Mapping the research and development (R&D) landscape using a data series: A 20-year reflection on measuring R&D...

Science, technology, and innovation (STI) play a vital role in driving economic growth and social development. STI measurement, including the measurement of Research and Development (R&D) investment, is crucial in providing evidence for policy and decision-making to support STI in a country. In South Africa, the Human Sciences Research Council's Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators (CeSTII), has, on behalf of the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), conducted the annual national R&D Survey over the past two decades. As part of this, CeSTII has maintained an extensive database of historic unit-level survey responses. To date, the centre has a rich repository of curated R&D survey data series. These datasets are key tools for enhancing the system of STI indicators for evidence-based policy-making within the National System of Innovation (NSI). In this survey, CeSTII annually collects and reports on the country's R&D expenditure and personnel data across five sectors: business, not-for-profit organisations, government, science councils, and higher education institutions. Recently, these individual datasets have been merged to establish a coherent time series dataset to mitigate the challenge of repeatedly seeking historical data, which may be cumbersome and time-intensive process. The R&D indicators statistics are used by the government to inform STI policy on R&D for national priorities and required R&D funding levels and for monitoring and benchmarking purposes.