The United Kingdom and South Africa have agreed to launch a fund embodying an already strong science and innovation partnership based on the principles of co-ownership and co-responsibility.

The UK-South Africa Newton Fund will bring together contributions from both countries to support science, technology and innovation, creating a catalyst to stimulate socio-economic development in South Africa and more widely across sub-Saharan Africa.  Both countries will also be looking actively to work closely with other African countries in this initiative.

The UK and South Africa have jointly committed up to R140 million per year under the Newton Fund, including funding from non-governmental bodies and the private sector.

 

Focus of the fund

The fund will support projects in the thematic areas of public health, environment and food security, and science and technology capacity building, with a focus on seeking to ensure that activities have a regional footprint, with the ultimate aim of encouraging research that boosts jobs and growth.  There will also be a special focus on “big data”.

 

Memorandum of understanding

The UK Minister for Africa James Duddridge and South Africa’s Minister of Science and Technology Naledi Pandor signed a memorandum of understanding for the first three years of the programme to this effect in Cape Town on 9 September.

Speaking at the launch, Pandor welcomed the cooperation, saying the two countries enjoyed strong bilateral relations in numerous areas of mutual interest, including various engagements that emphasised societal development.

UK Royal Academies, together with the National Research Foundation, announced a scheme for 90 Fellowships and 150 mobility grants.

The South African-United Kingdom Bilateral Forum, which is the high-level mechanism through which relations between the two countries are conducted, was established in 1997. It will next meet in September 2015, where science and technology will be important themes.

South Africa and the UK signed a bilateral agreement on science and technology cooperation in February 1995, focusing on areas such as climate change, biotechnology, astronomy and global change.

Like South Africa, the United Kingdom aims to build on its world-class research, increase business investment in research and development spending, ensure a strong supply of scientists, engineers and technologists, and raise public interest in and awareness of scientific research and innovative applications.