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Prepared for the National Council on Innovation (NACI)
by the Knowledge Management Group of the Human Sciences Research
Council in parnership with CSIR Policy
Published by HSRC Publishers
Private Bag X9182, Cape Town, 8000 South Africa
www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za
© 2004 Human Sciences Research Council
First published 2004
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Foreword vii
Preface viii
Acknowledgements x
Executive summary xi
Abbreviations xix
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
1.1 The context of the study 1
1.2 Terms of reference 4
1.3 Objectives 5
1.4 Components of the report 5
Chapter 2: Framework for understanding mobility
among R&D workers 7
2.1 Introduction 7
2.2 Theoretical orientation 7
2.3 Policy 9
2.4 Methodology 24
Chapter 3: Quantifying the mobility of South
Africa’s R&D workers 27
3.1 Introduction 27
3.2 South Africa’s human resources in science and technology 29
3.3 South Africa’s R&D workers 59
3.4 Key issues 68
Chapter 4: Mobility from the Perspective of
organisations 69
4.1 Introduction 69
4.2 Issues concerning the mobility of South African R&D workers 69
4.3 Issues concerning mobility in priority fields of technology 77
4.4 Key issues
Chapter 5: Mobility from the perspective of
individuals 85
5.1 Introduction 85
5.2 What do the interviews tell us about the mobility of R&D workers? 85
5.3 Key issues 92
Chapter 6: Policy implications and
recommendations 95
6.1 Introduction 95
6.2 Recommendations for the short term 95
6.3 Recommendations for the medium term 99
6.4 Recommendations for the long term 103
6.5 Key issues 104
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Contents
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Appendices 109
Appendix 1 Terms of reference 109
Appendix 2 Another look at migration statistics 113
Appendix 3 List of organisations interviewed 120
Bibliography 122
Figures
Figure 3.1 South Africa’s human resources basin 27
Figure 3.2 South Africa’s highly skilled human resources estuary 29
Figure 3.3 Total foreign students enrolled in South African HEIs
1985–2001 31
Figure 3.4 Nationality of SANSA members 31
Figure 3.5 Professional sectors of SANSA members 32
Figure 3.6 Field of expertise of SANSA members 32
Figure 3.7 South African population changes 1996–2002 33
Figure 3.8 Dynamics of South Africa’s population components 34
Figure 3.9 The relative size of the foreign student population in
South Africa 35
Figure 3.10 Highest levels of education achieved by gender in 1996 37
Figure 3.11 Gender of HRST by qualification 1997-2002 38
Figure 3.12 Highest level of education achieved by race in 1996 39
Figure 3.13 Age of HRST in 1996 39
Figure 3.14 Age of disaggregated HRST in 1996 40
Figure 3.15 Foreign students enrolled in South African HEIs by region 40
Figure 3.16 Comparative regional nationalities of foreign students
in 2000 41
Figure 3.17 Total population, 20 years and older, by skills level in 1996 42
Figure 3.18 Employed HRST by field of formal qualification 42
Figure 3.19 Employed HRST by level of qualifications 43
Figure 3.20 Employed HRST by qualifications and gender 43
Figure 3.21 Flows of South African HRST 44
Figure 3.22 Domestic HRST inflows 1987–2000 46
Figure 3.23 Inflows from immigrating non-South African HRST
1987–2001 47
Figure 3.24 Comparison of HRST immigrants by age 1997 and 2000 48
Figure 3.25 HRST immigrants by gender 1997 and 2000 48
Figure 3.26 Top ten sources of immigrants to South Africa 1997–2001 49
Figure 3.27 Sectoral employment in South Africa 1980–2002 50
Figure 3.28 Movements in HRST skills by level of formal qualifications
1987–2000 51
Figure 3.29 Honours (or equivalent) degrees 1987–2000 51
Figure 3.30 Master’s (or equivalent) degrees 1987–2000 52
Figure 3.31 Doctoral (or equivalent) degrees 1987–2000 53
Figure 3.32 Outflows from emigrating South African HRST 1987–2001 54
Figure 3.33 Comparison of HRST emigrants by age 1997 and 2000 55
Figure 3.34 HRST emigrants by gender 1997 and 2000 56
iv
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Figure 3.35 Top ten destinations of emigrating South Africans 1997–2001 56
Figure 3.36 Level of SC-R&D personnel education by gender 61
Figure 3.37 SC-R&D personnel occupations by gender 62
Figure 3.38 Level of SC-R&D personnel education by race 62
Figure 3.39 SC-R&D personnel occupations by race 63
Figure 3.40 Age of SC-R&D personnel 63
Figure 3.41 Comparative age structures of the highly skilled 64
Figure 3.42 SC-R&D personnel in 2002 by nationality 64
Figure 3.43 Non-South African SC-R&D personnel by region of origin 65
Figure 3.44 Reported destinations of departing SC-R&D personnel
in 2002 66
Figure A2.1 Annual permanent migration of South Africa’s HRST
1997–2001 118
