1. Symposium on Developing the capacity of ECR
The Importance od Supporting Emerging Researchers: The NRF Perspective
Symposium on Developing the capacity of ECR
18 March 2019

2. The NRF Transformation Framework Challenges related to developing LIR
A Framework for enabling Exceptionally Talented Black or Women SA Early Career Researchers to become Leading International Researchers
Contents
The NRF Transformation Framework
Challenges related to developing LIR
Interventions in the system
NRF’s intent
NRF Researcher Study 2018
Principles of the NRF’s proposed intervention
Criteria for admission
Proposal

3. The NRF Transformation Framework
Transforming equity profiles of postgraduate students and researchers
Transforming the knowledge enterprise
Transforming the nature of science & society relationships
Building a fully diverse & inclusive learning organisation (ONE NRF)

4. A Framework for enabling Exceptionally Talented Black or Women SA Early Career Researchers to become Leading International Researchers
Challenges:
The demographic profile of academic staff has not mirrored the changed profile of students.
The leading international researchers are not representative of the demographics of South Africa and are ageing (SARChIs, A-Rated).
The average time taken for an early career researcher to achieve an A rating is 28 years (from Y to A)
There are no inter-connected interventions to enable an early career researcher to be a leading international researcher.
Younger researchers have a more complex challenge to surmount than those who are established. Specifically, they must succeed under greater fiscal constraints and uncertainty; a limited academic labour market and highly variable access to resources, such as functional research offices, unproductive and inactive research environments and absent mentors.
First why not an internal lens ?
Then…..why include in a transformation position?

5. Interventions in the system for Early Career Researchers (ECR):
A Framework for enabling Exceptionally Talented Black or Women SA Early Career Researchers to become Leading International Researchers
Interventions in the system for Early Career Researchers (ECR):
THUTHUKA GRANTS FOR ACADEMICS AND RESEARCHERS
PhD Track (max support years)
Post PhD Track (max support 3+3 years)
Next generation of academics programme
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
Three year postdoctoral appointment at public research institutions
CAREER RESEARCH AWARDS
Five year appointment at public research institutions
NRF-FRF SABBATICAL FOR BLACK ACADEMICS
PhD Track (max 3 year sabbatical)
Post PhD Track (max 2 year sabbatical)
Limitation is the absence of continued funding to progress from emerging to established to an internationally leading researcher

6. A Framework for enabling Exceptionally Talented Black or Women SA Early Career Researchers to become Leading International Researchers
NRF’s intent:
Make a long-term investment in a cohort of exceptionally talented South African early career researchers;
Focus is on the entire pipeline from next generation, to early career and established researchers;
Advance research careers of exceptional individuals to become outstanding and internationally leading researchers;
Implement initiatives to enable the acceleration of research careers of these exceptional individuals; and
Continue to invest in the current initiatives for the rest of the researchers.
This is not a new rating system neither is this about fixing the NRF Rating.

7. The NRF study revealed and confirmed the following:
A Framework for enabling Exceptionally Talented Black or Women SA Early Career Researchers to become Leading International Researchers
The NRF study revealed and confirmed the following:
There are specific and necessary conditions that enable and propel talented researchers to become leading international researchers.
There is significant variability in the extent and degree of support, resources and advocacy that exists at South African institutions that participated in this study.
Where early career researchers were led, managed and mentored by leading international researchers, they are effective, highly productive and driven.
There is need to provide early career researchers with appropriate long-term support to enable them to transition and accelerate their attainment of the status as an international researcher.
In institutions with enabling conditions, talented early career researchers are able to drive their own autonomous research programmes independent from their doctoral supervisors.

8. A Framework for enabling Exceptionally Talented Black or Women SA Early Career Researchers to become Leading International Researchers
All respondents in the study, regardless of discipline, age and rank, believe that “it takes the very best in the world of research to identify, enable, train and retain the very best young talent”.
Almost all respondents in the survey sample indicated that there are crucial components to enable a talented early career researcher to become a leading international researcher. These components can be clustered around four broad, closely linked dimensions:
Individual dimension - that determines the character and credentials of an exceptional early career researcher.
Institutional dimension - that determines the necessary environment for supporting, accelerating and enabling exceptional early career researchers to be leading international researchers.
Funder dimension - that determines the necessary mechanisms, programmes and instruments to promote the transitions between research career stages.
Government dimension - that determines the regulatory conditions and necessary policy instruments that contribute to enabling exceptional early career researchers to become leading researchers.
Feedback about bullet 4
First why not an internal lens ?
Then…..why include in a transformation position?

9. Principles of the proposed programme:
A Framework for enabling Exceptionally Talented Black or Women SA Early Career Researchers to become Leading International Researchers
Principles of the proposed programme:
Commitment to Research Excellence
Research excellence will be a cornerstone of this programme both in terms of selection of beneficiaries and the development of their research careers. Excellence will be measured in terms of both individual achievements and the quality of the research project proposal of the researcher.
Advancing and Promoting Equity
In order to address under-representation of Black or women researchers in the current cohort of South Africa’s leading international researchers, the programme will promote and advance equity of opportunity by setting equity targets as suggested below:
80% Blacks (African, Coloured, and Indians)
55% Women.
Advancing and Promoting Professional Progression
Individuals accepted into the programme are expected to reach a milestone of a leading international researcher ideally by 50 years of age.

10. South African Citizenship
A Framework for enabling Exceptionally Talented Black or Women SA Early Career Researchers to become Leading International Researchers
Below are the suggested criteria for possible admission to the programme:
South African Citizenship
High-quality doctoral degree within the past 5 years in any discipline
High quality novel research project. 
Research project feasibility assessment report.
Established local and international collaboration.
Minimum of 3  articles published in high-impact international journals, monograph or book chapters from the PhD dissertation. (Dependent on the area)

11. Transforming equity profiles of RESEARCHER COHORT (PROPOSAL)
Create an exclusive highly competitive programme to identify, provide uninterrupted and long-term funding support to extraordinarily talented, self-driven, highly intellectually independent young South African researchers (PhD holders) who conduct incredibly novel research, produce ‘game changing’ publication outputs and have the highest probability to influence and impact the international knowledge enterprise and have already created strong influential international networks.
Establish effective and efficient partnerships to enable, enhance capability and leverage substantive capacitate these researchers to thrive for a 15 year period

12. Enkosi, Thank you, Re a leboga, Siyabonga, Dankie
Foreground:
cost of living and
Forex
During the 2018/19 financial year, the NRF will receive parliamentary grant appropriation of R905m. This will be augmented by R3,418bn of contracts making annual income of R4,323bn . This is a reduction of R823m in nominal terms. While this translates to a decrease of 20% in real terms, the NRF will continue to, effectively and efficiently, within these parameters, support the research community in terms of its mandate. The organisation will also continue to uphold its unwavering commitment to transformation, a strong service culture, good governance, sustainability, and research excellence.