SAEON’s role in South Africa’s science system

"SAEON’s intellectual property is not for sale, but is shared to promote a knowledge society." - Johan Pauw, Managing Director, SAEON   Offshore research gets done by joining the sea cruises of international programmes. SAEON provides direct value to society through its leading programmes in environmental science education for high schools.

A few weeks ago, SAEON presented its contribution to global change research in South Africa to the Global Change Grand Challenge Investment Council, which is chaired by Dr Phil Mjwara, Director General of the Department of Science and Technology (DST). The Council oversees global change research on behalf of the South African Government.

As part of its submission to the Council, SAEON explained its business model following the framework presented by Osterwalder (2009). The business model is published below with a view to increasing our readers' understanding of SAEON.

Mandate

SAEON’s mandate is to detect, predict and inform on environmental change. In short, SAEON is about observation, information and education with regard to environmental change.

Customer segmentation

SAEON serves society. The local customer base of SAEON can be segmented into organised science and organised society. Organised science is represented by the DST, National Research Foundation (NRF), science councils, museums, universities and science-based government agencies. Organised society is represented by widely ranging facets of government, industry and non-government organisations.

Value proposition

Faced by an ever-changing and uncertain world, society is constantly in need of reliable data and evidence-based information to help improve the current situation and to plan for future prosperity.

SAEON’s primary role is to comprehensively provide reliable data and information about environmental change in the long term. It does this through establishing and maintaining long-term environmental observation systems within the boundaries of South Africa and its surrounding oceans. SAEON observation systems are custom-designed based on current scientific understanding. Improved knowledge and understanding derived from SAEON’s own as well as external work provide feedback for the continuous transformation of these systems, thereby increasing their value delivery.

Environmental change may best be studied through long-term observations because of ubiquitous entropy and variability in natural systems. Most observation systems are site-based for comparability over time and space. The placement and maintenance of such sites require persistent coordination and management by large national organisations, among which SAEON assumes a central position due to its geographic and disciplinary range. SAEON’s observation system infrastructure is fully shared with participating organisations and this provides for a form of subsidy to the National System of Innovation (NSI) as well as peer review of the SAEON system.

The concentration of ecosystem research at SAEON observatories provides meaningful opportunity for the coordination and acceleration of environmental research programmes over space and time, thereby enhancing the quality of outputs from, and cost-effectiveness of such programmes.

In addition to providing comprehensive observation systems, SAEON provides for access to data from distributed databases through an online data portal. The archiving and sharing of data ensures that data is not lost when researchers leave a project, and that the possibilities for data analysis improve incrementally. Data accessibility is enhanced by the provision of data management tools allowing for the development of data searches and geospatial visualisation. The applicable software is redeployed for parallel developments such as the South African Earth Observation Strategy, the South African Risk and Vulnerability Atlas, the World Data Centre for Biodiversity and Human Health, and the Nairobi Clearinghouse Mechanism.

SAEON provides direct value to society through its leading programmes in environmental science education for high schools, supervision and support of research students, public outreach, professional development and intern training programmes.

SAEON ensures a relevant international profile for South African science in various international science fora, including data management. The environmental science education programme does the same at international education meetings.

Communication channels

SAEON has an active communication programme ensuring that its stakeholders are kept abreast of developments, opportunities and information. SAEON’s bi-monthly electronic newsletter has proved to be a trendsetter in the field as its format has been copied by others. The newsletter targets scientists globally but is also read by science communicators and policy makers.

Additional communication channels are exhibitions, a corporate video, and programme launches. A four-yearly SAEON Summit acts as a forum for the presentation and discussion of longitudinal studies and other SAEON issues. SAEON’s scientific articles are predominantly published via ISI – journals. Publications in book format are also pursued. Other contributions are made via platform and poster presentations at local and international venues.

Customer relationships

SAEON operates as a leader, broker and collaborator in the field of long-term environmental observation.

