Prof Demetre Labadarios Executive director

What we do

• Scope of work
• Focus areas
• Impact of research

Knowledge Systems (KS) conducts primary and secondary research on socio-economic and governance issues generally, and the national system of innovation specifically, that enables evidence-based decision-making by our users.

Knowledge Systems works both with external users and the research programmes of the HSRC, and through various networks builds complementary expertise in Africa.

Scope of work
Our key areas of research comprise three sections:

• Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators (CeSTII)
• Centre for Socioeconomic Indicators
• Geographic Information Systems

Two other sections are under development.

• Monitoring and Evaluation
• Knowledge Management

Focus areas
The principal activities of these sections involve the design, implementation and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data including:

• The annual Research and Experimental Development (R&D) Survey and the bi- or tri-ennial Innovation Survey and other specified empirical data gathering exercises that generate country Science and Technology Indicators for planning and international benchmarking purposes.
• Spatial data sets needed to provide a comprehensive picture of South Africa’s First and Second Economies.
• Large-scale social surveys aimed at monitoring and understanding the dynamics of the changing socio-economic and cultural landscape in South Africa and the region.
• Project, programme and strategic evaluations for external clients and promotion of monitoring and evaluation within the organisation. Development and application of indicators (from input to impact) and innovative participatory monitoring and evaluation methods.
• Contributing to the knowledge management strategies of the HSRC.
• Working with peers across the African continent to promote social scientific research and capacity building.

Impact of research

• The outputs of CeSTII are a component of Official Statistics and gathered and processed according to internationally recommended methodology are recognised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). As such they are essential data that inform policy and investment decisions regarding the economy.
• Spatial information provides an understanding of distribution of the people of South Africa and their socio-economic and service need characteristics, which is essential in identifying the priority areas for government interventions.
• Social surveys provide longitudinal information on peoples’ perceptions and attitudes to national issues and thereby inform government decision-making.
• Monitoring and evaluation enables government departments at all levels to measure the impact of their policy and intervention strategies toward more efficient and effective service delivery and transformation
• The development and maintenance of good practice in knowledge management contributes to organisational effective and efficiency.
• Through peer-to-peer and official networks Knowledge Systems will work with partners across the continent to grow capabilities and share knowledge and experience across our fields of expertise.