The Directorate of Strategic Partnerships under the Department of Science and Technology (DST) (South Africa) to collaborate with the Academy of Science and Technology of South Africa (ASSAf) in the successful implementation of this project. Dorothy Ngila, Coordinator of ASSAf Strengthening the European-South African Science and Technology Advancement Program (ESASTAP) Plus, for providing strategic guidance and administrative support for the implementation of the project. The fit between the national priorities and the 122 FP7 projects was examined through a density map of the projects' topic categories, as derived from the CORDIS database.
An analysis of data in the CORDIS database shows that South Africa's participation in FP7 can be interpreted as the result of a number of factors. Second, the networks and collaborations created create a situation where South African researchers are almost automatically drawn into the collaborative activities of the parties in their network. Of the FP7 research priority areas, health, environment and Marie Curie actions received the largest number of applications from South African institutions (See Table 2 which outlines the number of applications per research priority area, as well as the total funding for which applied and related funds success rates).
The remainder of this report aims to provide further insight into South Africa's participation in the EU's OP7. Of the 14 DST projects, 11 are in the Capacities sub-programme and three in the Cooperation program.
CORDIS database
Web surveys of South African participants in FP7 projects and international coordinators of
Only three South African participants and six international coordinators had completed the survey by April 2015. To improve the survey response rate (i.e. reduce the number of undeliverable emails and ensure that the appropriate project staff was targeted) a search was carried out for the website of each of the 122 FP7 projects. In the case of the 90 single-website projects, the website was inspected for names and emails of South African participants as well as those of international coordinators.
Therefore, in May 2015, the survey was sent out again with a changed email list. At the end of the survey, only 18 responses were received – nine in each of the two surveys. Therefore, the survey results presented in this report are limited, but the findings are significantly expanded through quantitative and qualitative desktop analysis.
Both these documents and the MS Access database significantly enriched the key findings and recommendations contained in this report.
Focus group with DST officials
The DST agenda
A clear example of the DST approach to co-creating equal partnership scenarios is the ERA-NET (or ERAfrica) project. Like DST and most other African partners, we have seen that for too long it has been a one-way street where we are taking advantage of European opportunities. But the main goal of the ERA-NET project is to launch joint appeals to all partners.
DST must therefore first assess any request for participation in EU partnership projects against its own national STI priorities as well as those of the wider African region. The discussions surrounding DST bilateral agreements with sister ministries in the rest of the continent provide such a platform. Under FP7, the EU did not provide 100% of the requested funding, resulting in a lack of funding.
So when we have these meetings, we share with them what these opportunities are and try to mobilize and connect South Africans directly with other researchers on the continent or Europeans. Part of DST's agenda is to increase the participation of South African industry in Horizon 2020.
Alignment of South Africa’s participation in FP7 with the country’s STI priorities
We will share with them best practices from South Africa's experience of co-financing EU projects.” Regarding industry participation in FP7, the general lack of interest from firms is a major concern although it appears to be less so in the ERAfrica (ERA-NET) project. Three reasons are given for the lack of interest expressed by firms: the "top-down" approach where firms are told what to do rather than given the freedom to set their own agenda; the misconception that intellectual property created under FP7 would automatically be channeled to the EU; and a stronger FP7 focus on basic research, often at the expense of the commercialization that sits at the other end of the innovation chain.
The more 'generic' National R&D Strategy appears to be the one most considered by respondents in their FP7 projects (eight out of nine respondents; Table 7), followed by the bioeconomy and ICT strategies (three each respondents). . The alignment between the national DST priorities and the FP7 projects can also be explored through a visual map of the subject categories of the 122 FP7 projects, as derived from the CORDIS database. A density map of the frequency and co-occurrence of the topic categories was created in VOSViewer, and the result is shown as Figure 2.
The latter focus, in addition to supporting the "farmer to pharmaceutical" grand challenge, also speaks to a number of technological missions that fall under the innovation pillar of the National Research and Development Strategy, especially biotechnology and technology for poverty reduction. It should also be noted that space science, energy security and ICT are all present in the density map, although these appear to form isolated threads.
Participation of South Africa (and the rest of Africa) in FP7: Reasons and roles
Of the nine South African participants who completed the online survey, eight cited this as a reason for joining the FP7 project (Table 8). This framework will ensure continuity of recording and demonstrates the existing commitment of the institutes concerned to long-term monitoring. Four of the nine participants in the survey cited well-established relationships as a reason for participating in FP7 (Table 9).
The collaboration came about as a result of time I spent at one of the participating-. That said, a Eurocentric approach at the core of an FP7 project is not necessarily undesirable, as it could generate a spin-off for South Africa and the rest of the continent. Africa as a region in need of intervention is probably the most prominent theme in the CORDIS project summaries, and provides a fourth reason for South Africa's (and the rest of the continent's) participation in FP7.
Examples include studies on the marine biodiversity of the Atlantic and Southern Oceans, and studies on the sensitivity of the Agulhas Current. We participated in the conceptualization of the overall project 8 We contributed to the conceptual framework/model/theoretical argumentation 7.
The project website as a mode of communicating the project results and insights
An expected value/outcome of the FP7 project, but I don't know if it was successfully achieved. An expected value outcome of the FP7 project, but I don't know if it was successfully achieved. I agree to participate in the survey of the international coordinators of FP7 projects with South African participation.
The main activities planned to fulfill each of the project objectives (can be complete WPs or individual tasks).
