Programme & Policies Development & Councils Management

It is part of the NCRST’s aim to manage and develop the Research, Science, Technology and Innovation (RSTI) policy, regulations and strategy and to develop national research programs, implementation plans and indicators; and to monitor its implementation and registration as well as to implement and maintain the National STI Information Management System.

National Programme on RSTI

In terms of Section 18 of the Research, Science and Technology Act, the Commission, once in every three years, or at such other intervals as the Minister may determine, must prepare a national programme for research, science and technology for the following three years, or such other period as the Minister may determine, which programme must

  • set out the national direction on RSI for Namibia
  • review the state of RSI in Namibia for the previous three years
  • identify shortcomings and priorities for RSI
  • set out the RSI projects and requirements for such projects of every RSI organisation, institution or body in receipt of moneys from the Fund, and includes the Commission’s observations and recommendations on such projects and requirements in view of the national policy for RSI
  • set out the programmes and projects envisaged by the Commission to be undertaken by it or a council during the period covered by the national programme
  • assess the previous national programme, if any

The NCRST has completed the first the National Pogramme, for the period 2014/15 to 2017/18. The NCRST has commenced with the process of developing the National Pogrammes, cover the periods of NDP 5, ending 2022 and the next NDP 2022/23 to 2026/27

The National RSTI Programme would address challenges in the national innovation system (NIS) by devising appropriate interventions to improve on the RSTI enabling framework in the policy areas, human resources and institutional framework, as essential tools for addressing needs in the basic enablers and economic priority set out in the NDP5. The Programmes will also deal with interventions aimed at strengthening the NIS to enable it to make the necessary contributions. Additionally, the Programme will have a proactive approach by forecasting future trends and thus employing interventions in promising research, science and innovation areas to take advantage of promising areas with a long term view. Other areas of focus will be promoting disciplinary integration through development relevant inter and multi-disciplinary science, technology and innovation research, underpinned by the principle of sustainable development.

Thus, the focus will be science, technology and innovation research and their intersection with economic, environmental and social aspects of the Namibian society, economic landscape and the environment. Furthermore, the Programme will have a strong monitoring and evaluation framework based on identified RSTI indicators including the performance indicators of all policies related and interacting with the RSTI policies and their impacts on each other. Thus, the development of the Programme will be done with the parallel process of collecting baseline indicators such as researchers, research institutions, patents, publications etc.

Furthermore. the law prescribe that the Programme is a three yearly programme or at such other intervals as the Minister may determine, approved and endorsed by Cabinet and National Assembly. As the NCRST is only a policy institution tasked with coordination, facilitation and monitoring RSTI activities the implementation of the programme activities will mainly be done by all in research, science, technology and innovation sectors in the national innovation system.

RSTI Policies and legislations

With the last RST Policy having been formulated in 1999 and the subsequent enabling act enacted in 2004,  it is evident that the there are certain policy challenges compounded by the current and emerging issues,  affecting our economy and society, which could become critical and impact on our day-to-day life, influencing our well-being and quality of life.

Some of the overwhelming challenges which the current RST Policy and Act, does not address some emerging issues. The outdated, policy and legislation could also hamper our efforts to harness opportunities for enhancing our quality of life through advancements in Biotechnology, ICT and nanotechnology. With the implementation of this National Programme on RTSI, we are presented with opportunities; to formulate and design evidence-based and robust RSTI related policies and legislation that would guide investments in science, research and innovation during this RSTI Programme and NDP 5 and beyond.

Though the development of a RSTI system supported by robust monitoring and evaluation mechanism, effort needs to be made to ensure the ongoing improved design of policies considering highly dynamic and competitive environment. Using our limited resources, we will capitalize on our potential strengths whilst ensuring a well-connected strategy to developments in international research.

The Commission is undertaking a thorough mapping exercise of the research and innovation landscape, with the aim of identifying who is doing what, any existing gaps and promote networking.  The commission will also carry out benchmarking studies comparing Namibia’s R&I policies and performance with other countries, which would lead to a review and formulation of appropriate policies and legislative instrument to support RSTI in Namibia.

Researcher portal

Section 20 of the Research Science and Technology Act, 2004 (Act no 23 of 2004), provides for the registration of research institutes, monitoring of research and related activities and the collection of STI information (section. 20, 21, and 22). It also determines that the NCRST should make regular reviews on the state of research, science and technology (RST) in Namibia and identify shortcomings and priorities for RST (section. 18).

The NCRST is working on the establishment of an appropriate STI information platform with several specific requirements. The STIIP can also be considered a useful tool for the democratization of decision-making and public accountability on STI policies. As well as, for promoting knowledge societies, enhancing the effectiveness of democracy and democratic institutions, for providing the public with opportunities for effective public deliberation, promoting transparency, accountability, responsiveness, engagement, inclusiveness, accessibility, participation, subsidiary and social cohesion.

