The creative use and efficient management of SET are central to the empowerment of all citizens in seeking to achieve these national goals. It is essential that the generation of new knowledge and the effective application of existing knowledge through scientific and technological activities will be valued by and accessible to all South Africans as they implement a national system of innovation and share in its benefits. Some Key Concepts and Definitions A shared interpretation of the concepts science, technology and innovation is crucial in formulating arguments, options and strategies for reviewing and rebuilding an SET policy for South Africa. The common definition of science is to limit it to the natural sciences such as physics and chemistry. In this Paper science will be referred to in its most general sense, that is a body of knowledge created through formal processes of research.
Scientific method is an exact and systematic way of understanding the world.
Science concerns itself with experiments in genetics involving DNA, in seeking an understanding of stellar structure, and in acquiring and analysing demographic data. Technology is more concerned with doing, making a difference to the world around us, through making things or organising the way we conduct our lives. Science and technology are closely interrelated. New scientific knowledge may lead to technological development, while a technological need may prompt scientific investigation. People wore spectacles before scientists could specify lens optics, while basic science derived the theory of transistors before the high purity techniques of producing silicon wafers for computer chips were known.