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ADA Strategy 2014-2018

AFRICAN DOCTORAL ACADEMY STRATEGY

2014-2018

April 2014


Contents

List of Acronyms ................................................................................................................................................................ 3

Purpose and status of this document ................................................................................................................................. 5

Context for the Strategy .................................................................................................................................................... 5

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................. 5

Rationale for increased PhD in South and sub-Saharan Africa .................................................................................... 5

Development imperative for the African continent .................................................................................................... 7

Stellenbosch University HOPE Africa Academic Project .............................................................................................. 7

Drivers for the strategy design ........................................................................................................................................... 9

Current mission and goals of the ADA ................................................................................................................................ 9

Strategic perspectives ........................................................................................................................................................ 9

Limitations and risks associated with the strategy ........................................................................................................... 11

The Strategy..................................................................................................................................................................... 12

Summary .................................................................................................................................................................... 12

Goal and objectives of the Strategy ........................................................................................................................... 12

Summary of strategies to achieve objectives ............................................................................................................ 13

Strategy Framework................................................................................................................................................... 17

Partnership and funding matrix ....................................................................................................................................... 19

Management and implementation framework ................................................................................................................ 19


List of acronyms

AAU Association of African Universities

ADA African doctoral academy

AERC African Economic Research Consortium

AFU Agence universitaire de la Francophonie

ANAFE African Network for Agriculture, Agroforestry and Natural Resources Education

ANIE African Network of Internationalisation for Education

ANSTI African Network of Scientific and Technological Institutions

ARCADE-HSSR African Regional Capacity Development for Health Services and Systems Research

ASNAPP Agribusiness for Sustainable Natural Plant Products

ASSAf Academy of Science in South Africa

AWARD African Women in Agricultural Research and Development

DAAD German Academic Exchange Service

DfID Department for International Development

DoHET Department of Higher Education and Training

DRUSSA Development Research Uptake in Sub-Saharan Africa

DRD Directorate Research Development

DST Department of Science and Technology

ESDA Education for Sustainable Development of Africa

FARA Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa

GSFASS Graduate School of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (formerly known as the Graduate

School - GS)

GSF Global Science Forum

HAAP HOPE Africa Academic Project

HDI Historically disadvantaged institution

IIASA International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis

IIS 2013-2018 Institutional Intent and Strategy 2013-2018


IPSA International Political Science Association

M&E Monitoring and evaluation

MDG Millennium Development Goal

NDP National Development Plan (South Africa)

NetACT Network for African Congregational Theology

NRF National Research Foundation

OSP Overall Strategic Plan

OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

PeriPeriU University Network of Partners Enhancing Resilience for People Exposed to Risk

PGIO Postgraduate International Office

RUFORUM Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture

SARUA Southern African Regional Universities Association

SANORD Southern African Nordic Centre

SLU Swedish Agricultural University

SU Stellenbosch University

TAP Tropical Agricultural Platform

TRECCAfrica Transdisciplinary Training for Resource Efficiency and Climate Change Adaptation in Africa

ADA Strategy 2014-2018 5

Purpose and status of this document This strategy of the African Doctoral Academy (ADA) has been designed following extensive consultations

during 2013 with a wide stakeholder constituency in the university, incl. Deans, Vice-deans, support service

heads, members of the executive i.e. the Rector, the Chief Operating Officer and the Vice-Rector Research

and Innovation. In addition presentations of the proposed strategy were made to meetings of nine Faculty

Boards to solicit input to further refine this strategy. This strategy was prepared by the Deputy Director of

the ADA and concluded in consultation with the Vice-Rector Research and Innovation and Senior Director

PGIO.

This document serves as a strategy of the ADA that will be implemented over the coming five years. Two

companion documents will be developed to support this 5-year strategy:

an Implementation and Resourcing Plan that will guide its implementation and resourcing, to be

adjusted annually, and

a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) framework with Key Performance Indicators based on

quantitative data as well as qualitative information – to aid in accountability, planning,

improvement, marketing and funds mobilisation processes.

Context for the Strategy

Introduction

1. Modern society has given rise to a multitude of opportunities for a renewed contract between science

and society to promote sustainable economic and social development and growth. Unprecedented

global environmental, social, financial, geo-political, and technological challenges compel science to be

more relevant to societal context, and to establish an optimal nexus between these two domains. At

the core of this nexus is the assumption that in order to strengthen sustainability within societies and

to achieve high levels of economic competitiveness, science must be a sound, reliable and cutting-edge

driver of change at multiple levels.

2. This strategic document aligns the African Doctoral Academy (ADA) closely with this critical science for

society nexus. The ADA strategy (2014-2018) provides a framework to drive the next phase of

expansion of the ADA to further extend its influence and impact directly aligned with the strategic

objectives of Stellenbosch University (SU) as articulated in the Institutional Intent and Strategy 2013 –

2018; the SU Institutional Plan; and national priorities and regional imperatives in a globally relevant

manner.

