Chair, despite a limited budget the DST has, over the years, invested in a number of important ICT innovations like wireless mesh technology. It is important that these technologies are transferred and applied. Will this technology be used to expand connectivity in rural areas? This could benefit communities through telemedicine, improved service delivery and strengthening basic education through e-learning.
The awarding of research chairs to build capacity at universities is a very successful programme, which the ACDP would like to see scaled up by investing even more in areas that are important to South Africa's economic development. At the same time, the ACDP calls on the Minister to continue to recognise the valuable contributions being made by other National Research Foundation-rated academics and the future potential of emerging young researchers who are not awarded chairs. We hope you will continue to ensure that adequate funding is available, despite your limited budget, to these researchers to ensure sustainable success in innovation.
Research and innovation in the fields of science, engineering and technology often require multidisciplinary collaboration involving several stakeholders. As the Minister said, South Africa's researchers and technologies often function in silos. Will the department be formulating strategies and deploying technology to foster a greater level of joint ventures between the research councils and key initiatives supported under the budget?
The ACDP commends the Minister on the SA National Research Network and the Centre for High Performance Computing - now key pillars within the cyberinfrastructure intervention. Research shows these initiatives play an important role in preparing students for future broadband networks and computing, which are crucial for South Africa's competitiveness. On that note, the ACDP welcomes the new West African undersea cable launched on Friday, which we hope will drive down bandwidth prices and increase connectivity service levels in the country.
Globally, the term "cyberinfrastructure" is used to describe research environments that support stakeholders to innovate and utilise advanced ICT technologies such as data management, data visualisation, high performance computing, information processing, information security and Internet connectivity and not simply a range of infrastructure that can be rolled out. We suggest that the department treat cyberinfrastructure as an ecosystem and cultivate an inclusive approach that ensures all research infrastructures, key programmes and stakeholders can collectively define an effective strategy and develop an integrated partnership based on a shared vision.
While there are a number of monitoring and evaluation mechanisms within research environments, the ACDP calls on the department to define a range of measurables to benchmark the impact of its investment. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of respective research fields or programmes can enhance South Africa's local and international reputation.
Programmes supported by a number of existing DST strategies ... The ACDP will support this very limited budget. [Time expired.] [Applause.]