ResearchSpace

Communities in ResearchSpace

Welcome to ResearchSpace, the institutional repository of the CSIR. ResearchSpace is an open access electronic archive collecting, preserving and distributing scholarly digital materials created by the CSIR.

Recent Submissions

Item

Climate resilience in urban transport planning: A case study of Cosmo City’s wetland dilemma

(2025-07) Kgoa, Lerato

Urban transport planning in climate-sensitive regions requires balancing accessibility needs with environmental sustainability, particularly in informal settlements. This paper examines the dilemma surrounding an operational informal taxi rank located in an ecologically sensitive area near wetland in Cosmo City, Johannesburg. Ideally situated for community access, the rank serves as a vital transit hub for workers, scholars, and traders. However, its location raises concerns about climate resilience and ecological impact, as the area is prone to flooding and holds significant biodiversity value. While formalising the rank would enhance safety and infrastructure, relocation to a non-wetland area risks underutilisation, as seen with a nearby formal facility that remains unused due to its inconvenient location. Using available environmental, land use and transport data, this paper explores the trade offs between environmental risks and community benefits in maintaining the taxi rank’s current location. By weighing climate resilience considerations against transport accessibility needs, the study offers insights into adaptive strategies for transport infrastructure in vulnerable urban areas. This case presents a broader challenge for Southern African cities, emphasising the need for context-sensitive solutions that address both climate resilience and societal demands. The paper invites debate on sustainable urban transport planning in high-density, climate-sensitive regions.

Item

Operational readiness for e-governance in local government: A case study of the City of Mbombela with a focus on e-participation

(2025-11) Thulare, Tumiso; Maremi, Keneilwe J

This paper assesses the operational readiness of the City of Mbombela for implementing e Governance, focusing specifically on e-Participation to improve service delivery. Using a qualitative case study design approach, the research involves document analysis, secondary data, and key informant interviews to evaluate four readiness areas: digital infrastructure, institutional capacity, legal frameworks, and stakeholder engagement. Findings reveal that while Mbombela demonstrates policy alignment and partial ICT adoption, challenges persist in bridging the digital divide, strengthening interdepartmental coordination, and promoting inclusive citizen participation. Comparative insights from global examples like Seoul, Nairobi, Reykjavik, Cape Town, and Estonia suggest adaptable strategies such as mobile-first platforms, community access points, participatory budgeting, and open data dashboards. Building on these lessons, the paper proposes a phased roadmap for Mbombela, including broadband expansion, pilot digital engagement programs, digital literacy initiatives, and multi-stakeholder partnerships. The study contributes to e-Governance scholarship by contextualising operational readiness within the realities of South African municipalities, offering both a conceptual framework and practical strategies for institutionalising inclusive e-Participation. The paper concludes that sustainable e-Governance in Mbombela requires bridging technical, social, and institutional gaps while embedding citizen engagement into governance structures.

Item

Sustainable port planning

(CSIR, 2025-12) Taljaard, Susan; Weerts, Steven P; Schreiner, G; Mqokeli, B; Snyman Van der Walt, L; Lochner, Paul; Tsedu, R

