The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will strengthen research, development and innovation (RDI) into the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and digitisation, and promote digital inclusion and the creation of socioeconomic opportunities in information and communications technology in South Africa.

CSIR CEO Dr Thulani Dlamini and UNDP South Africa resident representative Dr Ayodele Odusola have signed a memorandum of understanding to deepen their collaboration, which will see the parties working together on scientific and technological research to improve the performance of the economy, which will help to address the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment on the continent.

In the next three years, the two organisations will focus on, besides others, finding solutions to respond to and recover from the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa and the rest of Africa; leveraging indigenous knowledge in RDI to develop products and services for human, environmental, and economic development; and enhancing the participation of youth, women, persons with disabilities and the previously disadvantaged in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and entrepreneurship.

“The CSIR and the UNDP have already been working together to bridge the digital divide in South Africa. The two organisations are working with various local partners to accelerate the roll-out of low-cost internet through the CSIR’s television white spaces technology.

“The pilot project aims to provide internet access to rural communities in the Eastern Cape, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape, and empower communities to access new socioeconomic opportunities,” the CSIR said in an August 17 statement.

“The CSIR is pleased to join hands with the UNDP, which is firmly focused on accelerating technology development on the African continent. We will leverage our technological capabilities and drive sustainable digital connectivity for the development of small businesses,” says Dlamini.

This will benefit rural and under-served communities to achieve sustainable socioeconomic development and digital inclusion. This speaks directly to the CSIR’s mandate to improve the quality of life of South Africans through science and technology, he says.

Further, the UNDP plays a critical role in helping countries worldwide achieve the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The organisation operates in about 170 countries and territories worldwide and has the mandate to help eradicate poverty, reduce inequalities and exclusion, and build resilience so that countries can achieve and sustain progress.

“In the UNDP, innovation is the currency of development. Co-creating development solutions through innovation that leaves no one behind is key to achieving the [South African] National Development Plan and the SDGs.

“The UNDP-CSIR partnership aims at using the innovation ecosystem to end poverty, reduce income inequality, promote job opportunities and safeguard the planet,” says Odusola.