Sustaining Research Culture as a Precondition for Research Sustainability of Universities of Technology in South Africa

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate whether the current government Research Output Policy (2015) and complementary policies and programmes within the university are working in creating a sustainable research culture. This aim comes against the background that the South African public higher education system faces immense responsibilities for addressing societal and knowledge economy challenges through impactful research. To tackle these socio-economic challenges, the government, through the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), has enacted policies, legislation and funding mechanisms, such as Policy on Research Output (2015), forming the basis of analysis and critique for this study. The Policy on Research Output (2015) has a transformation directive for implementation by universities, including transitioning former “Technikons” to Universities of Technology to conduct research that contributes to improving the human condition. Despite the mandate to fund university research outputs, South African Universities of Technology (UoTs) continue to underperform in research, contributing less than 1% of the public university system’s total research output. This low productivity hinders their ability to attract funding and maintain sustainability, as public universities depend heavily on government grants for research. Despite the continued struggles faced by UoTs, various studies by Cloete et al. (2019), Serdyukov and Makhluf (2014), Simpson and Gevers (2016), Tomas et al. (2015), and the DST Report (2018) have contributed very little in addressing the underperformance of UoTs in terms of research despite funding being allocated to them.

Arguments from this thesis are theoretically based on Margaret Archer’s Social Realist Morphogenetic theory (Archer, 1996) with reference to constructs such as structure, culture and agency. This study, premised on the interpretivist paradigm, used the qualitative research design to analyse policy on research output and collect participant data. Interviews with 25 researchers, held in a University of Technology from the 30th of May to the 12th of June 2023, revealed shortcomings in the policy, including its lack for differentiating between Mode 1 and Mode-2 research, failure to address contextual factors critical to research, and inability to confirm the presence or absence of a research culture. Misalignment between national policy intent and university-level implementation, such as payout of personal incentives to researchers, was also identified.

This study addresses a critical gap by evaluating the implementation of national policies enacted through university initiatives such as policies, strategies and programmes that foster a research culture, especially among UoTs. It highlights key contextual factors – such as modes of knowledge production, approach to policy implementation, funding mechanism, university autonomy, agency, university ranking, and policy evaluation. Through my study, I conceptualised a framework for assessing the impact of policies on research culture in higher education. In doing so, the study has the impetus to contribute to literature, theory and practice in terms of university funding and improvement of funding policy to ensure resources are distributed equally and equitably to advance research that is impactful and resonates with the needs of the South African people.

Considering the study's contribution to higher education, I conclude by calling for a policy review to consider different modes of knowledge production, university mandates, and micro-level alignment to improve subsidy allocation, policy outcomes and research culture. With its connection to research culture in UoTs, the study is critical to ensure that research is well-established to generate funding to support further research and safeguard the sustainability of the university. From a theoretical view, the study advances a standpoint that while it values the application of Archer’s theory in higher education, there is a need to connect discussions on culture to funding mechanisms, particularly within the South African context. In short, through this study, there is an opportunity for South African Higher education to evaluate, rethink, improve and configure its funding model with the intention of enhancing research culture, especially within the UoTs.

Date of Award	12 Nov 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bath
Supervisor	Roger King (Supervisor), Gina Wisker (Supervisor), Hong Bui (Supervisor) & Jack Lee (Supervisor)