Incentives for Conducting Societally Impactful Research Community of Practice (ICSIR CoP)
This community of practice is a core part of the design of the SARUA project: Exploring the incentives for and barriers to conducting societally impactful research in the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
The project design combines engagement, research and learning activities, and is based upon the active and ongoing participation of key stakeholders in the shaping and co-production of knowledge, outputs and outcomes. Activities aimed at fostering collaboration and positioning for use will run throughout the duration of the project. One of the key mechanisms in this regard is the formation, development and maintenance of the Incentives for Conducting Societally Impactful Research Community of Practice.
Purpose and expected outcomes of the ICSIR CoP
The CoP provides a critical platform for the project team to:
- Present and obtain feedback on its work-in-progress and to inform and shape the emergent design of the project; and
- Engage and collaborate with participants in the co-generation of contextualised, multi-perspectival insights and solution-oriented research findings and recommendations to inform the development of the forward-looking research agenda.
The CoP offers its membership opportunities:
- To share and present information about projects, initiatives, reforms, innovations and other activities, as well as knowledge and expertise (peer learning), related to the substantive focus of the CoP in order to develop understanding and insights and improve practice;
- To identify potential collaborators for projects in this field; and
- For new alliances and networks to be formed to support further research and institutional reforms and innovations relating to the conduct of societally impactful research beyond the life of the project.
By the end of its term (April 2025), it is anticipated that the CoP will have achieved the following outcomes:
- Via the SARUA project and peer learning, increased understanding among key stakeholders in the research and innovation ecosystems of SADC countries and beyond of the incentives and barriers to the conduct of societally impactful research.
- A network of key stakeholders in the research and innovation ecosystems of SADC countries and beyond who are more aware and better equipped to review and bring about reforms or innovations to better incentivise and support the conduct of societally impactful research.
- A forward-looking action research agenda for the IDRC that has been shaped and informed by the ongoing engagement with members of the CoP, which is thus optimised for contextualised relevance, and which will be well positioned for future buy-in and uptake by intended beneficiaries and end-users.
- A CoP that can be sustained beyond the term of the project.
CoP membership and composition
Membership of the CoP is open to anyone with an interest in the substantive focus of the project, especially individuals from the following groupings:
- Key stakeholders from SADC and other research and innovation systems (institutional management and faculty from academic institutions; the science granting councils; government departments or agencies responsible for higher education, science and research assessment; and national academies of science).
- Researchers and members of other academic networks/CoPs with expertise and interest in the specific focus of the project.
- Funders of higher education research in sub-Saharan Africa.
