A short general history of the MRC

Democracy dawns
The year 1994 saw the 25th anniversary of the creation of the MRC. It was also the year in which all South Africans were entitled to vote for a Government of National Unity. The old political era that was officially dead was the era in which the MRC was founded, the era in which it attained a leading position in the national systems of science and health. It entered the new era as the first Science Council in the country to be governed by a board described as "fully representative" and"restructured", "with 14 new members out of 17". The newly appointed Chairperson was Professor Malegapuru William Makgoba, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand.

The MRC Board 21 March 1998 - 30 April 2001

The first quarter century of the MRC was one in which, in most instances, research was able to stay abreast of international achievements. In some fields, including TB, cancer caused by fungal toxins in maize, and the application of satellite geographical information systems, the MRC was able to assume a position of leadership particularly in the African context. Internally, the holistic management system worked well, and tight budgetary control and rationalisation helped to substantially improve the financial position. The commercial market for research was acknowledged to be small, and it was foreseen that government funding would remain the principal source of income.

Dr Makgoba's first annual report as Chairperson appeared in March 1996 and recalled that, at the very first meeting of the new, transformed Board, he had stated that the time had arrived for a refocusing of effort and for decisions about the type of medical research required in South Africa. The MRC had been given a unique opportunity to restructure and redefine its effort, and Dr Makgoba presented his own strongly held view that "medical research is about basic fundamental issues in disease - not documentation, and that research is about quality, not quantity".

His philosophy implied that the goals of the MRC should be to:

• assume leadership in the planning and execution of health and medical research;
• facilitate and co-ordinate health and medical research;
• serve as the interface for the flow of information among policy makers, health services, industry, funders and research structures; and,
• develop the highest quality of human capacity in health and medical research.

A process of corporate planning was introduced, resulting in a three-year plan that focused on strategy implementation, regular assessments of progress and cyclical revision. A progressive employment policy was introduced, aimed at placing black candidates in 75 per cent of all staff vacancies. Overall, Dr Makgoba was able to report in 1998 that the MRC had "changed from an inward-focused organisation to a client-orientated science, engineering and technology institution (SETI)". This was apparent from the growth in contract income and the formal collaboration with a growing number of major international equity partners. At home, the MRC was increasingly recognised by the public and private sector as an "honest broker to launch large-scale interventions". Through sound financial management the MRC had recovered from the difficulties associated with past policies, and had reached a healthy financial state.