COUNCIL FOR SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH

Their core work

CSIR is South Africa's premier multidisciplinary research institution, operating across natural sciences, engineering, and technology development. In H2020, they bring deep expertise in ocean science, climate research, and African resource management — serving as the key African partner for Atlantic and Southern Ocean observation networks. They also contribute to e-infrastructure development, raw materials policy, advanced manufacturing, and climate adaptation services tailored to African contexts. Their value lies in bridging European research with African implementation, providing ground-truth data and local expertise that European consortia cannot source internally.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early H2020 period (2015–2018), CSIR focused on raw materials, e-infrastructure for Africa, ocean observation systems, and security research networking — essentially building foundational partnerships and infrastructure links between Europe and Africa. From 2019 onward, their work shifted decisively toward climate science, ocean biogeochemistry, climate migration, and applied climate services for Southern Africa — reflecting both global urgency around climate change and CSIR's deepening role as Africa's voice in Atlantic research cooperation. The recent portfolio also shows diversification into aquaculture, precision medicine, and gender equality in science.

CSIR is consolidating as Africa's primary research bridge for Atlantic Ocean and climate science programs, with growing involvement in climate adaptation services — expect future projects focused on Southern Ocean dynamics, food-water-energy nexus, and blue economy applications.

How they like to work

CSIR exclusively participates as a partner — zero coordinator roles across all 22 projects — which is typical for non-EU organizations in H2020 where coordination must be EU-based. They operate in large consortia (409 unique partners across 69 countries), indicating they are a highly connected node in international research networks rather than a niche specialist embedded in small teams. Their repeat engagement in Atlantic-themed projects (AtlantOS → AANChOR → AtlantECO → ASTRAL) suggests strong loyalty to established research communities, making them a reliable long-term partner.

CSIR has collaborated with 409 unique partners across 69 countries, making it one of the most internationally connected African research organizations in H2020. Their network spans the full Atlantic basin — from Europe to West Africa to South America — with particularly dense connections in ocean science and climate research communities.

What sets them apart

CSIR is the dominant South African research organization in H2020 ocean and climate programs, offering something European partners cannot replicate: direct access to Southern Ocean data, African climate ground-truth, and implementation capacity across Southern Africa. For consortium builders targeting Africa-Europe cooperation — especially under the Belém Statement on Atlantic Research — CSIR is effectively the default institutional partner. Their broad mandate (from ocean biogeochemistry to manufacturing to e-waste) also means they can fill multiple roles within a single consortium.

Highlights from their portfolio

• ASTRAL
  Largest single EC contribution (EUR 427,140) — focused on sustainable Atlantic aquaculture with zero-waste and circular economy themes, reflecting CSIR's growing blue economy role.
• HABITABLE
  Addresses the politically urgent intersection of climate change and migration, with CSIR providing African-context modeling of habitability and social tipping points.
• SO-CHIC
  Southern Ocean carbon and heat budget research (EUR 212,500) — positions CSIR at the frontier of global climate science where Southern Hemisphere data is critically scarce.