Rationale for increased PhD in South and sub-Saharan Africa

3. The central role of the modern research university within the knowledge economy is generally

accepted. Furthermore, research and knowledge production are core activities central to higher

education. However, despite these acknowledgements, it is not necessarily true that universities in

developing countries, particularly sub-Saharan African countries are able to fulfil this mandate

effectively. In fact, evidence is to the contrary and many African (and in particular sub-Sahara African)

universities have underdeveloped and struggling research functions. As the primary producers of

knowledge in Africa, the situation must be afforded due attention.

4. In the past two decades the rate at which scientific papers are produced globally has doubled. In

rapidly expanding economies the rate of publication has more than doubled in as little as the past 10

years. This rapid expansion is not reflected in African universities. Sub-Saharan Africa contributes


only 0.7% to the world scientific output and this percentage has decreased in recent decades.

5. Underdeveloped research functions at institutions created constraining environments within which

postgraduate (in particular doctoral education) could not flourish. Current low enrolment and

graduation rates at PhD level, as well as low levels of translation from master’s to doctoral level studies

are indicative of this status quo.

6. A set of negative self-reinforcing circumstances perpetuate these trends. Many institutions have too

few academic staff who hold a PhD who can supervise doctoral candidates, and those who are

appropriately qualified are often overburdened with other responsibilities and/or lacking in experience

and knowledge of what good supervision entails. Furthermore, despite widespread shifts towards

reengineering in doctoral programmes around the world, models of conceptualising and delivering

doctoral education in Africa remain largely unchanged.

7. Essentially, institutions across Africa lack the capacity to produce knowledge at the requisite rate and

without substantial increases in human capacity will continue to fall even further behind in terms of

contributions to knowledge.

8. The PhD is an essential key driver for capacity development. From the South African perspective, to

achieve global competitiveness the number of PhDs produced per annum must increase substantially

from approximately 1600 to 6000 by 2020. It is anticipated that this fivefold increase in PhDs will

translate into significant increases in publication outputs to the point where SA contributes 1% of the

global R&D outputs annually.

9. Increasing the number of appropriately qualified academics who can supervise this increasing pool of

doctoral candidates is pivotal, and the National Development Plan (NDP)1 of South Africa appropriately

acknowledges this challenge by proposing an increase in academic staff with PhDs from 34% to 70% by

20302.

10. Achieving these ambitious targets will require a radical rethink of how doctoral education is

conceptualised and delivered, as well as a reconceptualisation of capacity development.

11. International trends in postgraduate education highlight the importance of expanding the nature of

doctoral education beyond discipline specific research skills to encompass the development of

transferrable skills for the modern day world of work3. In response to these trends, reconceptualised

modes of delivery for doctoral education and training have emerged, including split-site PhDs for

example sandwich programmes, double degrees, joint degrees and co-tutelle degrees.

12. Graduate schools have also emerged as a prominent feature of the international higher education

landscape4. In general, such schools provide a nodal point for the standardization and management of

postgraduate education within a university, and sometimes host programmes or degrees that do not fit

comfortably in conventional faculties or departments. In addition to catering for the immediate needs

of postgraduate students, graduate schools commonly also host scholarly seminars and public lectures.

They can thus stimulate the broad and informal, trans-disciplinary conversations that are becoming

such a significant informal curriculum for ‘new generation’ knowledge globally5.

13. Capacity development is a multidimensional concept and covers three broad dimensions, namely

identifying appropriate beneficiaries and partners; strengthening networking; and optimizing skills that

will be strengthened/transferred. The most effective capacity development programmes will address all

three of these dimensions and seek to understand through systematic research what the impact of the

1 National Planning Commission (2013). National Development Plan 2030: Our future - make it work. 2 Academics completing their PhDs will thus form part of both the increased number of doctoral candidates and thereafter increased pool of supervisors, the emphasis on the focus on academic staff ensures that critical skills are not only developed by higher education institutions, but also retained within the system. 3 These skills include writing of grant proposals, formation and management of collaboration teams, writing and editing of proposals, opportunities to work in international collaborative teams. 4 Nerad, M. (2010). Increase in PhD Production and Reform in Doctoral Education Worldwide. Higher Education Forum, Volume 7, 69-85. Research Institute for Higher Education, Hiroshima. 5For an account of this see for instance Dipesh Chakrabarty, ‘The Climate of History: Four Theses’, Critical Inquiry, 35 (Winter 2009), 197-222.


capacity development initiatives is.

14. Appropriate interventions to address the capacity crisis in the realm of science, and in particular

doctoral education need to be designed and implemented in South Africa, sub-Saharan African and the

continent more broadly. Considering all contextual factors, it is likely that a renewed regional

approach with appropriately selected beneficiaries and partners will offer the best way to build and

sustain excellence in doctoral education. The benefits of a regional approach include regional

specialization, knowledge spill overs, shared human and financial resources, cost efficiency and broader

capacity development.