Figure A2.2 Regional emigration to immigration ratios 119
Tables
Table 3.1 South Africa’s human resources in science and technology
1988–2002 30
Table 3.2 Comparative percentages of HRST in the adult population 34
Table 3.3 Comparative international statistics on foreign student
composition for the year 2000 36
Table 3.4 Unemployment (expanded) of economically active population
in 1997, 2000 and 2002 34
Table 3.5 Employment status by race in 1997 and 2002 38
Table 3.6 Inflows and outflows of South Africa’s HRST 1997–2001 45
Table 3.7 Comparison of four-yearly inflows 47
Table 3.8 Annual HRST outflows from mortality 1997–2002 53
Table 3.9 Under-reporting in South African emigration statistics for the
top five destinations 54
Table 3.10 Comparison of four-yearly outflows 55
Table 3.11 Percentages of students studying abroad in 2000 57
Table 3.12 South Africa’s R&D workforce 1991–2002 60
Table 3.13 Inflows to science council R&D personnel 65
Table 3.14 Reported knowledge of R&D staff destinations 66
Table 3.15 Outflows from the science councils 67
Table 4.1 Skills development in the SC-R&D workforce 77
Table A2.1 Migration statistics from various sources 114
Table A2.2 Migration over four year periods 117
Table A2.3 Aggregate annual permanent migration flows for the last five
years and cumulative totals for the last 15 years 117
v
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A study on the mobility of R&D workers
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Human capital, human knowledge, people – while we live in an electronic age, people
are the most catalytic ingredient of the maelstrom of change, innovation and development
that is the global knowledge economy. We live in a world in which specialist knowledge
is in great demand and is therefore highly mobile. The major cities around which
scientific and economic innovation is nurtured are increasingly multicultural and
accommodating of the diversity of peoples on the planet, and this encourages mobility
even further.
Much of the knowledge in the science, engineering and technology disciplines is tacit
knowledge, embedded within people who are not easy to replace. South Africa has, over
the past four decades, experienced a significant outflow of research and development
(R&D) workers, but is also experiencing inflows from other parts of the world, in
particular from the African continent. Are the overall results of these movements and
migrations generally beneficial to South Africa, or are they retarding the country’s ability
to become more competitive and improve its global positioning with respect to key
economic sectors? What strategies should we adopt to benefit from global (including
South African) R&D mobility?
In order to prepare a response to these questions, a collection of data and perspectives
has been gathered and is presented here for consideration. The National Advisory Council
on Innovation (NACI) initially conceived of this study during the course of visits by NACI
council members to the South African science councils in August/September 2001. One of
the recurring themes they encountered during discussion was the loss of R&D
professionals and the inability to retain both experienced and recent entrants into the
institution. It was agreed that R&D mobility was not necessarily a negative factor, but
NACI council members were uneasy that they were unable to answer the question of
whether this mobility was indeed proving beneficial or not. During the same period, there
was significant debate on whether South Africa should open its doors and welcome non-
citizens into the R&D workforce.
This is the first study on R&D mobility to be conducted in South Africa. We have
attempted to lay bare some of the facts and figures that offer early insights and build our
understanding of how to address the challenges. The recommendations in Chapter Six
offer practical responses that are immediately clear from the study.
In the context of the national R&D strategy, providing effective measures for the long-
term health of the national R&D workforce is a key policy consideration.
Luci Abrahams
Reference Group Convenor, NACI
vii
©HSRC 2004
Foreword
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viii
©HSRC 2004
South Africa’s re-emergence from isolation has placed it under intense pressure in areas
such as international trade and the mobility of human resources. These are areas in which
most other competitor countries have been developing policies and taking advantage of
new opportunities in this time of intensifying globalisation. It is not easy to play ‘catch-
up’ in the fast-paced world economy, where developing economies have to compete with
industrialised countries with far greater economies of scale and influence on the global
economy.
