South African National Survey of Research and Experimental Development: key sector results and trends: science councils sector R&D at a glance. Fact sheet 27

R&D performed by science councils, in areas such as space science, agriculture, industrial development, or health, informs critical policy decisions by government and other actors, as well as catalyses innovation. R&D expenditure in science councils declined in 2018/19 by 13.8%. Whether by research field or socio-economic objective, investment closely mirrored national priority areas, such as economic development, health, agriculture and education. Growing public and private sector R&D investment should be a priority.