Revenue streams

SAEON is first and foremost an organisation for the public good. The value derived from its activities is seldom immediate or focused but instead is far reaching, has lasting legacies and positively affects all levels of society. As a consequence SAEON will always be predominantly dependent on funding from government. Yet, SAEON does derive income from a range of other sources, both national and international. Such income is dedicated to projects that deliver short-term value to the particular funders, but those projects are always within the mandate of SAEON and benefits SAEON in non-monetary ways as well, such as additional data, equipment and research, and learning opportunities.

Key resources

Physical

SAEON has acquired a combination of basic and sophisticated infrastructure. Its different business units are either accommodated in rented property or in specially constructed offices. The business units have easy access to laboratories, libraries and airports. SAEON owns off-road vehicles and a near-shore boat for field research. Offshore research gets done by joining the sea cruises of international programmes. Instrumentation and equipment include automatic weather stations, current meters, ARGO floats, diving gear and various oceanographic instruments.

Intellectual

Whereas SAEON does not own patents and aspire to provide full and open access to its data, its brand as a comprehensive long-term environmental observation system and data provider with a successful education-outreach programme has been established and is associated with value for society.

SAEON’s intellectual property is not for sale, but is shared to promote a knowledge society. This is inclusive of software which has mainly been developed from and as Open Source Code. SAEON’s particular disposition as a network of organisations and individuals means that it is very well connected to counterpart organisations around the globe.

Human

Without a scientific workforce there would be no value in SAEON. This workforce has grown from a single individual in 2002 to some 20 trained scientists supported by an additional 20 support staff members in April 2010. Of these, some 12 hold PhDs. The workforce is diverse in its demographic composition, which contributes to SAEON’s flexibility and responsiveness to change.

Financial

Core funding from DST amounted to R 15 million in 2009-10. An additional R6 million was generated by SAEON services, collaborations and successful grant applications.

Key activities

Observation and education platforms

SAEON consists of six geographically dispersed environmental observatories (field stations with constellations of observation sites) representing the diverse landscapes, coastal areas, and the off-shore marine environments in South Africa.

Observation sites that are repeatedly monitored constitute the laboratories of ecosystem research. The environmental observatories are commonly known as Nodes. These Nodes are linked by an information management system, and their activities are coordinated by a National Office in Pretoria. The main components of SAEON are therefore the Nodes as the operational units, and the National Office as the coordination unit.

Production

SAEON’s observation systems are question-driven research programmes and follow the standard scientific process ideally resulting in peer-reviewed publications. SAEON’s observational framework has been developed through publications in South African Journal of Science. A more elaborate publication will be published in book format in the near future.

The position of Observation Science Specialist advised on the continuing development of the science framework and processes. The science of SAEON will in future be driven by one or two Chief Research Scientists. An informative illustrated book called Observations on Environmental Change in South Africa will be published during the course of 2010. This book has the potential to be read by policy advisors and students alike.

Equally important is the publication of databases which is often neglected by researchers working in isolation. SAEON’s emphasis on longitudinal data, data quality and accessibility puts data management in its rightful place within the broader reach of the network. The production of an information management backbone has had a long history and could not be done without partnership arrangements for which the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the DST are thanked in the main. The production includes software development processes which are outsourced under SAEON supervision.

The products of education can be found in high school learners taking informed decisions on careers in science, and postgraduate students graduating. The former process requires teacher training and science camps for the learners, whereas the latter follows the normal postgraduate supervision process with a significant amount of support by SAEON through funding, research opportunities, data accessibility, training, guidance, the Graduate Student Network and infrastructure. SAEON has established a continuous coaching and training programme for interns and will also get involved in the NRF’s Professional Development Programme.

The communication programme and its various products rely on professional communication staff, both internal and contractual. Administration processes are being centralised at the National Office under the direction of an Operations Manager.

Problem solving

The Global Change Grand Challenge recognises that human activity, especially in a globalised world, leads to consumption of natural resources and disruption of the natural systems that support human life. In order to secure national economic growth we need to secure ecosystem goods and services by becoming leaders in sustainable management of our natural environment.

