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History and Highlights

One of the few constants in the over 70-year history of the CSIR is the awareness of, and commitment to, the value that science and technology can deliver to the development of our country.

Since our establishment in 1945, we have been committed to pushing boundaries in our quest for excellent research, technological innovation and industrial and scientific development. This is the essence of our mandate and a legacy we plan to uphold for years to come.

As with many long-lived South African organisations, we have something of a chequered history – apartheid and the systems that supported it have cast a long shadow over the CSIR’s many scientific and technical accomplishments during its first half-century. It is perhaps emblematic of modern South Africa that we are able to reconcile this duality and that we can proudly reflect on the scientific achievements of our predecessors while recognising the fundamental injustice of the system within which those achievements took place.

The last 20 years have seen a significant re-orientation of the CSIR, and while our larger aims, scientific and industrial development, remain the same, the context within which that work is conducted has changed. We now explicitly acknowledge that the ultimate aim of the CSIR is to improve the quality of life of all South Africans.

Please click here to see some of the highlights from our research and technological innovation journey.