Water Wheel May/June 2012

Abstract

Fluid Thoughts There is a demand worldwide for a quicker realisa­ tion of the bene­ fits of science and research to the real economy. This demand is increasing exponentially in the wake of the many new challenges that we face globally. These range from climate change to reduced resource availability to an increasing global population to the global economic downturn. Society wants a quick return on its scientific investment. The same is true in South Africa, and there have been sev­ eral interventions to enable this realisation. This includes the development of a new Inno­ vation Policy supported by a new law governing intellectual property from publicly funded research as well as the estab­ lishment of a public agency to support these endeavours in the form of the Technology Innova­ tion Agency. The WRC in its new five ­ year strategy is building on a forty­year legacy of addressing this challenge. The Commis­ sion’s goal is to provide new and inno va tive solutions to address the challenges of the South African water sector through research and development.

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