1. RESEARCH ADMINSTRATORS WORKSHOP CHALLENGES FACED BY NRF
STUDENT AFFAIRS
CHALLENGES FACED BY NRF
THASHNI PILLAY
10 OCTOBER 2017

2. OVERVIEW Grants Management Process and Implementation
Grant Management Systems
Grant Expenditure and Compliance
Stakeholder Engagements
Role of the DA
Honours Block Grant Process
Proof of Registrations and Progress Reports
Travel Grants

3. Grant Management Process & Implementation
Adherence to Call Schedule
Business Processes and Controls
Participation of Institutions under Funding Calls
Grant Manuals
Reporting- Student Completion, Progress Reports

4. Grant Management Systems
Optimizing Electronic System
Data Management
Application Management
Supporting Documents and Conditions of Grant
Nominations

5. EPR Application Statistics
Applications Submitted to NRF for 2017 under ERP
Appeal for DAAD-NRF In-Country Master’s and Doctoral Scholarships Programme 2016 9
Appeal for NRF Free-standing-Scarce Skills-Innovation Postdoctoral Fellowship Call for 2016 11
Appeal for Sabbatical Grants to Complete Doctoral Degrees 2016 2
Appeal for Thuthuka 2016 6
Call for 2016 SANCOR Postdoctoral Fellowship 5
Call for SANCOR International Travel Student Award for 2016 4
DAAD/NRF Joint In-Country Masters and Doctoral Scholarship 2018
1456
DST-NRF Collaborative Postgraduate Training Call for 2018 66
DST-NRF Extension Support for Masters and Doctoral Students 2018
650
DST-NRF Fellowships for Early Career Researchers from the United Kingdom 2018 8
DST-NRF Professional Development Programme (PDP) Block Grant Call for 2018 15
DST-NRF Research Development Grants for New Generation of Academics Programme (nGAP) Scholars 2017 20
DST-NRF Support for Part-time Doctoral Students 2018 93
NRF Freestanding, Innovation and Scarce Skills Development Fund Masters and Doctoral Scholarships 2018
5919
NRF Free-Standing, Innovation and Scarce Skills Postdoctoral Fellowships 2018
870
NRF-FRF Sabbatical Grant 2018 60
NRF-TWAS Postdoctoral Fellowships 2018 97
NRF-TWAS/African Renaissance Doctoral Scholarship 2018
185
Sabbatical Grants for Completion of Doctoral Degrees 2018 88
Thuthuka 2018
484
Grand Total
10048

6. Grant Expenditure % of Expenditure under Institutions
Award vs Released vs Claim
Management of Audit Findings- NRF/ Institution
Financial Compliance
Proactive Monitoring of Grants
Improve the Turnaround under Grant Expenditure

8. Stakeholder Engagement
Proactive sharing of Information
Daily Communication ( , telephone)
24hrs Response to Queries
Targeted institutional Visits

9. Roles of the DA Communicate NRF Calls and Processes within Institution
Checking Applications for Eligibility
Advising on queries from Students/ Researchers
Ensuring Compliance on Processes
Checking all requirements are meet
Upload all nominations and documents
Report and update NRF Information

10. Honours Block Grant Process

14. Proof of Registration
Inconsistencies under POR (PT vs FT, Semester registration, Pre-registration, Unofficial)
Proof of Registration Audit Requirements
On Institutional letter head (sign and stamped)
Date, Full name of student, ID number, Student number, Address, Registration year, Degree registered for (level), Date of first registration for the degree, Year of study for current degree or degree registered for, Full time or part time, Upgrade from Masters to Doctoral

15. Progress Reports Timeframes- November 2017 to 15 February 2018
Approval without POR
POR to be sent for release of funding
Institutions not adhering to deadlines
Incomplete reports submitted
Missing documentation and supervisor recommendation
Submission of reports from persons that are not eligible for renewal

16. Travel Grants Missing and Incomplete documentation
No supervisor recommendations
Applicants and Institutions not adhering to timeframes under Guide
Masters- Local vs International Travel

17. Challenges Experienced
Lack of Institutional understanding of NRF Processes and requirements under funding programmes
Submission of Incomplete Applications, Progress Reports, Travel Requests, Nominations
Grantholders not viewing their grant statements
Institutional not keeping to deadlines for taking up of funds
Double Dipping under grants
On renewal of support, DA’s need to recheck eligibility of applicant- issues of employment
DA’s referring queries to the NRF that can be resolved at institutional level
Issue of data integrity submitted by institutions