Building congruency in engaged research policies in South African public universities: alignment with broader National System of Innovation (NSI) frameworks

This policy brief examines the state of ER policies across South African public universities and their alignment with the National System of Innovation (NSI) frameworks. ER promotes inclusive, collaborative knowledge production by involving communities, civil society, and other stakeholders as active partners in research. It advances social transformation and challenges traditional, extractive research practices. Although national frameworks, such as the White Paper on Science, Technology and Innovation (2019), the Science, Technology and Innovation Decadal Plan (2022–2032), and the NRF Framework for Engaged Research (2022), call for socially responsive research, the implementation of ER remains uneven, with limited institutional coherence and formal policy guidance.