Global Community

Like democratic South Africa in general, ASSAF aspires to play both a national and an international role, particularly with respect to the African continent. ASSAF views the Academy as usefully at arms length from Government and other organised sections of the state, comprising an assembly of excellent scholars from many disciplines who are well-networked both nationally and internationally, and have shown their interest in and capacity for promoting the development of a prosperous and a fully enabled society. Membership of the Academy (by election) is both an honour and an obligation to work individually and collectively (as the Academy) to ensure that decision making requiring scholarly scrutiny and analysis is based on the best and most integrated understandings and insights available to the country. The Academicians thus represent an organised, independent but responsive scholarly voice to help guide the development of the country and its people. The mission of ASSAf is to: (1) become increasingly associated in the mind of the nation with the highest levels of scholarly achievement and excellence in the application of scientific thinking for the benefit of society; (2) consolidate its infrastructure and capacity, and to expand and mobilise the membership to ensure that scholars from a full disciplinary spectrum are available for its work, and that these are indeed both thinkers and doers, willing to put significant effort into the Academy's activities; (3) embark on a programme of systematic studies of evidence-based issues of national importance, some proposed by government or other sectors, and some identified by the Academy itself; (4) develop a sound and robust methodology for constituting study panels, organising their work, including conferences and workshops, and producing authoritative reports that are well-disseminated and have significant impact; (5) publish science-focused periodicals, especially a multidisciplinary journal of high quality (the South African Journal of Science) and a science magazine that will showcase the best of South African research to a wide national (and international) audience (QUEST - Science for South Africa); and to promote the development in South Africa of an indigenous system of research journals of internationally recognised quality and usefulness; (6) develop productive partnerships with other organisations, especially (but not only) the Departments of Science and Technology, Education, Health and Agriculture; the National Advisory Council on Innovation; science councils; higher education institutions, etc., with a view to the building of capacity in science and its applications within the National System of Innovation (NSI); (7) create new and diversified sources of funding for the sustainable functioning of an independent Academy; (8) communicate effectively with the general and specific publics, as well as with partners and sponsors; (9) develop a plan for the expansion of the activities of ASSAF in partnership with the national science academies of other countries, including contracted partnership with the US National Academies; and (10) play a significant role in the international science system, particularly in Africa, through organisations such as the InterAcademy Panel (IAP) and the InterAcademy Council (IAC), the Academy of Sciences of the Developing World (TWAS), the International Council on Science (ICSU), as well as the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC), all in the context of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).

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