The mobility of highly skilled workers, particularly the R&D workforce, was the central
concern of this project. In media reports and public addresses, concern is often raised
about the loss of highly skilled human resources from South Africa.
Mobility of this nature is a world-wide trend, however, and many industrialised countries,
such as the United Kingdom (UK), face similar problems. Many of their top researchers
migrate to the United States (US), where prospects for research are viewed as better and
brighter.
Emerging economies such as India (and now China), with a large pool of highly skilled
graduates, see many of their most talented young knowledge workers leaving for highly
paid jobs abroad and prospects of upward mobility that are scarce in their own country.
South Africa also experiences the problem of a decline in skilled immigration to the
country since the 1980s. At the same time, there has been a surge in the number of
immigrants from other parts of Africa, both legal and illegal. National policies and
regulations on immigration are complex and have not yet developed to the stage that
they are in harmony with the Human Resource Development Strategy for South Africa,
the National Research and Development Strategy and the National Plan for Higher
Education. These three strategies drive the development of highly skilled human
resources in South Africa, and the R&D workforce in particular, and must operate
harmoniously with other policy instruments of government.
Since 1994, South African policy makers have been involved in a prolific period of
developing new policies and legislation. Over the next few years, it will be important for
these policies to be more closely integrated, particularly as regards the development of
highly skilled human resources. Even more importantly, the National Research and
Development Strategy and the Human Resource Development Strategy are both strongly
indicator based and need accurate and timeous data to monitor the progress and success
of the strategies.
Mobility does not refer only to the movement of people between countries but also the
movement of people within systems. Questions such as why trained researchers leave
their research fields for management positions, and where the next generation of science
and technology workers is going to come from, need to be asked and answered. South
Africa currently has problems in providing the kinds of data and information required,
particularly in the important areas of informal and small business skills and gender and
race demographics. The data gathering system is improving, but the present project
shows how critical it is to have clear information if we are to make informed decisions on
issues related to the mobility of the R&D workforce.
Preface
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Further afield, the European Union (EU) has been paying close attention to promoting the
mobility of its R&D and other skilled workers within the EU, since the flows of these
people promote understanding between countries, help form enduring and productive
networks between countries and institutions and are an important driver of innovation.
The OECD has a similar interest, and works closely with the EU in this regard. The EU
is nevertheless concerned about outward migration of high level human resources,
especially to the US, and the EU 6th Framework Programme includes financial aid to
attract the return of scientists and researchers and to promote their circulation.
The message is that mobility needs to be understood, and that it should be managed by
making the home environment as attractive as possible and maintaining contact with the
diaspora. South Africa, as a leader in R&D and science and technology (S&T) in Africa
needs to understand the forces and pressures that drive mobility in South Africa and in
other African Union countries. Co-operative agreements and good intentions between
countries are only as strong as the people that actually implement them, and mobility is
an important factor in promoting co-operation and understanding.
Lastly, a deeper understanding of the links between investment in R&D and the
innovation process in firms is required. Globalisation is driving a decentralisation of
innovation away from the old company laboratory operating alongside corporate
headquarters. Value chains for both production and knowledge production are now
global, with innovation occurring at many disjoint sites. R&D outputs are therefore
sourced globally in ways that both depend upon and are restricted by mobility. Mobility
is therefore a much wider concept than the ‘brain drain’, and that is what this study seeks
to explore.
Michael Kahn
Executive Director, Knowledge Management Group, HSRC
ix
©HSRC 2004
preface
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This project is the first to be completed by the new HSRC Knowledge Management
Group. It also represents the first project on which the group collaborated with a fellow
science council, namely the CSIR.
It is therefore pleasing to acknowledge how the various working relationships have
developed, both within the HSRC and in conjunction with the CSIR. Additional funding
from NACI also permitted a research intern from the University of the Western Cape to be
included in the project.
In particular, appreciation must be extended to the team responsible for designing and
conducting the national R&D Survey, on which questions on mobility have been ‘piggy
backed’. This kind of synergy between surveys is somewhat unusual. It offers a possible
methodology for the future that is both cost-effective and less demanding of respondents
in the longer term.
Many individuals made time within their busy schedules to participate in interviews, and
we thank them for sharing their experiences and insights with us to enrich the project.
The project was overseen by a reference group consisting of the following NACI
subcommittee: Ms L Abrahams (Convenor), Prof. M Ramashala and Mr T Setiloane. Mr
Deena Naidoo was seconded from the NACI Secretariat to support the reference group.
