HSRC Integrated Annual Report 2018/2019

The Integrated Annual Report covers the activities and results of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) for the period 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019. The Integrated Annual Report has been prepared in accordancewith the Generally Recognised Accounting Practice (GRAP), the requirements of the Public Finance Management Act (Act No. 1 of 1999, as amended) (PFMA), and the recommendations of the King lV Report. Management also considered the guidelines published by the Integrated Reporting Committee of South Africa. The Integrated Annual Report is published with the aim of assisting stakeholders in assessing the ability of the HSRC to create and sustain value. S c o p e a n d B o u n d a r i e s P r o f i l e o f t h e H u m a n S c i e n c e s R e s e a r c h C o u n c i l The HSRC was established in 1968 to undertake, promote and coordinate research in the human and social sciences. It operates in terms of the Human Sciences Research Council Act, 2008 (Act No. 17 of 2008) which replaces the Human Sciences Research Council Act, 1968 (Act No. 23 of 1968) and provides for the continued existence of the HSRC. The Act outlines the functions of the HSRC Board and mandates the HSRC to: • Initiate, undertake and foster strategic basic and applied research in human sciences; • Address developmental challenges in the Republic, elsewhere in Africa and in the rest of the world by gathering, analysing and publishing data relevant to such challenges, especially by means of projects linked to public sector oriented collaborative programmes; • Inform the effective formulation and monitoring of policy, as well as evaluate the implementation thereof; • Stimulate public debate through the effective dissemination of fact-based research results; • Help build research capacity and infrastructure for the human sciences; • Foster research collaboration, networks and institutional linkages; • Respond to the needs of vulnerable and marginalised groups in society through research and analysis of developmental issues, thus contributing to the improvement of the quality of their lives; • Develop andmake available data sets underpinning research, policy development and public discussion of developmental issues; and • Develop new and improved methodologies for use in the development of such data sets. The HSRC Act also allows the HSRC to undertake or commission research on any subject in the field of the human sciences and to charge fees for research conducted or services rendered at the request of others. The above clearly shows that the HSRC is obliged to renew and increase the pool of researchers and scholars in the humanities and social sciences to ensure continued capacity to undertake research at universities and research institutions in South Africa, including the HSRC itself. Such researchers must be well-rounded and able to conceptualise, plan, and conduct research as well as analyse data, undertake scientific writing and disseminate their research findings. HSRC INTEGRATED ANNUAL REPORT 2018/19 / 3