The NGP requires infrastructure to support it, and the Department plays a supporting role in various strategic integrated projects (SIPs) that form part of the National Infrastructure Plan. The Department is involved in three of the 18 SIPs; namely, SIP 14 (Higher Education and Infrastructure), SIP 15 (Expanding access to communication technology) and SIP 16 (Square Kilometre Array [SKA] and MeerKAT). The Department also contributes to Outcome 4 ("decent employment through inclusive economic growth") and 5 ("a skilled and capable workforce to support an inclusive growth path") of the governments 12 Key Outcomes.