The purpose of this Research Agenda is to define and focus research efforts and resources towards achieving outputs that would enhance the development of the Arts, Heritage, Cultural and Creative Sectors in South Africa as well as the policy imperatives o
This document contains the Research Agenda for the Arts, Heritage, Cultural and Creative Sectors of South Africa for the 2021/2022 Financial Year as produced by the South African Cultural Observatory (SACO) project.
The purpose of this Research Agenda is to define and focus research efforts and resources towards achieving outputs that would enhance the development of the Arts, Heritage, Cultural and Creative Sectors in South Africa as well as the policy imperatives of the South African Government and its stakeholders.
This document therefore aims to:
define research requirements;
define individual research agenda items required to address research requirements; and
determine the alignment of proposed research agenda items with the strategic and policy imperatives of the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture (DSAC).
This Research Agenda has been developed through several consultations starting in 2015 between with the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, the South African Cultural Observatory, industry stakeholders and researchers.
From 2015 till the current Financial Year the Research Agenda has documented a substantial increase in the number of research agenda items recorded; from an initial 24 items in 2015 to the current 274. Since the previous Financial Year, the number of topics has increase by 24.
The sustained growth in the number of research agenda items illustrates the notion that the Research Agenda is a dynamic and ongoing work-inprogress, which is continuously subjected to review and updating as new data, inputs and challenges emerge from within the sector.
The Research Agenda consist of three (3) components. They are:
• The first component provides a very brief explanation of the research requirement that needs to be addressed.
• The second component states the Research Agenda Item that would have to be researched to address the research requirement.
• The third component aligns Research Agenda Items with the National Development Plan (NDP), the Medium-Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) and the Annual Performance Plan (APP) of the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture.
The breakdown of the Research Agenda in terms of themes, research items, DSAC APP outcomes and outputs. as well as alignment with the MTSF and the NDP is summarised in the diagrams below
