How Africa is shaping the future of research and grants management

The Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI) in partnership with the National Research Foundation, South Africa, and the German Research Foundation (DFG), hosted a peer learning visit in Bonn, Germany.

The event was held from 8 April to 10 April. SGCI funding partners, collaborating technical agencies, and public funders from 13 countries across Africa were in attendance.

The bi-annual meeting is an opportunity for researchers to share experiences and practices linked to science, research, and grants management and connect peers within funding agencies for long-term professional relationship building and stimulate the development of communities of practice in the SGCI.

The goal is to strengthen research and grant management systems across the African continent to ensure that they are more inclusive, responsive, and well-aligned.

Impactful change

The networking event has helped council members over the years to share insights, build connections that have helped bring ideas to reality, and improve the lives of people and communities.

The collaboration between the DFG and NRF dates back to 2019, in a long-standing bilateral relationship and a mutual commitment to strengthening research management across Africa through SGCI.

Improving research systems

During this year’s meeting, discussions focused on equality, diversity, and inclusion in research, research infrastructure, impact, enabling curiosity-driven research, and stewarding research partnerships.

It empasised how improving research systems is about people and how peer learning can help researchers better understand and address the specific challenges and opportunities within their regions and communities.

Collaborative solutions

By working together and sharing their experiences, researchers can develop more effective solutions to complex and critical problems in Africa like climate change, infectious diseases, genetic diversity, antimicrobial resistance, health equity, AI in healthcare, and science communication.

The NRF was represented by Dr. Dorothy Ngila, Ms Puleng Tshitlho, and Mr Themba Ngomane, who contributed actively to the discussions and knowledge sharing throughout the visit.

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