15. Additionally, in order to maximize effectiveness, any interventions must aim to “achieve the pipeline

imperative”6,7 by strengthening capacity from the stage of identifying talented students early (in

Master’s level or even Honours level), to developing the next generation of researchers (support PhD

students through to graduation), through the stage of retaining emerging researchers (postdoctoral

phase) until the point where a corps of committed, established researchers participate actively in an

ever evolving knowledge economy.

16. Concomitant to any initiatives to reform the provision of doctoral education and achieve the pipeline

imperative is an expanded base of financial resources available to students (especially needy students)

to pursue doctoral studies and to incentivize continuation with postgraduate studies.

Development imperative for the African continent

17. Africa has been falling behind the rest of the developing world in terms of economic and social

development, and is the continent with the highest incidence of poverty. Whereas extreme poverty is

declining in most parts of the developing world and the number of poor people has declined globally in

recent years, the proportion of poor people has risen in sub-Saharan Africa. Approximately a third of

the worlds’ poor living in extreme poverty is found in this region with more than a quarter of all

Africans being undernourished. Almost 50% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa lives below the

international poverty line of US$1 per day (more than 400 million people).

18. With present trends in economic and social development, few African countries are likely to achieve

the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 and immediate skills shortages need to be

addressed to ensure continued development.

19. A strong focus on gender is not only expressed directly in three of the MDGs, but the promotion of

gender equality and women's empowerment underpins the achievement of all eight goals.

Development initiatives, policies and strategies that fail to take gender inequality into account or that

fail to enable women to be actors in those policies and actions will have limited effectiveness and

serious costs to societies.

20. Across Africa, national governments are increasingly recognising the role of tertiary education in

development, and for science to serve society in solving pervasive problems multidisciplinary

approaches and innovative transdisciplinary collaborations need to be sought.

Stellenbosch University HOPE Project

21. In 2007 after the installation of the Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Russel Botman, a strategic

repositioning of SU was initiated. Over more than two years of planning and consultation the

Overarching Strategic Plan (OSP) of the institution was adopted and the vision of a ‘pedagogy of hope’

was born.

6 Academy of Science in South Africa (ASSAf). (2010). The PhD Study: An Evidence-based study on how to meet the demands for high-level skills in an emerging economy. Consensus Report. September 2010. 7 Overcoming the high levels of drop out and attrition on the pathway from undergraduate to postgraduate studies and ultimately a career in academia

or research. Applies in particular to historically underrepresented groups for example women and racial minorities.


22. Towards this end, and taking its cue from the international development agenda, SU chose to align

itself with what the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals embody: an international

consensus of hope for a future in which new generations will thrive. In this context, Stellenbosch

University established its HOPE Project, which is focused on conducting world-class research on local,

regional and African challenges by using its expertise and state-of-the-art facilities in academic

initiatives that serve human need. Focusing on five themes for its strategic positioning8 SU supports an

array of academic initiatives proposed by academics and researchers. These initiatives serve as vehicles

for innovative learning, new knowledge applications and extending the boundaries of science-based

community engagement.

23. The Graduate School of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (GSFASS) at SU was established as a

HOPE Project initiative to strengthen and advance doctoral training and scholarship on the African

continent. The Graduate School operates as the organisational structure under which the academic,

financial and administrative functions of the Faculty's partially structured full-time doctoral scholarship

programme and multidisciplinary research themes fall. More than 85 doctoral students from 14 African

countries have been enrolled in this scholarship programme since it was launched in 2010. The Faculty

of Economic and Management Sciences also established a Postgraduate School effective 2014 and

accepted 10 fulltime PhD students.

In the original ADA concept document (2009) it was proposed that the ADA should be positioned as an 24.

institutional entity. Aligned with this original intent and the current expansion of the ADA to function

at multi- and interdisciplinary levels across faculty and disciplinary boundaries, the ADA will henceforth

be placed in the PGIO. This is important to confirm an institutional identity of the ADA and to

acknowledge the positioning of the ADA towards achieving the strategic goals of SU to ensure a

strengthened and increased profile of doctoral education and training as a major strategic area and

initiative that crosses faculty and departmental boundaries.

25. This strategic alignment is exemplified by the provision of high quality research training through annual

summer and winter schools in social science research methods offered by the ADA as well as the

comprehensive research project on the African doctorate housed by the ADA.

26. Four years after its inception, the ADA is well established in the humanities and social sciences, and

provides a definitive footprint for SU on the continent.

27. In the Institutional Intent and Strategy 2013-2018 document, SU’s commitment to relevance on the

continent was again confirmed in the announcement of the Hope Africa Academic Project which will

build on the successes of inter alia the ADA as the platform from which to address 21st century issues in

the spirit of “making hope happen” on the continent.