With the inherent variability of natural systems in mind, the purpose of SAEON is to generate long-term information relevant to the sustainable management of natural resources and systems over a range of eco-regions and land uses. The consistent observation of ecosystems over decades and longer is the only way to obtain scientific evidence of real change taking place when temporal change is the order of the day. The outcome of a long-term environmental observation system is the understanding and reliable information upon which adaptation strategies can be developed.

Observation focuses on aspects of ecosystem functioning which impact society. These include biodiversity, hydrology, biogeochemical cycling and production, erosion and sedimentation, and disturbance regimes. A primary objective of observation is to distinguish natural variability of ecosystem functioning, including extreme events, from response to anthropogenic impact resulting from global change.

Global change drivers encompass CO₂ loading, climate change, changing marine geophysical patterns, sea-level rise, ocean acidification, land or sea use and management, harvesting, nutrient loading, acid deposition, hydrological functioning, sedimentation, alien organisms, diseases, pests, and pollution. Discrete yet integrated observation programmes are conducted for the main biomes or environments of the country, including large marine systems, coastal habitats, savanna, fynbos, grassland, wetland, forests, arid ecosystems, and freshwater aquatic environments.

Globally, the contemporary understanding of ecosystems acknowledges that they are indeed immensely complex in nature. Yet, in the main, current ecosystem research in South Africa and in many countries is driven by the “graduation objective” — the need for postgraduate students to complete a thesis. As a result, most studies are small-scale, short-term, and therefore limited in their real contribution to our understanding of ecosystems. Ecosystem research is also fragmented. Data is not readily accessible and not enough variables are included to cover the additional complexity brought about by global change processes.

SAEON establishes and maintains nodes (environmental observatories, field stations or sites) linked by an information management network. The nodes serve as research and education platforms for long-term studies of ecosystems to provide for incremental advances in our understanding of ecosystems and our ability to detect, predict and react to environmental change. The core research strives to distinguish between anthropogenic and natural change, as well as to unravel the relations between social change and ecosystem change. Such a comprehensive observation system is not within the mandates or competency of traditional science institutions; hence the need for a SAEON.

Key partners

Optimising and economy of scale

Several collaborations with partners contribute to SAEON’s economy of scale, including:

•  With host organisations regarding office facilities, services and data
• With landowners regarding access to research sites, including national parks
• With several participants on the South African Data Centre for Oceanography
• With several universities regarding student research projects and data sets
• With PortNet regarding the monitoring of harbour waters
• With the NRF regarding corporate management and services
• With volunteers regarding large-scale monitoring projects
• With the African Coelacanth Ecosystem Project (ACEP) and the Agulhas-Somali-Current-Large-Marine-Ecosystem (ASCLME)  Programme regarding aspects of programme and data management
• With high schools regarding environmental monitoring projects
• With several international data centres regarding data sharing
• With CSIR regarding long-term hydrological data sets and the South African Risk and Vulnerability Atlas
• With the United States Geological Service regarding the development of the World Data Centre on Biodiversity and Human Health and metadata software
• With the private sector regarding specialised communication services
• With ACCESS and MARE on membership of the Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans (POGO)
• With ACCESS on marine science educational activities
• With sister business units on science awareness activities

Reduction of risk and uncertainty

Some partnerships are partly motivated by the sharing of risk and uncertainty, e.g.:

• The development of an information management backbone in partnership with the CSIR, Department of Minerals and Energy and the private sector

Acquisition of particular resources and activities

Some partnerships are partly motivated by the opportunity to contribute to global observation systems and to obtain specialised equipment and services, e.g.:

• With the University of Cape Town and the ARGO global float array of the Global Ocean Observation System (GOOS) to monitor the Southern Ocean
• With the Satellite Application Centre (SAC) regarding metadata catalogues for satellite imagery
• With the South African National Antarctic Programme, ASCLME and ACEP regarding cruises
• With International Long-Term Ecological Research (ILTER) to study ecosystem services at global scale

• With GEOBON by hosting its secretariat