The project team would like to thank the Reference Group and other members of NACI
for their help and guidance in undertaking the project and also the NACI Secretariat for
support and encouragement.
Those that attended the NACI workshop on mobility in September 2002 are thanked for
their time and for enriching the debates around mobility.
Simon Netshifhefhe of the National Research Foundation (NRF) is thanked for assisting
with higher education data. Yolanda du Plessis of the CSIR is gratefully acknowledged for
constructing the estuary figures for Chapter Three. Maidimetja Mamashela is thanked for
assisting with the SANSA (South African Network of Skills Abroad) data. Inputs by Mercy
Brown are acknowledged. The anonymous reviewer is thanked for the many useful
comments and insights provided. The Southern African Migration Project is thanked for
their assistance and discussions on the project. Simone Esau is thanked for assistance in
compiling the mobility data on the science councils. The staff of Statistics South Africa’s
User Information Services and Marketing Section are thanked for providing valuable
assistance in data collection. The many others that provided information and data for the
study are also gratefully acknowledged.
Thanks must also be extended to the administrative staff of the HSRC and CSIR, and in
particular to Ms Valda West of Knowledge Management.
x
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Acknowledgements
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[...]... technology from the current respective ratio of 49: 26: 25 per cent to 40: 30: 30 per cent The National Plan notes that further changes to the proposed ratios are not possible in the short to medium term because of the low number of students leaving the school system with the requisite proficiency in mathematics The importance of maintaining a balance of humanities graduates for key professions is also... funded through the NSFAS The Ministry of Education has, however, expressed reservations about the effectiveness of a fund that does not cover the full costs of study The motivation for this approach is apparently to allow the limited funds to be spread over a wider net of students 15 ©HSRC 2004 A study on the mobility of R&D workers The Ministry is reviewing the suitability and likely impact of the NSFAS,... selected aspects of the mobility of R&D workers in South Africa The main objectives of the project, as outlined in the terms of reference, were to: • Quantify as reliably as possible the scale and nature of R&D personnel turnover and flows at a cross-section of higher education institutions (HEIs), SETIs and industry players • Identify the causes behind these flows (from the perspective of both employers... dissemination of the ICT technologies that have permitted the dispersal of value chains across the globe Since physical resources can equally well be processed close to their point of production or shipped to where energy is cheap, the key factor in these decentralised chains is the ability to organise, control and monitor the production process This is one aspect of the knowledge economy Another is the mobility... understanding of the national (and international) system of innovation Data and analyses that presumably investigate the same phenomenon can become incomparable because of nuances in definition The literature therefore highlights the importance of clearly defining the object of one’s analysis It is an area of research in which no single model clearly captures all of the major dimensions Asking the right... developed to tackle these problems on three main fronts: the transformation of the public schooling system, the upgrading of worker skills and the restructuring of the higher education system School system The transformation of the public schooling system has the aim of providing a more equitable education system with access for all and the provision of appropriate education and improved skills for learners... upward movement of skills that will enhance the base of the S&T and R&D workforce Restructuring the higher education sector One of the more controversial areas of transformation in South Africa is the restructuring of the public higher education system The 21 universities and 15 technikons are the most important institutions in the system with respect to maintaining and replenishing the S&T 12 ©HSRC... only to return when the brackish waters are replenished This chapter briefly introduces the general framework within which the study was conducted, the project terms of reference and objectives and the approach and layout of the report 1.1 The context of the study There has been significant comment on the ‘brain drain’ from South Africa by political and business leaders and the media The situation is... a country to manage the mobility of its highly skilled workers to best advantage for the sake of economy and society 4 ©HSRC 2004 Introduction It was recognised that knowledge of the extent, nature, dynamics, functions and the dysfunctions of the mobility of R&D workers was still very elementary, and terms of reference of the project included providing a better understanding of the dynamics surrounding... rejuvenation of higher education’ Preliminary arrangements for the mergers and associated activities were announced early in 2003 About R3.1 billion has been budgeted to cover the cost of the mergers, and a merger unit is to be established within the Department of Education to assist the institutions with the changes that will take place during the period up to 2005 The outcome of these mergers and the impact . including the
establishment of centres of excellence, is part of the National R&D Strategy. The
development of centres of excellence will be critical if the. multicultural and
accommodating of the diversity of peoples on the planet, and this encourages mobility
even further.
Much of the knowledge in the science, engineering
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