28. The strategic aim “to position the ADA optimally in order for it to achieve its goal to support,

strengthen and advance doctoral training and scholarship on the continent across disciplines through

an integrated holistic approach to contribute to (i) institutional, (ii) national (iii) regional and (iv) global

objectives and priorities” is clearly aligned with all three strategic priorities of the IIS 2013-2018 i.e.

broadening access through capacity building and addressing of diversity; focus on excellence through

promotion of scholarship and increased postgraduate student success; and enhanced societal impact

through strengthening and enhancing partnerships.

29. The ADA is now strategically positioned to contribute to the strengthening not only the science

agenda in Africa, but also the nexus between science and society. It is thus now the opportune time to

expand the focus of the ADA into a broader range of disciplines, including agriculture and life sciences,

economic and management sciences, education, health sciences, theology, law as well as economic and

management sciences thereby extending its strategic influence even further into critical areas of

8 (i) Eradicate pandemic poverty and related issues ; (ii) Enhance the physical and psychological wellbeing of people; (iii) Promote peace and security; (iv) Nurture and promote democracy (v) Promote a sustainable physical environment.


research to promote development.

Drivers for the strategy design 30. The following drivers influenced the Strategy design:

by being builders of hope on and from The explicit decision by SU to enhance its African footprint

the African continent;

The strategic objectives of SU and its vision to become a builder of hope by aligning its core

activities with development themes drawn from the international Millennium Development Goals;

The MDGs which are being renegotiated and the AUC Agenda 2063 which recognise the

importance of doctoral education to build a knowledge economy and society;

Efforts to expand the influence and footprint of SU and in particular the ADA in the realm of

capacity development for knowledge economies and social development;

Analysis of national policy related targets in South Africa related to doctoral education and the PhD

as a key driver in achieving such targets;

Analysis of the key challenges faced by researchers and doctoral candidates in SA and sub-Saharan

Africa;

The current scarcity of supervisory capacity within African institutions as a substantial constraining

factor inhibiting progress towards the achievement of targets related to doctoral education and

the establishment of the next generation of researchers;

International and national analyses of initiatives which are effective to strengthen doctoral

education;

The explicit value proposition of SU to educate the thought leaders of the future;

Intentional efforts to expand the diversity profile of both staff and students.

Mission and goals of the ADA 31. The mission and goals of the ADA have been as follows:

To provide current and prospective doctoral students in all fields of science with high quality

research training and support;

To assist prospective doctoral students with the necessary intellectual and academic tools to

become successful scholars in their respective fields by arranging seminars and dialogues with

established scholars;

To better equip academics for managing and supervising postgraduate students;

To house a comprehensive research programme on the "African doctorate".

32. Taking into account the strategic perspectives discussed below, a revised strategy is proposed that builds

on the key successes of the mission and goals to date, but proposes to expand the reach and influence of

the ADA beyond its current scope.

Strategic perspectives 33. The Strategy has been influenced by the following strategic perspectives:

Address the “leaky pipeline9”but with a primary focus on doctoral education

34. Widespread evidence exists to substantiate the necessity for a focus on doctoral education. However,

the crisis in doctoral education does not exist within a vacuum and is perpetuated to varying degrees by

a number of interrelated factors, including (but not limited to):

The poor translation from master’s to doctoral level studies, resulting in low doctoral enrolments;

The limited number of, and low capacity of available supervisors in SA and African supervisors;

9 Refers to the attrition and drop out along the pathway from undergraduate studies through postgraduate education to a career in academia or research. Applies in particular to historically excluded groups such as racial minorities and women.


Lack of adoption of innovative and relevant new approaches to doctoral education in line with

international trends;

Limited numbers of postdoctoral positions with institutions that nurture recent graduates in the

process towards becoming the next generation of academics.

35. The strategic decision is whether to focus energies exclusively on the low skills and capacity of doctoral

candidates or to take a broader, more systemic approach by designing key strategies to address

multiple “leakages in the pipeline”.

36. Although the direct target stated in national strategy documents10 is to increase the number of high

quality doctoral graduates, by failing to address the “leaky pipeline” the impact of any initiatives

remains restricted. By increasing the pool of master’s graduates who embark on doctoral level studies

the number of graduates can be hypothetically increased, however without concomitantly addressing

the current capacity shortages of current supervisors have this increase in students will only result in a

bottleneck and have no impact on graduation rates. Similarly if doctoral graduates are not nurtured and

groomed to form a critical mass of next generation academics the low number of available supervisors

will remain limited and the extent to which the number of doctoral candidates can grow continues to

be stunted.

37. Thus, the interrelated nature of the “pipeline” necessitates holistic thinking if substantial increases are

to be achieved in the number of doctoral graduates that can be produced. In particular in order to

achieve the directive to improve doctoral education on the continent, the ADA must expand its focus to

the three target groups of the pipeline namely: research master’s, doctoral and postdoctoral

candidates.

