Location
Pretoria 0001
South Africa
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, commonly known as the CSIR, is a world-class African research and development organisation established through an Act of Parliament in 1945 and the organisation’s executive authority is the Minister of Science and Technology of South Africa. The CSIR undertakes directed, multidisciplinary research and technological innovation that contribute to the improved quality of life of South Africans. The organisation plays a key role in supporting government’s programmes through directed research that is aligned with the country’s priorities, the organisation’s mandate and its science, engineering and technology competences.
Impact is at the core of our business and the following objectives are crafted to ensure that we deliver on our mandate:
Build and transform human capital - Our scientific and technical contributions are only made possible through the skills and capabilities of our scientific staff. The CSIR is an important part of the national system of innovation and through the development and training of our scientific base, contributes to the national imperative to develop human capital and to the ongoing transformation of our society.
Conduct high-quality research to foster scientific development - The CSIR contributes to scientific development by identifying and investing in various areas of research to enable the translation of CSIR research into solid scientific output such as publications, technology demonstrators and intellectual property.
Conduct relevant research to foster industrial development - This strategic objective is achieved through the selection and implementation of a range of R&D programmes, in collaboration with various stakeholders to identify opportunities to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of our existing industries.
Infrastructure renewal and development - Research infrastructure is fundamental to the organisation accomplishing its scientific and industrial development mandate. Therefore, the investment in research and built infrastructure and the implementation of the Campus Master Plan will help us achieve this.
Financial sustainability and governance – Financial sustainability and sound track record of governance are imperative to the success of the organisation in the long-term. We are committed to upholding that.
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Resources
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5The State of Land Information in South Africa
What is the state of land information in South Africa? Is there really a lack of land data to support decisions and to improve land governance? This was the point of departure that a team of specialists grappled with to uncover the many different sources of land data and information available in South Africa. For the very first time, they attempted to systematically review and categorize the entire ecosystem of data and information related to key land topics in the country, assessing over 104 land datasets from 59 different sources.
Informal settlements and access to data in the time of COVID: a case for sharing data for decision making
The spread of COVID-19 in South Africa and other countries in the region has again brought to the fore the fact that very dense, under-serviced, mostly informal, settlements are not healthy places to live. They are also places where the spread of a disease is difficult to prevent or manage.
The kind of emergency response that was required to address the imminent spread of COVID-19 highlighted the widespread vulnerability of the poorest, compounded by highly unequal access to services and ongoing unhealthy living conditions.
State of land information in South Africa
The report is based on a collaboration between the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa and the Land Portal Foundation, in collaboration with local partners, in individual countries. It is based on a wide-ranging survey of sources of land information in South Africa, conducted by the CSIR, ‘Sources of Land Information in South Africa and their Institutional Context’, published as a companion document.
Sources of Land Information in South Africa and their Institutional Context
Land Portal and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have collaborated on this project designed “…to uncover, democratize and improve the land data and information ecosystem in South Africa” (Land Portal Foundation, 2019). This is one of a number of State of Land Information (SoLI) projects in an international process covering a number of countries. The first part of the project involved in-country teams scoping the information landscape (resulting in this report).
Red Book
The Neighbourhood Planning and Design Guide is a comprehensively updated and revised version of its predecessor, the Guidelines for Human Settlement Planning and Design, commonly known as the Red Book. The Red Book, published in 2000, was preceded by a series of guideline documents aimed at improving the quality of settlement planning and design.