The Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the World Bank on Thursday cemented a seven-year relationship through the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU), in Pretoria.

The MoU was aimed at strengthening and building on a partnership that leveraged innovation and technology to drive socioeconomic development by improving the quality of public services and contributing to job creation in South Africa, said DST international cooperation and resources acting deputy director-general Vinny Pillay.

The formalisation of the partnership comes as the World Bank last month published a new Country Partnership Strategy for South Africa that would guide the organisation’s proposed support over the next three years until 2017, added World Bank country director for South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland Asad Alam.

Reducing inequality, promoting investment and strengthening institutions were the three pillars of the new strategy.

The parties would continue to ensure that government leveraged the World Bank's expertise and experience in the area of science and technology, while the World Bank would absorb the lessons learnt in South Africa to apply to other developing economies.

“The creative use of science and technology, being pursued by the DST, can make a real difference in improving the lives of people,” said Alam, pointing out that creative science and technology solutions could be applied to the reduction of inequality and the elimination of poverty.

But more work needed to be done, particularly in terms of refining the scope of work to be undertaken by the partners.

A newly formed committee would meet twice a year to review progress and strategise, with the first meeting set to take place on Friday.

DST information and communication technology and service industry director Jeanette Morwane said the MoU would strengthen and continue support for existing initiatives, such as the Mobile Applications Laboratory (mLab) – the first phase of which started in 2011 – under which 11 start-ups that are developing innovative mobile applications and services were being incubated.

The second phase of the project was set to run from 2014 to 2016, and would aim to expand the mLab service through virtual hubs to other provinces, establish mLab nodes in select townships, with a township in Tshwane and in Cape Town currently selected for this phase, and launch a training academy to develop the requisite skills.

The parties also aimed to develop a pipeline between the mLab and innovation hubs on the continent.

The stronger partnership would enable pilot initiatives in townships and rural areas to contribute to the efficiencies and implementaion of service delivery and improve the quality of life of citizens, Morwane noted, citing the successful Comfivaba project, which focused on developing innovative solutions for challenges faced by rural communities, including sanitation and water and education, besides others.

A rural education pilot project in the region provided students access to education through tablets and e-textbooks, along with career guidance and the potential establishment of a science centre.

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s ICT arm, Meraka, in conjunction with the Department of Basic Education and the DST, besides others, delivered tablets to 26 Nciba Circuit schools in the Comfivaba school district.

The pilot has been expanded to include a further 11 schools, with the first round of training of teachers in the use of multimedia tablets, and ensuring connectivity, under way.

The initiative would supply tablets to a further 14 schools in 2014.

The MoU would also allow for the development of new joint initiatives that would contribute to the creation of technology-based enterprises through innovation and entrepreneurship; deepen policy dialogue and engagement in the areas of science, technology and innovation; and strengthen links with innovation ecosystems, networks and partnerships in knowledge-sharing and capacity-building among government, research and academic institutions and private sector partners.