The platform will consist of the following modules:

STI Indicators Module

a system designed to generate a database of R&D indicators following the standard criteria established at the Frascati Manual (OECD 2002), UNESCO Institute for Statistics and NEPAD’s African STI Indicators Initiative (ASTII). A special back-end system will be developed to collect information on-line from the different institutions at the Higher-Education Sector, Government Sector, Non-Profit Sector and Firm/Enterprises Sector, on the aggregated information on researchers and technicians and R&D expenditures. A front-end system will publish the aggregate information and made it available for the end user.

STI policies Module

This module will include a normalize description of the STI policy cycle; STI strategic and normative priorities and goals; description of the STI national organization chart (functions and responsibilities); inventory of all STI national institutions; inventory of the complete STI legal framework (with access to complete texts of laws; acts; decrees; international STI agreements; etc.); inventory of all the STI policy instruments and funding mechanisms; inventory of foreign research programmes and funding mechanisms; access to ethical codes; operational manuals; application forms and all the public institutional information about the STI national system.

Research and Innovation Programmes and Projects Module

a complete inventory of research projects performed at the Higher Education, Governmental and Non-profit sectors will be listed and categorized according to the fields of sciences and socio-economic objectives. This module will also include a list of innovation projects performed within the private sector as well as a list of cooperation programmes between the academic and private sectors.

Curriculum Vitae Module

This will be a standardized platform (similar to the LATTEST platform developed in Brazil) which organize each individual CV allowing to aggregate the information of tens of thousands CVs and detect patterns for decision making. In this way, the officers responsible of designing STI policies will have access to the complete spectrum of capacities available in the country and most important, the information on the expertise vacancy. From this module it will be relatively simple to detect the best reviewers in each individual topic, detect the cooperation patterns among institutions in Namibia and with other countries; etc.

STI Global Module

This module will provide users access to international digital libraries of scientific journals; international databases of international scientific production (WoS; WoK; SCOPUS; Medline); international databases on patents (USPTO; EPO; WIPO); access to repositories of scientific papers; international genetic databanks; etc.

Student and Learner Portal

The student and learner portal is an essential online gateway that brings together all of the resources, information and activities that NCRST has available for students and learners.

Research Registration Services

Welcome to Research Registration Services

The National Commission on Research, Science and Technology (NCRST) is mandated to implement the legal frameworks to monitor and safeguard the conduct of research in Namibia. The registration of research institutes and monitoring of research and related activities is one of the NCRST’s core mandates as stated under Section 20 and 21 of the RST Act No. 23 of 2004 and Part 3, Section 9 of the RST Regulations of 2011.

All research institutes and persons intending to carry out research are required to register with NCRST and obtain a written authorization in terms of section 21(a) of the RST Act.

Research certificates/permits are granted at national level to facilitate access to research resources within the country.

Who should register?

  1. All Namibian Based Research Institutes (public or private) who carry out research or as part of their duties;
  2. All Namibian Based Research Person not affiliated to any research institute intending to do research in Namibia;
  3. Non- Namibian Based Research Institute/Person intending to do research in Namibia;
  4. All Namibian based person studying abroad and intend to do research in Namibia;
  5. Non- Namibian based person collaborating with Namibian based research institute/researcher;
  6. In all cases where the research involves acquiring information/data from the Country or Public and Government organizations.

 

Non-Namibian Based Research Institute/Person download below

Research permit will be issued to the following:

  1. Non- Namibian based research institute/researcher intending to do research in Namibia;
  2. All Namibian based researcher studying abroad and intend to do research in the country;
  3. Non- Namibian based researcher collaborating with Namibian based research institute/researcher.

Namibian Based Person download below

Research Authorization will be issued in the following manner: 

  1. All Namibian based research person not affiliated to any research institute intending to do research in the country.
  2. A research institute based in Namibia which has been issued with a research certificate MUST apply for a written authorization for specific research projects to be undertake and for collection of research samples.

 

Namibian Based Research Institute download below

A research certificate will be issued to all Namibian Based Research Institute (public or private) whose mandate is to do research or as part of their daily duties.

Application fee structure

Please see Research, Science and Technology regulation of 2011(download) Annexure A. Payment should be made only when applicant receive an invoice from NCRST upon submission of completed application forms.

How to register?

  1. Download the relevant application form below
  2. Complete the form and send back to researchapplication@ncrst.na
  3. For any enquiries contact info@ncrst.na

Legislation

RST Act no 23 0f 2004

Download

RST regulation of 2011

Download

Application forms

Application forms for a research permit for Non-Namibian Based Research Institute/Person.

Application forms for a research authorization for Namibian Based Research Person.

Application forms for a research Certificate for Namibian Based Research Institute.