The CSIR is crushing it – Here are the numbers
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa’s foremost scientific and technology research organisation, has reported a net profit of R40.62 million for the 2024/25 financial year against a projected loss of R67.6 million.
Furthermore, the organisation achieved or exceeded 29 out of its 31 key performance indicators (KPIs).
“The CSIR continues to play a critical role in addressing South Africa’s developmental challenges, particularly poverty, unemployment and inequality, in line with our mandate,” said CEO Dr Thulani Dlamini.
“The results we have achieved over the past year demonstrate very clearly how the CSIR has contributed to strengthening our country.”
Growing its partnerships with government
According to the CSIR’s annual report, one of the CSIR’s key focuses to ensure the success of its business model was to increase collaboration with state-owned enterprises.
This was over and above the grant the CSIR receives from the government each year, which accounts for approximately 20% of its income.
“As a Schedule 3B national government business enterprise with no direct service delivery mandate, the CSIR nevertheless measures its impact by how effectively it implements projects on behalf of government departments and SOEs in support of building a capable state,” said the CSIR in its report.
Accordingly, the 2024/25 financial year saw the CSIR undertake more initiatives for the government than in any of the past six years.
“Projects ranged from predictive models for the national and provincial elections, to frameworks for transforming taxi ranks into economic hubs, and environmental assessments that support the green hydrogen economy,” said Dlamini.
“These initiatives illustrate the breadth of our capabilities and the alignment of our work with national priorities.”
Private sector partnerships
Alongside its increase in government collaboration, the CSIR has also focused on building stronger relationships with private sector partners.
According to its annual report, the CSIR increased the number of technologies localised for industry partners by 244% relative to 2019/20.
It has also achieved a 113% increase in joint technology development activities with industry partners, and a 51% increase in the number of (SMMEs) supported.
In total, revenue has increased by 28% since 2019/20 – despite a 10% reduction in grand funding.
This is thanks to income from the private sector increasing by 40%, while international sources of income grew by 175%.
Positive growth trajectory
Overall, the CSIR is showing continuous and consistent growth.
Its net profit of R40.62 million was an increase of R4.15 million year-on-year, achieved despite a reduction in the parliamentary grant received by the CSIR.
All of this has been done while the CSIR has maintained its level 1 B-BBEE rating, placed a strong focus on increasing the number of black and female researchers in the organisation, and prioritised projects that will have a tangible impact on society.
“The effectiveness of our organisation is measured through the impact we create,” said Dlamini.
“Investing in relevant technologies – such as artificial intelligence, data analytics, information security, advanced materials, and robotics – is essential for building long-term national capabilities.”
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