in terms of poverty alleviation, growing the economy and creating jobs, quality of education, human and social advancement, skills development, service delivery, crime, youth, families and social cohesion, health promotion, health systems and well-being, HIV/AIDS and STI control, and nutrition and food security.

Its strategic outcome goals included:
-- Knowledge Advancement: advancing social sciences and humanities for public use by initiating, undertaking and fostering basic and applied research in human and social sciences, and geopolitical issues; stimulating public debate and disseminating research results.
-- Contribution to Development and Social Progress in Africa: to address developmental challenges in South Africa and elsewhere in Africa.
-- Enhanced Skills: to develop a skilled and capable workforce by developing research skills and capacity.
-- Preserved data & knowledge: focussed on digitisation and preservation of data sets and library holdings and sharing this with others for further analysis.
-- Transformation: conducted at senior level to reflect race and gender demographic composition.
-- Financial Sustainability: improvement and implementation of effective and efficient systems of financial management and good corporate governance, and

Their research, development and innovation projects included Africa Institute of South Africa (AISA), Centre for Science, Technology & Innovation Indicators (CeSTII), Democracy, governance and service delivery (DGSD), Economic performance and development (EPD), Education and skills development (ESD), HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases and TB (HAST), Human and social development (HSD), Population health, health systems and innovation (PHHSI), and Research Use and Impact Assessment (RIA).

He gave details of their flagship projects for 2014/15 which included the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS); Continued participation in the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP); On-going K2P (Knowledge to Policy) processes; The State of the Nation (book series); City Support Programme research support; Rural Innovation Assessment Tool (RIAT); Spatial Economy; Agricultural development support options to expand marketable surpluses of smallholder farmers; Climate change; South African HIV/AIDS Behavioural Risks, Sero-Status, and Mass Media Impact Survey (SABSSM IV) survey; Methods of Prevention Packages Program (MP3) for men who have sex with men (MSM) in Southern Africa - pilot study. (See document for details on each of these and other flagship projects). On the support of new initiatives, he looked at what would have an impact in 1 – 3 years and then those in 7 – 10 years.

Performance indicators and the budget for 2014/15 were provided. Budget challenges were identified as : Capital Expenditure: Building, IT, other critical infrastructure that requires upgrading; Budgeting for performance targets; “Knowledge hub” for dissemination; Future growth of the HSRC is dependent on growth in parliamentary grant; Salary absorbs 82% of total parliamentary grant; Cash flow constantly under pressure. Critical needs that are under-funded were identified as: Introduction of sustained national funding  to create an empirical base for evidence based policy development/ implementation; Infrastructure (ICT) and non-infrastructure support for longitudinal and regular cross-sectional studies; Capacity enhancement, staff establishment and capacity building (new and emerging researchers). HSRC spoke about the return on investment in growing a pool of researchers through the HSRC research internship programme and the steps taken to manage human capital investment losses

The return on investment in growing a pool of researchers through the HSRC research internship programme is measured by: the number of peer-reviewed journal articles published in an internationally accredited scientific journal per research intern; the number of research interns who complete the programme within the prescribed period; the number of successful grant funding proposals per research intern; the number of client research reports per research intern; and the number of research projects with participation by research interns. Some of the strategies to minimise losses are:
- The introduction of mandatory collaboration throughout the HSRC, particularly in research programmes. Collaboration between researchers and between programmes.
- The HSRC performance management system is such that individual performance against HSRC priorities is easily identified and rewarded;
- Accountability of all managers on human resource management issues within their areas of responsibility.

Dr Masilela concluded by noting appreciation for the Minister, Deputy Minister and the Department of Science and Technology as well as for the Portfolio Committee, the HSRC board and staff.

Discussion
The Chairperson thanked Dr Masilela for his presentation. It was very clear that the Department of Science and Technology (DST) was key to the planning by the whole government of South Africa. But they have not used it to its full extent. The two spheres of government, the Cabinet and Parliament, were aware of the important knowledge and information that was found within the DST in order to plan for the country. Some people were worried to invest in South Africa because there was this big gap between the rich and the poor and so on. But if one had information it would be easier to know what to do.

Ms J Terblanche (DA) noted politics coming in to play as slide 30 of the presentation spoke of state intervention in the economy in the mining sector, public enterprises and rural and land reform. That statement was in direct contrast to the National Development Plan (NDP) which was adopted by Parliament and Cabinet. Nowhere in the NDP did it state that state intervention in the economy was going to happen. Therefore, it was perturbing that this was one of the new initiatives from the HSRC and it was asking the Committee for support because that was not what they were going to support. They were vehemently opposed to state intervention in the economy because that was national democratic revolution talk, and that was not part of the NDP.

Ms Maseko requested Ms Terblanche explain her understanding of that bullet point because there was nothing wrong with that point, and Government should intervene if there was a problem in any area of the economy.

The Chairperson interjected that the presenter should not answer Ms Terblanche’s question. She asked Ms Terblanche to answer the question raised by Ms Maseko.

Ms Terblanche replied that it was quite clear there that HSRC had been asked to do some research on state intervention in the economy which differentiated from what the NDP outlined for the way forward in the country. That statement did not say there should be intervention “when there were problems” but rather it stated: state intervention.

Mr Mathale said that they could appreciate Ms Terblanche’s comment which did not mean that her understanding of that bullet point was supported. He pointed out that at the current moment the state was actually “intervening in the economy”.

