The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has once again demonstrated high standards of science, financial sustainability and corporate governance during its 2012/13 financial year, says the organisation's CEO, Dr Sibusiso Sibisi.

Sibisi says that the CSIR has delivered positive financial results, with total turnover continuing to grow, and the net profit exceeding target despite the difficult economic climate.

“It is the passion and commitment of our people that breathe life and energy into our mandate and allow the organisation and its partners to provide relevant solutions to real problems. Beyond good research and good governance, we continually strive to enhance the impact of our work in industrial development and society through our contribution to service delivery,” says Sibisi.

The Minister of Science and Technology, Mr Derek Hanekom says that not only should the CSIR’s work respond and seek solutions to the many developmental challenges facing South Africa, but it should do so in partnership with others.

Partnerships are indeed fundamental to most of the work done at the CSIR as they are vital for uptake and implementation of new innovation.  In addition to identifying strategic areas of activity with the Department of Science and Technology, the CSIR partners with various state-owned entities and private companies.

“In the state-owned enterprises sector, we are particularly pleased about our growing partnerships with Transnet and Eskom. Partnerships enhanced during the past year in the private sector include those with Airbus and Boeing. We continue to seek stronger and more strategic partnerships with the private sector. We are also steadily growing our relationships with provincial and local government,” says Sibisi.

The partnership with Transnet will see this organisation tapping into CSIR’s technological innovation and research capabilities. In the case of Boeing/CSIR collaboration, the two entities will cooperate on developing ways to incorporate titanium powder into novel industrial manufacturing processes and products. With Airbus, the CSIR together with Aerosud have agreed to partner on a research project to test the application of titanium powder-based Additive Layer Manufacturing for the fabrication of large and complex aerospace components.

“Over the past year, the CSIR has actively worked to either establish or enhance existing relationships with stakeholders in the public and private sectors. The CSIR’s approach of looking at challenges from a systems or whole-environment point of view means that it can draw successfully from its multidisciplinary base to deliver comprehensive solutions as opposed to addressing only the symptoms,” says Minister Hanekom.

Key performance indicators

In terms of its key performance indicators, the CSIR achieved good performance with regards to its objective of strengthening the science, engineering and technology base. It produced 33 new technology demonstrators against the targeted 26. It also managed to register 35 patents against a target of 15, which will support future commercialisation activities.

The CSIR was able to secure better than anticipated contract R&D income and exceeded the annual target of R1 275.8 million and recorded R1 403.1 million. The private sector and international income was achieved, representing growth of over 12% in these categories.

The CSIR reported positive results and maintained its track record of an unqualified audit for the 2012/13 financial year. The statement of comprehensive income for 2012/13 shows the total operating income of the CSIR increased by 7.5% to an amount of R2 022.8 million (2011/12: R1 881 million). The net profit of the CSIR amounted to R48.4 million.

A copy of the CSIR Annual Report 2012/13 can be accessed from this link: http://www.csir.co.za/publications/Annual_Report_2012_13.html