Maintain the current offerings and expand to incorporate further innovative offerings

38. Evidence to date suggests that the current summer and winter schools offered within the ADA have

been highly successful in achieving their stated objectives.

39. International trends in postgraduate education highlight the importance of expanding the nature of

doctoral education beyond discipline specific research skills to encompass the development of

transferrable skills. In response to this, reconceptualised modes of delivery for doctoral training have

emerged. Two examples of particular relevance to the ADA are:

Split-site PhD programmes, in particular sandwich programmes, offer an opportunity to develop

the full range of skills (research and transferable) within doctoral candidates, whilst simultaneously

contributing to supervisory capacity development;

Collaborative regional PhD programmes involving a consortium of universities, where one

institution may take the lead, but without offering a formal split-site programme11

40. With the envisaged expansion into other disciplinary areas it will be expedient to consider to what

extent the suite of capacity development offerings provided by the ADA need to be diversified.

41. An expanded suite of offerings not only increases the profile of the ADA, but creates a space to

acknowledge differences between disciplines in terms which capacity development initiatives will most

appropriately address the specific capacity development needs within each disciplinary area.

42. A diversified suit of initiatives and interventions, building on the successes of the current summer and

winter schools, is thus the most appropriate way forward for an expanded and institutionalised ADA.

43. During 2013 the ADA successfully offered capacity building interventions in collaboration with other

entities, amongst others the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) for 40 PhD

students from 11 African countries on policy analysis.

10 National Research Foundation (2011). Scaling up the South African research enterprise: 2012-2020. 11 Examples include RUFORUM at Makerere University in Uganda.


Funding full-time and part-time scholarships, as well as expanding towards establishing sandwich

PhD programmes

44. Access to funding is an important aspect of supporting doctoral candidates and ensuring that scholars

remain enrolled until graduation.

45. The ADA will adopt a flexible model in collaboration with Faculty specific needs to support full-time as

well as part-time PhD programmes.

46. The low number of staff in African universities who hold a PhD necessitates that these full-time

academics will form a substantial percentage of persons who need to obtain doctorates.

47. Similarly, according to the National Development Plan in SA the academic staff members at HEI with

PhDs need to increase from the current 34% to 70% during the next 10 years. This group will also form

a substantial focus group for the ADA.

48. Rethinking modes of delivery for doctoral programmes in line with international trends can lead to a

multiplicity of benefits that would otherwise have been foregone through providing only full-time

scholarships to individual students.

49. Split-site PhDs (such as sandwich programmes) are lower in cost than full time scholarships, allow for

part-time participation and can contribute substantially to the broader capacity development of both

institutions12.

50. Additional to the development of research skills, the on-site nature of the research conducted in

sandwich and regional programmes serves to develop the capacity of researchers through exposure to

and collaboration within relevant networks in their home countries.

51. Furthermore, the implementation of such models is in line with international trends of renewed modes

of provision and places a strong focus on regional collaborations most likely to work in the African

context.

52. Taking the above factors into consideration, it is proposed that all the above strategies (i.e. full-time

and part-time scholarships and sandwich programmes) are pursued and employed for maximal impact.

Limitations and risks associated with the strategy 53. In addition to core funding provided by SU the ADA’s funding sources consist of donations, grants and

income generated through projects, including short courses and certificate courses. Continued resource

mobilization is necessary to ensure that adequate funding is secured to enable the effective

implementation and resourcing of the strategy.

54. Establishing and managing collaborative partnerships and strategic networks to ensure mutual

benefits for all stakeholders is a challenging and time-intensive feature of implementation that requires

a sophisticated and astute context-specific approach. A strong emphasis on establishing networks and

partnerships is necessary during the early phases of the implementation of the strategy in order to

create momentum for reaching the stated objectives.

55. Although innovative high quality projects and programmes can be designed and implemented the

effectiveness of these initiatives will remain dependent on the quality and levels of preparedness of

the doctoral candidates. Pervasive and deeply entrenched challenges in the school systems and

undergraduate programmes continue to limit the number of high quality graduates continuing with

postgraduate level studies.

56. The impact of an expanded offering at the ADA is positioned to be both strategic and practical;

however there are various factors within the broader environment outside of the sphere of influence of

the ADA which may limit the effectiveness of the strategy.

12 See for example the Sandwich PhD programme at Wageningen University, Netherlands; DAAD grants for sandwich PhD’s in Germany; and various other European examples. Examples in Africa include the Collaborative PhD programme in Economics developed by the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC).


57. Limited human resource capacity within the ADA may restrict the extent to which the strategy can be

effectively implemented. Whilst strategic partnerships may be leveraged to bolster the capacity to

deliver the programmes, workshops and overall offerings of the ADA, the lack of supervisory capacity

within may inhibit the extent to which programmes within the ADA can expand in line with the

strategy.

