| Capacity Development (CD) was initiated in September 2005 as a cross-cutting unit primarily to support research and human resources development (HRD) in the HSRC, but also to do so in other organisations, if required. The objectives of the unit are: to increase the pool of competent researchers for the human and social sciences in South Africa; to support and drive professional development at the HSRC in line with the organisational strategy and performance management system; to support the development of black researchers, women and disabled persons in order to enable the HSRC to meet its equity targets; to facilitate the placement of international scholars and students at the HSRC; and to foster collaborations within South Africa, the African continent and with other international institutions to support capacity-building initiatives. 
Interns at the HSRC. | In the first six months since its inception, the focus of CD was to establish the capacity-development needs and - priorities of the HSRC and to create a platform for driving capacity-development programmes. Building on the HSRC’s internship programme for master’s and doctorallevel interns, a researcher-training programme for developing well-rounded pre- and postdoctoral researchers in the social and human sciences was put in place. The HSRC has entered into an agreement with UNICEF for the placement of post-master’s interns in UNICEF programmes at the country office in South Africa. This will enable recent master’s-level graduates to obtain further work experience and to open new career opportunities through exposure to UNICEF programmes and networking. Ongoing activities to foster collaborations between the HSRC and the higher-education sector are a key focus of the CD unit. To this end, the unit hosted a workshop comprising participants from 21 higher education institutions in South Africa and the chief executive of Higher Education South Africa (HESA) to explore ways of expanding social science and humanities research collaboratively and of accelerating the development of a new generation of researchers in line with state policy and priorities. The meeting recognised that social science and humanities research is fundamental to innovation, to economic, social and cultural development, and to nation-building. 
The HSRC and Higher Education South Africa (HESA), which represents 23 universities, met in Johannesburg in February 2006 to explore ways of expanding social science and humanities research and accelerating the development of a new generation of researchers in line with state policy and priorities. At the meeting were
front from left: Professor Dan Ncayiyana, advisor to the CEO; Ms Piyushi Kotecha, acting CEO, Higher Education South Africa; Dr Olive Shisana, HSRC President and CEO; Dr Romilla Maharaj, executive director, Capacity Development unit, HSRC; Professor David Cooper, head, Department of Sociology, University of Cape Town.
Middle from left: Professor Gansen Pillay, director of research, Durban Institute of Technology; Dr Marilet Sienaert, director of research, University of Cape Town; Professor Adam Habib, executive director, Democracy and Governance research programme, HSRC.
Back from left: Professor Andy Gilbert, executive dean, Research and Development, University of Fort Hare; Dr Andre Kraak, executive director, Education, Science and Skills Development, HSRC. | At this workshop it was agreed that a HESA–HSRC memorandum of understanding will be signed to provide a framework for promoting and advancing social science and humanities research to government, industry, civil society and international agencies and will establish a framework that enables interinstitutional collaborations. The HSRC is continuing its engagement by exploring areas for collaboration at the institutional level. Agreements at the institutional and programme levels will facilitate collaborations such as sabbaticals, joint lecturing, joint appointments, postdoctoral fellowships, postgraduate research training, and enhancing overall academic research activities through joint research. To this end, the HSRC has initiated the appointment of honorary research fellows. 
Professor Leickness Simbayi (second from left) discusses data with interns, some of whom have since assumed permanent research positions at the HSRC. | Dr Romilla Maharaj
Executive Director
Tel: +27 12 302 2080 / Fax: +27 12 302 2068
Email: rmaharaj@hsrc.ac.za |
