Science and Technology Minister Derek Hanekom on Wednesday launched the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the National Research Foundation’s (NRF’s) new Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Scientometrics and Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy at Stellenbosch University.

This CoE grew the number of CoEs hosted by the university to four, the others being the CoE for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research, the CoE for Invasion Biology and the CoE in Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis.

"This CoE must build on our existing capacity in scientometrics and innovation policy, it must foster additional capacity and take our ability to understand and fine-tune our innovation environment and policy to a new level. In a sense, this new CoE lies right at the heart of the mission of the DST and the NRF. This is really a very exciting moment for our national system of innovation," Hanekom said at the launch.

Also speaking at the launch, the NRF CEO Dr Albert van Jaarsveld said: “We are confident that this CoE will not only lead to the advancement of knowledge and human capital development but, more importantly, it will help increase the efficiency of our country's use of its knowledge resources. Through the production of high-quality, research-based evidence, this CoE will lead to improved decision-making in science, technology and innovation policy.”

The DST-NRF CoE in Scientometrics and STI Policy would be housed in the Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology (Crest) at Stellenbosch University.

Crest would be the lead host of the CoE, with the Tshwane University of Technology cohosting, while the Centre for Higher Education and Transformation and the Centre for Science and Technology Studies of the Leiden University would be partners.

"Four main thematic areas have already been identified for the new CoE. These are science, technology and innovation indicators, STI policy for development, human development for STI, and science communication, evaluation and impact,” Crest director Professor Johann Mouton said.

“In addition to its research priorities, the CoE will strengthen and expand its master's [degree] and doctoral [degree] programmes in science and technology studies and consolidate national information systems in these areas,” he added.

“Expertise in the field of scientometrics/bibliometrics and STI is fairly scant in South Africa and receives limited attention in terms of training and capacity development. The CoE in Scientometrics and STI Policy will foster and enhance collaboration among the existing experts and researchers and build more human capital for STI policy formulation and review, as well as STI measurement, development and use, and improve the general understanding of the interaction between scientific development and the economy,” the DST and NRF said in a joint statement.