The Chairperson said that they should look at where they were coming from as South Africans. There was a very big gap between the rich and the poor and it was increasing instead of reducing. Apartheid was something that was formulated under law and it was not a mistake that it happened. Somebody who did research and picked up something that would help to close that gap did so with the intention of trying to help to bridge that gap. But in saying so, they did not say do it by force. They merely said that one of the things that would help to close the gap between the rich and poor was state intervention in the economy as well as other solutions. That statement resonated with those coming from the ANC because for them it was what they were fighting for. The damage had been done and they needed not to look at who did the damage but try to come together so as to repair that damage and try to move forward without being emotional about it. Therefore, they should close that topic and move forward with other questions from Members.

Mr M Kekana (ANC) said that they were there to implement what the ANC wanted and the DA was the opposition. They should therefore listen to what the researchers were doing, not state why they cannot support what the researchers are presenting and they should not interrogate them politically.

Mr Kekana welcomed the presentation saying that the HSRC listening skills were very good because the Committee had told them in the past that they should not come before the Committee and report on percentages only, but provide numbers as well, which was exactly what the HSRC delegation was doing.

He referred to goods and services, and asked for clarity on certain issues which he thought they were hiding. He asked who was giving external income to the HSRC. He asked why 49% had gone to salaries, and only 51% to operations. He felt that there were many things that were hidden in the presentation. The HSRC could respond to some of the questions but should provide a detailed written response to those questions. They should unpack the question about goods and services, salaries and the external income which he was happy about because they were not only relying on government. He asked for the exact balance in terms of human resources. Referring to the State of the Nation Address (SONA) what was HSRC’s plan for the eradication of poverty.

Ms Maseko thanked the presenter for the clear presentation and congratulated the organisation for receiving a clean audit for the last two financial years. She asked about the 178 research projects if they were attainable and smart, where there any challenges with those research projects. She asked if HSRC was being paid by the departments for the work it did because sometimes one’s workflow was hamstrung by non-payment on time especially by government departments.

She asked in terms of the green economy how many jobs they envisaged would be created by the green economy initiative, and did they ensure that the NDP attained what it should achieve because the bottom line was to better the lives of people. She asked what their parliamentary research oversight was, did they ensure that there was that kind of research and also capacitating the research capacity of legislatures so that Members could ensure their oversight over the executive was done efficiently. She asked about the progress and challenges, if any, in incorporating the Africa Institute of South Africa (AISA) into the HSRC.

Dr Lotriet said that she knew the Chairperson had ruled on the matter but perhaps they were talking at cross purposes. Her colleague, Ms Terblanche, wanted to ask if that statement on slide 30 was actually as it was stated or perhaps it was a formulation problem. Was SANSA doing research on the effects or possibilities of state intervention, but not state intervention per se.

This meeting provided the Committee with a bird’s eye view of the different DST entities and they were not doing an in-depth analysis of their budgets. The brief had been to give an overview of each entity so that the new committee members could understand their mandate.

She referred to the Institute of Science Technology and Innovation (ISTI) in terms of job creation and skills development, and asked how it stood vis-a-vis the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA). Do they have similar overlapping purposes or functions, how did they differentiate between the two?

Looking at the staff complement, the staff payroll was very high. She asked if their position was sustainable because they depended on external income. What was their prognosis in that regard?

The Chairperson noted that, as a start, they wanted to get to know the entities of the department because most of the DST budget went to its entities. The Committee wanted to have a feel in terms of what was going on in these entities. Members were supposed to do oversight and there would be a time when they could interrogate HSRC deeply on some of these issues, but currently this was merely a bird’s eye view of what was happening in the DST.

Dr Masilela, HSRC DCEO, welcomed all the questions and comments from the Committee Members. HSRC had a very strong relationship with the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME). They have performed planning, monitoring and evaluation, they have done some work around the 20 Year Review, and assisted government in some of the work that fed into the NDP. The HSRC was committed to continuing to do research that informs the implementation of various government plans and programmes.

The HSRC Act was very clear that the HSRC should be independent and be non-partisan and they have strived in all their research to be non-partisan and independent. They did research and were not policy makers. They did research on the effectiveness of various interventions and the policy makers and politicians made those policy decisions.

Dr Masilela apologised for the way certain things were stated in the presentation. It should be underlined that this was research that informed policy making by parliamentarians or executive policy makers.

He said that employment was an area in which the HSRC should do more research. And 4 to 5 years ago they did research on employment scenarios. Some of the employment scenarios in the NDP were based on work done by the HSRC. But they were convinced right now that they were not doing enough work in some of the relationships between employment and the whole series of other interventions including the green economy. Therefore, for them, that was an area to capacitate the HSRC in to do work that assessed the extent to which various initiatives and programmes had an impact on employment. Therefore, they accepted the remarks from the Portfolio Committee because that was the area they needed to do more research – employment scenarios and the relationship between various programmes and the employment situation in the country.

Dr Masilela said that it was unfortunate that they did not have somebody in that meeting that could speak on the economic performance and development programme. However, as the Chairperson had indicated, in their subsequent engagements with the Committee, they could speak to those particular issues the Committee had raised and they would report back vis-a-vis the questions on employment in their future presentations with much more detailed focus on the work they were doing around employment, and the other questions raised by Members.

The Chairperson thanked Dr Masilela and his delegation for the presentation and was looking forward to future engagements with the HSRC.

The meeting was adjourned.