HSRC Integrated Annual Report 2018/2019

In his foreword to the 2018 State of the Nation: Poverty and Inequality: Diagnosis, Prognosis, Responses , former Minister of Public Enterprises, Mr Alec Erwin, succinctly said “We either learn from our recent experiences and pursue a process of nation building around a more humane and egalitarian society, or we continue to stumble and perpetuate the division so redolent in our history.” This year the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) commemorates its 50 th year of existence, and the 90 th of that of its predecessor, the Bureau for Educational and Social Research. We aptly, therefore, reflect on not only our history, but also on how that history can shape a better future. This report presents a number of significant contributions that strengthen and encourage democracy, including support for government’s 25- year review and a survey on the satisfaction levels with services provided by Parliament. However, it was through various novel projects that the cohort of HSRC researchers continued producing knowledge to contribute to addressing the most pressing societal challenges – the first State of South Africa’s Fathers Report, the launch of the first Unjani clinic outside of Gauteng and the first South African bio-behavioural survey (BBS) on HIV in transgender women, to name a few. The success of these projects, like that of the HSRC, relies on strategic partnerships, whether in the form of funders, collaborators or implementers. We are encouraged by the number of collaborative projects that were undertaken with our sister councils, universities and government. This is a trend that we wish to build on and strengthen as we enter into a new five-year strategy. One of the first priorities of the Board when it took office on 1 November 2017, was to plan for and undertake the Fourth Institutional Review of the HSRC. The review was completed in late 2018. Its primary purpose was to assess the performance of the HSRC in relation to its obligation and role in responding to the most pressing societal concerns nationally. A secondary purpose was to assist in preparations for the next five-year strategic plan. It is incumbent on the HSRC Board, which remains accountable to the Minister of Science and Technology, to provide the necessary guidance and oversight, as the HSRC Management now deals with the multiple outcomes of the report. As we embark on the process of developing a new five-year strategic plan for the HSRC, we reaffirm our strategic direction as seeking to produce leading-edge policy research, through engaged scholarship, to utilise in understanding C h a i r p e r s o n ’ s F o r e w o r d “The success of these projects, like that of the HSRC, relies on strategic partnerships, whether in the form of funders, collaborators or implementers.” Professor Mvuyo Tom PART A: ORGANISATIONAL OVERVIEW 6 / HSRC INTEGRATED ANNUAL REPORT 2018/19