Application for confidential access

In addition to Indigenous Knowledge that is available publicly, the NIKMAS also contains Indigenous Knowledge that is not yet in the public domain. This confidential Indigenous Knowledge (IK) is protected and can only be accessed by people who applied for and were granted restricted access to the NIKMAS repository.

The themes of confidential IK in the NIKMAS repository is as follows:

• African Traditional Medicine
• Traditional Food

To apply for confidential access you will be required to submit an online application. This application will require you to provide certain personal information and submit the following documentation:

• A signed Prior Informed Consent Agreement.

This information will be forwarded to the National Indigenous Knowledge Management Office (NIKSO) in the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) for consideration. You may be contacted directly if more information is needed. You can view the status of your application on your profile when you are logged in to NIKMAS.

After the submitted application and accompanied information is reviewed and confirmed the outcome of your application will be updated on the system and you will be able to search all confidential IK in the NIKMAS repository. Please note that you will only be able to see limited detail of the confidential entries in NIKMAS. To have access to all the information on a specific confidential IK entry, you will have to apply for confidential access for that specific entry.

The System allows for both open and confidential access levels. You can now view Open Access information and available Community Promotional information. When new promotional information becomes available from the communities, it will be added as soon as possible. As soon as the Indigenous Knowledge Regulations are approved and the Office of the Curator is established, applications will be made available to access Indigenous Knowledge through appropriate legal documentation and processes.