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  The National Research Foundation was established as an independant government agency, through the National Research Foundation Act [Act No.23 of 1998].
  
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  The NRF receives its mandate from the National Research Foundation Act (Act No 23 of 1998, as amended). According to Section 3 of the Act, the object of the NRF is to contribute to national development by:
  
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  ANNOUNCEMENT OF SUCCESSFUL APPLICATIONS FOR NATIONAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION (NRF)-FIRST RAND EMPOWERMENT FOUNDATION (FREF) BLACK ACADEMICS ADVANCEMENT PROGRAMME (BAAP) 2026
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  Africa’s leading research facility for accelerator based science. Probing fundamental structure and the origins of matter; Advancing the understanding of condensed matter; Impacting the Societal need through provision for the health and environmental sector
  
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  The iThemba Laboratory for Accelerator Based Sciences is the continents' biggest facility for particle and nuclear research.
  
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  The SAAO is a national facility of the NRF and the national centre for optical and infrared astronomy in South Africa.
  
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  SAEON is a national platform for detecting, translating and predicting environmental change.
  
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  SAIAB provides unique skills and infrastructure support in marine, estuarine and freshwater ecosystems research, molecular research, collections and bioinformatics.
  
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  SARAO is a national facility of the NRF and incorporates radio astronomy instruments and programmes such as MeerKAT and KAT-7 telescopes in the Karoo, (HartRAO) in Gauteng...
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  South Africa’s innovation revolution must assist in solving our society’s deep and pressing socio-economic challenges. Global competitiveness, shrinking resource availability, and the requirements of a skilled labour force mean that, increasingly, an awareness and understanding of why science and research are critical to our lives is essential for developing an innovation culture.
  
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  Within the next five years, the aim is to begin to more fully embed engagement in and with science in the core NRF missions of supporting and promoting new knowledge and growing new knowledge workers. This is led by the formulation of an acceptable NRF position on engaged research which will guide the NRF approach…
  
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  NRF | SAASTA is the NRF business division tasked with leading and coordinating the science engagement programme across the NRF and beyond. The NRF is equally committed to ensuring that the science engagement leadership and national coordination role…
  
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  The NRF provides leading-edge research infrastructure platforms that ensure that the national research enterprise has the requisite infrastructure to undertake globally competitive discovery science, train the next generation of researchers, support engagement with science by and with the public and promote innovation that positively impacts society, the environment, the economy.
  
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  The National Research Foundation (NRF) conducts its procurement of goods, services, and works in accordance with its Supply Chain Management Policy in a manner that is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive, and cost-effective
  
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  The National Research Foundation (NRF) is guided by its Supply Chain Management Policy in its procurement of goods and services. The Policy sets out the prescripts issued by National Treasury with the exact note referenced in the footnotes. The Supply Chain Management policy adheres to the National Treasury’s prescribed supply chain system framework.
  The NRF’s Supply Chain Management Policy and the conduct of supply chain management at the NRF seeks to give effect to section 217 of the South African Constitution which requires that all procurement of goods and services must be done in a manner that is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective.
  
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  The National Research Foundation bid awards and contracts. Below is the latest award.
  
  Awards and Contracts Procurement
  NRF/ILABS IOP1/46/2025/26
  January 19, 2026
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Launch of Phase 1 of NRF Connect

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Launch of Phase 1 of NRF Connect

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GMSA Open Calls

The NRF Connect platform is now live. 2022/23 Calls for Proposals are available at

https://nrfconnect.nrf.ac.za

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