South Africa has taken another bold step towards innovation-led sustainable development with the rollout of the Viability and Validation for Innovations for Service Delivery Programme (VVISDP). The initiative, spearheaded by the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), is designed to advance the National System of Innovation (NSI) and address the country’s most pressing socio-economic challenges through the priorities of the National Development Plan (NDP).

According to Programme Manager for the Energy Management component, Dr. Neville Smith, the VVISDP directly supports the NDP by working towards eliminating poverty, reducing inequality, building skills and capabilities, fostering an inclusive economy, and strengthening state capacity through partnerships and innovation.

The programme is funded by the European Union Sector Budget Support (SBS) programme and National Treasury, with planning and design support from CoGTA, Human Settlements, and SALGA. The Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) acts as the Funding Agency, while SANEDI has been entrusted as the Executing Agency for the Energy Management component of the programme.