Investment in science, technology and innovation (STI) is essential for economic development and social progress. Research and development (R&D) can foster sustainable development by building greater, more inclusive societies. To be effective, however, infrastructure development, technology transfer and both public and private R&D need to be nurtured and regulated via effective policies.
This is one of the mandates of the National Research Foundation/ South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement, an independent government agency mandated to promote cross-field research. We have been instrumental in assisting this entity in fulfilling its mandate through creating marketing and communication tools fit for an agency of this stature.
The creative overhaul of the NRF’s multimedia communication tools included a website and e-mail newsletter, GetSETgo, and the subscription base required expansion to optimise its reach. We designed a fresh, vibrant, interactive and responsive website and created a new e-mail newsletter. Our role in this project extended to language editing and proofreading of all submitted articles, from various field researchers in the country and beyond. The articles are packaged to the interactive website with the accompanying, captioned photographs.
The e-newsletter is distributed via email to a database of 3500+ and counting and is linked directly to the official SAASTA website. With each edition of this digital publication, live polling of various current developments and debates within the STEM community are put to a public vote, further elevating the user-experience and interactivity values of the platform.