The Strategy

Summary

58. The ADA Strategy has as primary goal to strategically support, strengthen and advance doctoral

training and scholarship on the continent across disciplines through an integrated holistic approach to

contribute to (i) global, (ii) regional (iii) national and (iv) institutional objectives and priorities.

59. The Strategy has therefore been designed to propel the ADA into a new phase of development over

the next five years, driven by capacity development, research and scholarship in its broadest sense.

60. The strategy will build on the current goals of the ADA, but will place strong emphasis on expanding

the offerings both in terms of disciplinary scope and in terms of the nature of the offerings. It will be

framed by a focus on expanding its impact to include the other disciplinary areas and Faculties, beyond

the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences building on the already established strengths of the offerings in

the social sciences.

61. Furthermore, given the pivotal role that women play in economic and social development on the

continent particularly in the context of achieving the MDGs and reducing poverty through agriculture, a

focus on gender will be promoted.

62. The Strategy conceptualises capacity development as a multi-dimensional concept that has three key

dimensions13. The three dimensions are: selecting the appropriate beneficiary/partner, strengthening

networking and optimizing the skills that must be strengthened/ transferred.

63. The Strategy of the ADA aligns itself with beneficiaries and partners for capacity development on all

levels (from the individual through to the institutional, national and supranational) through its

multiplicity of activities and proposed objectives.

64. As a dimension of capacity building, networking encourages relationships at a number of levels – all of

which are deemed appropriate within the ADA Strategy, including:

Networks linking multiple scientific domains, promoting multidisciplinary and supra-faculty

collaborations;

Institutional networks outside of the academic sphere (with non-profit, private and public sectors,

incl. industry)

Linkages across geographic boundaries i.e. regional, national, international.

65. The ADA strategy acknowledges the full spectrum of skills and experience that needs to be acquired by

its beneficiaries and partners, including the scientific research skills, as well as the non-scientific

transferrable skills required to initiate and conduct research within knowledge societies.

66. Furthermore, the ADA acknowledges the importance of understanding the impact of capacity

development for the intended beneficiaries and actively conducts research towards this end.

67. The Strategy has been rooted in the following six interrelated, mutually reinforcing desired outcomes

discussed in the section below.

Goal and objectives of the Strategy

68. The goal of the Strategy is to position the ADA optimally in order for it to achieve its goal to support,

13 OECD (2011). Opportunities, challenges and good practices in international research cooperation between developed and developing countries.


strengthen and advance doctoral training and scholarship on the continent across disciplines through an

integrated holistic approach to contribute to (i) institutional, (ii) national (iii) regional and (iv) global

objectives and priorities.

69. The six strategic objectives are articulated as:

i. Establish the governance and management structures of the ADA;

ii. Establish sustained partnerships and collaborative strategic networks to enhance African

Scholarship;

iii. To expand and diversify the current PhD capacity development offerings;

iv. To capacitate supervisors on the African continent across disciplines;

v. To address strategic elements of the “leaky pipeline” at master’s and postdoctoral level;

vi. To produce high quality research on doctoral education and capacity development in Africa.

Summary of strategies to achieve objectives

Establish the governance and management structures of the ADA

70. Consolidating and strengthening the governance and management structures of the ADA is a cross-

cutting objective that establishes a strong platform from which all other objectives in the strategy can

effectively be accomplished.

71. The constitution of the ADA makes provision for the appointment of a Governing Board chaired by the

Vice-Rector Research and Innovation, the Director of the ADA, the Senior Directors PGIO and DRD,

Deans of the participating Faculties and up to five prominent members of civil society, experts on

doctoral education, and one or more representatives of African partner universities and the

international donor community.

72. The Governing Board will assess and advise the ADA on its future strategies and on implementation

models for the current strategies. It will also consider and approve the ADA’s annual budget.

73. The external members of the Governing Board will serve to establish a committed core of champions

for the ADA, increasing access to powerful networks and alliances and funding opportunities.

Expand and diversify the current PhD capacity development offerings

74. The ADA will continue its current offerings for capacity development at doctoral level in the social

sciences through the following:

Offering Summer and Winter schools in Research Methods on an annual basis;

Offering scholarship workshops providing hands-on skills training in key research competencies

primarily aimed at students who are enrolled at Stellenbosch University to assist them in the

development and finalisation of their doctoral research proposals;

75. The ADA will adopt a flexible working relationship in collaboration with faculties and provide capacity

development interventions on a faculty needs-basis. In addition, faculties can also design and offer

their own capacity development interventions. Furthermore, joint offerings could be designed and

presented.

