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Agricultural Research Council

Agricultural Research Council. TRANSFORMING RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS OF THE AGRICULTURE SCIENCE COUNCIL FOR FUTURE BENEFIT OF ALL STAKEHOLDERS Presentation by the ARC to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Agriculture and Land Affairs Cape Town - 9 TH SEPTEMBER 2003.

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Agricultural Research Council

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  1. Agricultural Research Council TRANSFORMING RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS OF THE AGRICULTURE SCIENCE COUNCIL FOR FUTURE BENEFIT OF ALL STAKEHOLDERS Presentation by the ARC to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Agriculture and Land Affairs Cape Town - 9TH SEPTEMBER 2003

  2. The Context (in Brief) • ARC Governing Council Road Show in 2001 – Council outlined to staff some of the challenges for the ARC and the urgent need to address them – Reference points were (a) the results of the Science Engineering & Technology Institutions Review conducted and completed in the mid 1990s and (b) the Existential realities in 2001 • Subsequently executive management continued road shows to all staff to articulate further the message and the need to respond • Other electronic and hard copy and direct divisional communications to researchers and all other staff to further articulate challenges and responses and processes. • Other engagements via the NBF mechanisms over the two years since 2001

  3. Outcomes of the Science, Engineering & Technology Institutions’ Review (mid 1990s) Generic Summary Report – ARC Specific • Recommendation No. 72. “…bringing about a change in senior management, a change in research philosophy, a change in programme structure, and any necessary changes in internal organisation to transform ARC into a modern agricultural research organisation capable of responding to the needs of BOTH commercial and resource poor farmers”.

  4. Mid 1990s SETI REVIEW OUTCOMES (cont.) Significant Challenges identified for ARC – (1) • Insufficient urgency in change management • Lack of clarity about future role • High turnover of personnel • Significant loss of capacity w.r.t. research and facilities • Erosion of strategic science in favour of adaptive technology • Lack of diversity of staff • Lack of strategic research planning – agenda dominated by commercial research interests

  5. Mid 1990s SETI REVIEW OUTCOMES (cont.) Significant Challenges identified for ARC – (2) • Use of parliamentary grant to maintain total capacity rather than maintain strategic focus • Weak links to national agricultural policy and the rest of NARS • Insufficient attention to addressing the needs of small scale and resource poor farmers • Confused technology transfer relationships • Social science inputs weak and not institutionalised • Funding arrangements which do not encourage competition.

  6. Agricultural Research Council 2001 Strategic response by the ARC’s Governing Board to the SETI Review and to all other shareholders’ legislation and policies intended to improve the quality of life of all South Africans.

  7. CHANGE 1 - ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE • Sustainable Rural Livelihoods • Business Development and International Relations • Grain and Industrial Crops • Horticulture • Livestock • Public Support Services • Financial Management • Human Resources & Administration

  8. CHANGE 2 – BUSINESS SYSTEMS • Stabilize the unacceptable financial situation in the ARC – within the then available financial resources. • Establish and grow a culture of compliance with the laws of South Africa with respect to financial governance. • Strategically engage the shareholder (Government) towards increased investments • Strategically engage all other investors - including organized agriculture - to move towards MTEF or longer term approach to investments to enable better planning and greater stability in ARC ‘s research systems.

  9. CHANGE 2 cont – BUSINESS SYSTEMS • Move towards stabilizing the outflow of researchers as reported in SETI process of 1996-1997 • Move towards non-discriminatory and internationally well benchmarked human resource management systems and strategic reward and benefit systems • Find means to improve the extent of development of skills of existing ARC staff • Move towards making the human capacity in the ARC to be representative of the population in South Africa.

  10. CHANGE 2 cont. – BUSINESS SYSTEMS • Move towards enhancing research and technology development output by the ARC research system • Move towards enhancing the role of ARC in developing research thrusts that respond to and positively impact on the resource poor and emerging commercial subsectors of agriculture whilst continuing to also serve the commercial subsector • Grow viable partnerships with higher education institutions (Universities & Technikons) to grow human resource capacities required by the ARC and other Science and Technology need areas.

  11. Success 1 – Increased funding from shareholder • R21 million injection (ring-fenced fund) from the Ministry of Agriculture in 2002/2003 to enable ARC to correct some of the historical human resource systems that had the potential for inefficient use of public finances. • R30 million injection (ring-fenced) from the Ministry of Science and Technology in 2003/2004 to enable additions to and proper management of the nations biological wealth that includes banks of biological materials, AND banks of time related information on our natural resources (soils, water, land cover etc. • ARC continues to engage the shareholder on the issue of improved funding.

  12. Success 2 – Changes in business systems • Improvements in financial management systems of and compliance by the ARC. – Changes in the audit process comments and qualifications received by the ARC. • Reduction in the historically under-funded future liabilities of the ARC from over R200 million to just over R100 million; thus reversing uncertainties about the future. • Integrated strategic research planning and delivery within divisions bringing about potential substantial savings from historical patterns and enabling investments in new research areas in the future.

  13. Success 2 cont. – Changes in business systems • Movement towards more equitable reward systems for researchers and all staff in the organisation – Phasing out historical discriminatory reward systems. • Movement (with time and within affordability) towards more market related reward systems that will attract and also retain requisite people within the ARC. • Future human capacity plans that are conscious of national strategic agriculture Research for Development needs within the MTEF limitations

  14. Success 3-HR CAPACITY ENVIRONMENT Research Capacity Trends over ten years since the ARC was established

  15. Success 3 cont. – The 2003 human environment within which changes need to be planned for and implemented

  16. Success 4 – Developing and growing diversity within the ARC Growth in Professional Development Programme Development of Knowledge Capital

  17. Key Message regarding transformation and currently topical salary issues in the ARC (1 of 4) Message has not changed since 2001 when council decided to fasttrack transformation in ARC and that is: • The ARC is the national asset; an asset that should benefit every South African • Some past developments and business approaches were undermining the business stability of the ARC. These have been identified by both our organisation and other expertise external to the ARC.

  18. Key Message regarding transformation and currently topical salary issues in the ARC (2 of 4) • With support from various quarters particularly the investors in ARC and the staff within the ARC we can resolutely and confidently move towards minimizing past uncertainties around rewards and benefits. • We are moving away from uncertainties of under funded liabilities thus creating an opportunity for better rewards and research investment environments in the future • We are moving away from uncertainties of non-MTEF related planning thus creating opportunities for appropriate strengthening of research capacity in the ARC

  19. Key Message regarding transformation and currently topical salary issues in the ARC (3 of 4) • With support from various quarters particularly the investors in ARC and the staff within the ARC we have now moved away from the undesirable situation of 0% increases last year to reasonable increase in this year. • We are moving away from uncertainties of under funded liabilities thus creating an opportunity for better rewards environments in the future • We are moving away from uncertainties of non-MTEF related planning thus creating opportunities for appropriate strengthening of research capacity in the ARC

  20. Key Message regarding transformation and currently topical salary issues in the ARC (4 of 4) • With continuing understanding of the historical and future challenges by the public, ARC researchers and all other staff and with their collective effort to address the challenges we will continue to increasingly register successes in research and related business systems thus unlocking even better reward systems and research performance impact in the future • THANK YOU

  21. Agricultural Research Council Umhlobo wakho kwezolimo !!! Tsala ya gago mo temong !!! Your ally in Agriculture !!! Getrou aan Landbou !!!

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