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Opening Address by the Honourable Minister of Science and Technology, Mr Mosibudi Mangena, at the Academy of Science of South Africa Symposium on "Evidence-Based Advice".
2006-03-03 08:15
CSIR Conference Centre
Minister
True
Opening Address by the Honourable Minister of Science and Technology, Mr Mosibudi Mangena, at the Academy of Science of South Africa Symposium on "Evidence-Based Advice". 3 March 2006 Venue: CSIR Conference Centre President of the Academy of science of South Africa, Professor Robin Crewe; ASSAf Council Members; Professor Ann Dowling of the Royal Society of London; Foreign Secretary of the US National Academies, Dr Michael Clegg; Chairperson of NACI, Professor Calie Pistorius; CEO of the HSRC, Dr Olive Shisana; International and Local Scientists; Distinguished Guests and Delegates; Ladies and Gentlemen This symposium takes place at a time when South Africa is reflecting on the impact of policies promulgated and implemented since 1994. Science and technology has much to offer towards the development of South Africa and the continent. All of us are called upon to contribute to the realisation of this promise through whatever means possible. The significance and contribution of ‘evidence-based’ information in the policy-making discourse is not difficult to understand. However, given the complex relationship between research and policy, the culture of academia and the funding practices of commissioners of research, the current ethos of “evidence-informed” public policy poses many technical, methodological and epistemological challenges. This double symposium on the “Nature of Evidence” and “Science-based Advice for the Nation” has an important contribution to make in exploring the urgency and growing importance of evidence as the basis for making informed policy and practical decisions across the world. It also offers the Academy of Science of South Africa, which is an independent and authoritative provider of evidence-based advice on a broad range of nationally significant topics and issues, an opportunity to examine its own role in the national science system. Let’s go back in time a little, to revisit the two fundamental steps that brought us to where we are today. The 1996 White Paper on Science and Technology provided the roadmap, which underpins all S&T developments from that time. And Cabinet’s acceptance of the National Research and Development Strategy in 2002, as the basis for further development of the National System of Innovation, led to a number of measures: We do hope that the symposium will also develop proposals on how Government, and perhaps the nation at large, can best draw on the knowledge and skills of the science community in addressing development issues. This will go a long way in highlighting the importance of, and optimal approaches to independent, evidence-based advice to government and other role players. The use of evidence-based knowledge is especially vital in developing countries where resource constraints preclude chances of entertaining any dubious solutions and experiments from elsewhere which might result in harmful consequences. Evidence-based advice therefore requires closer co-operation between government, research-based organisations and national academies of science to ensure that policy-making and planning draws on the best available information. In like vein, we should guard against dismissing out-of-hand the wisdom derived from traditional practice and common sense, bearing in mind that not all reliable knowledge should necessarily be derived from random sampling experimentation. At all times we should shy away from the temptation of making a cult out of laboratory-based research or modern science-based reviews. Such evidence is intended to inform and guide; not direct decision-making processes outside cultural, traditional, religious and community beliefs and perspectives relating to social issues. For instance, it is common knowledge that long before the discovery of antibiotics, Africans had already identified plants that could treat bacterial infections, and they used them to cure wounds and disease. African agricultural practices were based on the environmentally friendly tradition of multi-cropping ecosystems in which different crops were planted side by side, and farmers simply saved their seeds for planting the following growing season. But this wealth of information was not patented; it was considered a birthright and a part of the knowledge that was handed down from generation to generation. Modern science and research would do well to incorporate such tried and tested applications of knowledge to develop solutions to some of the pressing nutrition and health challenges facing Africa today. No one can deny that African agriculture could benefit from some modern biotechnologies such as molecular marker-assisted selection to screen for seeds with characteristics suited to our different conditions. African farmers also need to utilise irrigation technology to overcome the droughts that can cripple rain-fed agriculture. Such improvements, together with land, seed and the collective indigenous knowledge about our fragile environment, are not only cardinal to the survival of African agriculture; they can also provide models for reversing some of the environmentally harmful effects of modern commercial farming practices. It is always important to bear in mind that ‘knowledge’ is relative and mutable. That which may be considered certain and fixed in science at one point in time, may be overruled by new discoveries at a later stage. It is equally true that evidence-based biological research cannot necessarily be applied with uniform success. This reality calls for humility, not dogmatism, in the way we approach evidence-based policy, planning and practice. Policy-makers inevitably intervene in the lives of other people, sometimes with unintended or unwanted effects. That is why social policies should be informed by rigorous, transparent and up-to-date evaluations of relevant empirical evidence, and their implementation and impact subjected to systematic and reliable empirical research. Both researchers and policy makers would do well to remember the instructive words of the 6th century BC Greek philosopher, Xenophanes, who claims that: “Through seeking we may learn and know things better. But as for certain truth, no man hath known it, for all is but a woven web of guesses”. Given the important role played by evidence-based advice, scientists and researchers must fully understand the implications of their work for policy development and policy evaluation. To this end we have an obligation to engage in collaborative research that goes beyond methodological rigour to encompass moral, social and political responsibility. It is therefore incumbent upon African scientists and researchers to be vigilant to the intrigues of commercialisation and politics that can cloud scientific research and results. They must always ensure that the collaborations they engage in reap mutual socio-economic benefits for Africa. After all this is the only way in which our investments in scientific and technological developments can assist the continent to leap forward on the path to genuine sustainable economic development. In closing, I wish to express my confidence in the ability of this symposium to provide insights into the role research can play in the development of policy advice, and the quality and depth of research that is required to ensure that that advice is indeed informed by reliable evidence. This symposium also provides a platform and opportunities for relationship-building, networking and shared learning. We hope this meeting will succeed in generating fruitful and illuminating outcomes. It is now my pleasure to declare this Academy of Science of South Africa Symposium on “Evidence-Based Advice” open. Thank you very much for your attention. |
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