Applications are open for the 2023 Discovery Foundation Awards
Be part of the next generation of leaders in academic medicine and boost South Africa as a leading international hub for research and science.
The Discovery Foundation is an independent trust with a clear focus to strengthen the healthcare system by ensuring that more people have access to specialised healthcare services. Since 2006, the Discovery Foundation invested over R300 million in grants and support for nearly 500 medical specialists and institutions.
The booklet includes information about the Discovery Foundation and qualifying criteria for each of the award categories.
Addressing the critical shortage of medical graduates and specialist skills
Discovery Limited established the Discovery Foundation as an independent trust with an obligation to promote transformation. Each year, for doctors working in the public healthcare sector, the Discovery Foundation gives awards to outstanding individuals and institutions across different categories. The Discovery Foundation will ensure that, wherever possible and across all grants, at least 75% of its total financial support goes to black people to further their studies or to benefit certain socioeconomic development activities.
Discovery Foundation grants and funding
Click on download application for the form to complete for each of the awards.
The Discovery Foundation Academic Fellowship Awards
These awards aim to promote research-focused training in academic medicine and to develop more clinician scientists to benefit healthcare in South Africa. The recipients will receive funding for postgraduate research and will have the opportunity to take on a period of full-time study and research towards Masters or Doctoral degrees.
Closing date: 23 October 2023
The Discovery Foundation Sub-specialist Awards
The Discovery Foundation Sub-Specialist Awards aim to contribute to human resources for clinical and academic medicine by supporting further subspecialist training, research and development in health faculties in South Africa. In so doing, these awards contribute towards the research endeavours of the host departments of the recipients and to academic medicine as a whole.
Closing date: 23 October 2023
The Discovery Foundation Awards for Healthcare in rural and underserved areas
The Discovery Foundation aims to address the shortages and quality of healthcare in rural and underserved areas in South Africa. It does so by providing grants to senior doctors, registrars in training, and specialists in family medicine and other major clinical disciplines that deliver and support healthcare services in rural and underserved areas. The Discovery Foundation also focuses on building the capacity of institutions and supporting institutional partnerships through direct institutional awards.
| Individual Award | Institutional Award | Distinguished Visitor Award |
| Support the training and development of specialists in rural and underserved areas, including registrars (MMed) and senior medical doctors. DOWNLOAD APPLICATION |
Improve the quality and delivery of healthcare through a one-year grant to an institution that supports training and capacity development in rural and underserved areas. DOWNLOAD APPLICATION |
Grants to institutions providing services to rural and underserved communities through experienced clinicians who provide clinical guidance and mentorship for healthcare in rural and underserved areas. DOWNLOAD APPLICATION |
Closing date: 15 January 2024
"The Discovery Foundation currently funds up to 10% of the subspecialist posts in South Africa. The Foundation has also made strides to reach its target of awarding at least 75% of its annual grants to black recipients as part of its transformation strategy. To date 69% of individual awards have been awarded to black recipients - including 78% black recipients in 2020 alone."
Discovery Foundation chairman, Dr Vincent Maphai