National Research Foundation

Terms for Participation on the NRF's social media platforms:

The National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa makes use of social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn) to enhance communication with the research community. This is done in line with the policies/terms and conditions of each social media platform.

1. Terms for participation.

The NRF welcomes and encourages discussions on our social media platforms. Our aim is to create an inclusive community where participants can safely interact with one another and the NRF, and in a manner that is respectful and civil. The NRF reserves the right to remove comments or posts containing any of the following:
 Discrimination against groups of people or individuals. This includes, but
isn’t limited to, hate speech, racism, sexism, homophobia and xenophobia.
 Vulgar or inappropriate language or suggestions.
 Encouragement of violence or any illegal activity.
 Spam. This includes the promotion or endorsement of services and products, duplicate posts, and comments that are clearly “off topic.”
 Privileged or contractual-based information not intended for public disclosure.

Social media users are urged to keep in mind that posts/comments made on the NRF’s social media platforms are publically visible.

The NRF welcomes critique of its operations and procedures, however, comments/posts that are slanderous, threatening or contain unsupported accusations against the NRF won’t be allowed.

The NRF reserves the right to block/ ban repeat offenders on our social media platforms without prior notice or warning.

2. Official Channels: Funding-related information and queries

Supporting information about NRF funding, rating and progress report calls can be found on the NRF’s website at www.nrf.ac.za. Online documents accompany all calls and contain detailed information about call requirements and application procedures, as well as the contact details of the NRF Officers who are dealing directly with these particular calls.

 NRF Designated Authorities (DAs) are stationed at public universities across South Africa to assist students with their funding applications and queries. It is recommended that students get in touch with their DAs BEFORE contacting the NRF directly, as the DAs have access to both information from the NRF and the respective universities/institutions, enabling them to assist students timeously.
 The NRF Support Desk normally deals with technical queries involving the online submission system and also acts as a central hub for directing call-related queries to the relevant NRF Officers. They can be reached at 012 481 4202 or email [email protected].

3. Operating hours
The NRF’s operating hours are Monday to Friday from 08:00 to 16:30. Any comments or queries made on our social media platforms or sent to the support desk outside of these hours will only be attended to when normal operation resumes.

4. Content Disclaimer
Retweets and shares on our social media platforms are not endorsements. The NRF regularly shares third-party content (i.e. content not generated or owned by the NRF) such as blogs, research articles, opinion pieces, and general news. Such content doesn’t necessarily reflect the views of the NRF, nor does the NRF guarantee the accuracy of such information.