Ports have experienced phenomenal growth over the past decades, not without negative environmental and societal impacts. With growing public awareness and regulatory pressures, ports around the world are obliged to account for these externalities and can no longer operate without acknowledging and incorporating societal and environmental considerations in their planning and management. Therefore, ‘Sustainable Port Development’ advocates a balance between economic growth, environmental protection, and social progress to secure their long-term ‘license to operate’. Climate change impacts also require improved climate resilience in port planning and development. In South Africa, Transnet is a State-Owned Company (SOC) signs an annual Shareholder's Compact with the Government. This Compact mandates Transnet to deliver on numerous strategic deliverables, including sustainable economic, social and environmental outcomes. As one of the five operating divisions of Transnet SOC Ltd, Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) is subject to these strategic deliverables, including sustainability performance at the country’s commercial ports. The TNPA, therefore, recognises the importance of sustainability, also in the planning of a port, in this case the proposed Port of Boegoebaai. The purpose here is to inform sustainability planning for the proposed Port of Boegoebaai. Acknowledging and addressing sustainability early on from the planning phase of a new port development will enable timeous identification of potential challenges and opportunities and inform appropriate interventions and solutions towards achieving sustainability. First a Framework for Sustainable Port Planning and Development (SPP&D) is posed, drawing on best practice (international, regionally and nationally), and aligned with TNPA’s current sustainability initiatives. Thereafter, key sustainability criteria specific to the proposed Port of Boegoebaai are provided. Note that this document does not contain a detailed sustainability assessment of the proposed Boegoebaai development. Rather it provides high-level practical guidance on key criteria and best practice that should be considered and adhered to during future port planning, development and operations, should it go ahead, to claim sustainability.

Item

Characterisation of CSIR’s Open-Jet 2-meter wind tunnel for IEC 61400 MEASNET-compliant calibration of cup anemometers

(2025-09) Ragimana, Phumudzo; Dikgale, Moyahabo S; Mabeko, Philimon K

Accurate measurement of wind speed is essential for effective assessment of wind resources and evaluation of turbine performance within the wind energy industry. This paper details the characterization of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) open-jet 2-meter wind tunnel, which is designed to facilitate MEASNET-compliant calibration of cup anemometers in line with IEC 61400. The test section underwent a rigorous evaluation to determine flow uniformity, turbulence intensity, and both axial and vertical flow alignment, utilizing a grid of calibrated pitot tubes. Measurements were taken across various horizontal and vertical planes to evaluate the spatial velocity distribution and confirm compliance with international calibration standards. The open-jet design presents distinct aerodynamic challenges, especially in maintaining low turbulence and uniform velocity profiles in the wind tunnel test section. Through a process of iterative flow conditioning and systematic testing, the tunnel achieved velocity deviations within ±0.03 m/s, thereby complying with the rigorous criteria for high-precision anemometer calibration. Repeatability tests conducted with a reference anemometer, along with assessments of environmental stability, further substantiated the wind tunnel's performance under different ambient conditions. The findings affirm the tunnel's capability as a national calibration facility, providing traceable and internationally recognised wind speed measurement capabilities. This characterisation establishes a basis for future improvements, including broader calibration ranges, automated testing rigs, and integrated uncertainty modelling to meet the increasing demands of the wind energy sector. This characterisation lays the groundwork for future upgrades, like wider calibration ranges, automated calibration systems, and better uncertainty modelling, to keep up with the growing needs of accurate measurements within the wind energy industry.

Item

R.A.I.S.E - A novel framework for evaluating foundational AI models in medical deployment: Moving beyond traditional metrics to real-world deployability

(2025-12) Adendorff, JAE; Lourens, Roger L; Delport, R; Marivate, V; Gichoya, JW

The shift from “narrow” traditional deep learning models to more generalist foundation models represents a paradigm shift for AI in medicine with the emergence of unimodal and multimodal systems such as MedGemma, Biomedclip, DINO models, and MedImageInsight. While these generalist models promise broad capabilities, they demand large datasets and high computational resources for training, and carry risks such as hallucinations, which can be hazardous in clinical use. In medicine, whether a model can be securely incorporated into actual clinical workflows is more important than whether it passes standard ized tests. Current assessment techniques for foundation models are fre quently based on multiple choice questions and do not account for real world deployment scenarios. At a two-day datathon (16-17 July 2025), we explored deploying MedGemma for chest X-ray reporting in South Africa. We proposed a gradual, radiologist-guided integration focused on controlled, automatable tasks rather than full diagnostic use. Our three pronged evaluation framework creates a uniform readiness score and al lows for continuous real-world monitoring by combining tailored deploy ment paths and hierarchical decision making with Go/No-Go thresholds.