76. The ADA will expand its current offerings for capacity development at doctoral level to additional

disciplines, including to the agricultural and life sciences, economic and management sciences, health

sciences, education, theology, engineering and law through the following:

Hosting seminars and dialogues with established and experiences scholars on topics related to: (i)

critical reasoning in scholarship; (ii) academic publishing; (iii) integrity in research; (iv) developing

an academic and scientific career; (v) the post-doctoral fellowship and its challenges.

Development of sandwich and regional PhD programmes in collaboration with African institutions.

• Doctoral candidates will spend a total of 12 months at SU – the first 6 months at the start of


the PhD programme, and the second 6 months at the end.

• The first six months will be spent developing high quality research proposals, after which the

candidate will register at SU for the degree, but will have a co-supervisor in the African

partner institution.

• Doctoral candidates and supervisors will also benefit from the ADA capacity development

initiatives for PhD candidates and supervisors respectively.

• Candidates spend the intermediate period at their home institution/country conducting their

research and/or fieldwork in the context of their home institutions and/or countries and

establishing relationships within their home institutions.

• Potential partnerships for the development of such programmes include the German

Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Swedish Agricultural University (SLU) in Europe,

and RUFORUM in Africa.

Providing tailored PhD proposal development seminars in collaboration with strategic partners (see

discussions under partnerships for further details on partnerships).

Establishment of a structured mentorship programme with partners for selected doctoral

candidates enrolled at SU or partner institutions with mentors who are established scientists within

their specific discipline.

Launch a two-month summer/winter14 school for doctoral candidates from sub-Saharan Africa

(who are in the advanced stages of their doctoral studies) working in the agricultural and life

sciences15.

• The two-month school will work on a joint supervision model where candidates are

partnered with two supervisors and will work on a specific research project ;

• Projects will be specifically designed and selected to be aligned with the strategic priorities

identified by SU, whilst at the same time remaining broadly related to the PhD candidates

area of research;

• Projects will focus on establishing research networks, developing and improving the

supervisory capacity of the supervisory pair and developing the transferable skills needed in

knowledge workers for the doctoral candidates (such as proposal writing, science writing

courses, science communication, industry and policy dialogue linkages);

• The objective of the two-month school will be for the supervisory pair and the PhD to

produce a publishable article;

Continue with the recently offered week-long capacity building project for participants in the

Southern African Young Scientist Summer Programme (SA-YSSP)16.

• This week-long seminar offered at the ADA will focus on networking, i.e. linking of multiple

scientific domains, to connect social and natural sciences, creating and managing inter- and

trans-disciplinary research projects; institutional networks beyond the academic sphere, i.e.

engagement with government and civil society in policy dialogues; and linkages across

geographical boundaries (national, regional, North-South, and multilateral).

• This programme will also include sessions on transferable skills, such as science

communication.

• The programme will also offer opportunities for supervisors and associated postdocs from

14 The precise timing of the 2-month school will be decided upon taking into consideration the context specific needs and responsibilities of participants and supervisors. 15 ADA and the African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) have agreed to establish a partnership along these lines and will host a pilot winter school during 2014. 16 The SA-YSSP is an annual three-month education, academic training and research capacity-building programme jointly organised by the NRF, DST and International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Austria that is to be hosted by a South African higher education institution. The SA-YSSP provides the opportunity for young and emerging doctoral candidates to advance their research under the direct supervision of senior scientists from IIASA and South Africa. The NRF has funded the ADA to host a first week-long summer school on policy analysis for 40 African PhD candidates from the SADC during Feb 2014. IIASA and the NRF have requested the ADA to continue with this policy analysis workshop on an annual basis.


South Africa and IIASA to participate in the capacity developing initiative thereby making a

contribution to development of skills across the full spectrum of the academic career pipeline

77. The ADA will expand its reach by providing workshops related to optimal utilization of ICT and electronic

resources, as well as to young academics on planning and preparing for an academic career.

Capacitate supervisors on the African continent across disciplines

78. The ADA will continue its current offerings for capacity development at supervisor level through the

following:

Offering the certified course on doctoral supervision at least three times per annum.

Offering seminar series on the management of doctoral studies aimed at university directors and

managers who support doctoral education in their institutions.

79. The ADA will expand its current offerings related to capacity development at supervisor level through

the establishment of innovative programmes:

A two-month summer/winter school for students in the agricultural and life sciences (see

discussion above for details of programme structure);

Provision of a one week accredited supervisory course for multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary

research which was offered for the first time in 2013.

80. The ADA will investigate the potential impact and viability of an online training programme for

supervisor capacity development.

Consolidate and cultivate the postgraduate education pipeline to strengthen doctoral education

81. The ADA will be intentional about developing capacity from the master’s level onwards. This will

include identifying talented master’s students and providing encouragement and/or incentives for

students to continue with their doctoral studies. Furthermore this may expand to include providing

structured master’s programmes that translate into doctoral programmes.17

82. The ADA will develop an overarching institutional plan for postgraduate education skills development,

including a monitoring and evaluation mechanism and defining the attributes of an SU honours,

master’s and doctoral graduate.

83. The ADA will enhance the current postgraduate skills development offered in the PGIO by further

development of the on.track planner (online project management tool for postgraduate students) and

the online keep.track progress tracking tool in support of the supervision process.

84. The ADA will broaden its vision for capacity development at postdoctoral level to by initiating

innovative projects that nurture early career researchers and provide enabling conditions for them to

move towards becoming established researchers, including the following:

Establish a “multidisciplinary research incubator” for postdoctoral fellows working in the area of

global issues relevant to Africa.

Fellowships for a period of 1-3 months will be awarded to allow for dedicated research and

publication time. The possibility to implement this strategy in collaboration with STIAS18 will be

explored.

Establish sustained partnerships and collaborative strategic networks to enhance African

scholarship

85. The ADA will actively seek to extensively expand its existing collaborative network to further leverage

the impact ADA in alignment with its objectives. Regional and global strategic alliances and partnerships

include:

Mobilising support for a consortium of historically disadvantaged universities (Fort Hare, Venda,

17 See for example the Collaborative PhD programme in Economics developed by the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC). 18 Aligned with STIAS’s new Africa themes and emerging scholar focus.


Zululand and Limpopo Universities) and collaborate within the consortium on the following:

• Creating access for a predetermined number of PhDs (staff and students) from partners

institutions to attend current ADA offering such as the summer and winter schools in

research methods, as well as providing training for supervisors and research managers;

• Offering tailored PhD proposal development seminars (two by one week seminars over the

course of a semester);

• Focusing on existing staff members at HDU’s without PhDs mobilising support from the NRF

through the expanded Thuthuka Framework.

Establishing partnerships and collaborations with key regional role players on the continent: Forum

for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in

Agriculture (RUFORUM), Association of African Universities (AAU), Southern African Regional

Universities Association (SARUA) and African Women in Agricultural Research and Development

(AWARD).

Establishing partnerships and collaborations with broad stakeholders such Tropical Agriculture

Platform (TAP), G20, the Japanese Education for Sustainable Development of Africa (ESDA)

initiative, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Global Science

Forum (GSF) and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA).

Mobilising support for a consortium of Universities of Technology (CPUT, CUT, TUT) and collaborate

within the consortium on the following:

• Creating access for a predetermined number of PhDs (staff) from partners institutions to

attend tailored PhD proposal development seminars (two by one week seminars over the

course of a semester);

• Focusing on existing staff members at these universities without PhDs mobilising support

from the NRF through the expanded Thuthuka Framework.

86. As a critical element of its sustained partnerships and collaborative networks, the ADA will seek to

promote African scholarship in its broadest sense to contribute actively to the increased footprint of

SU on the African continent.

87. Conceptually akin to the prominent initiatives in the United States19, the “African Scholars Platform”

(i.e. fellows of the ADA) is an initiative which will draw from the African context to bring a steady

stream of the continent’s foremost scholars, thinkers, and artists to the SU campus under the auspices

of the ADA20 to bolster the growth of a lively, curious and stimulating intellectual space. The initiative

will not only be Africa focussed, but also Africa driven.

88. A specific focus of the initiative will be to expand the capacity and expertise base of the ADA in order to

be able to deliver on all of its objectives.

89. The initiative will invite prominent scholars from the African continent to the SU under the auspices of

the ADA, yet in collaboration with other SU departments/faculties/centres for short-term visits to

stimulate a lively and curious intellectual space that celebrates African scholarship in a multiplicity of

forms.

90. Scholars will be invited will for short-term visits in order to:

present guest lectures on campus related to issues of global relevance on the African agenda;

interact with graduate students under the auspices of the ADA and the broader doctoral cohort at

SU through structured discussions and one-on-one appointments;

collaborate and interact with scholars on the SU campus who share similar research interests in

order to facilitate partnerships between SU scholars and the African academic community.

91. The success of the next phase of an expanded vision for the ADA will depend to a very large extent on

19 See for example the Cornell Program for Andrew D. White Professors at Large (http://adwhiteprofessors.cornell.edu/). 20 To be considered in collaboration with STIAS.

http://adwhiteprofessors.cornell.edu/


the success with which funding will be mobilized from key partnerships including donors, funding

agencies and also from lucrative initiatives and offerings presented by the ADA.

92. The ADA will thus seek to establish sustained partnership with key funding partners to mobilise the

necessary resources to achieve its aims. More specifically, the resource mobilisation strategy will focus

heavily on seeking funding from foundations and funders with a focus on capacity development in

Africa. In line with this potential funding sources – which will be strategically targeted as well as

organically cultivated – include: bi- and multilateral agencies and private foundations (for example

development aid agencies – DfID, Carnegie Corporation of NY, MasterCard Foundation, Mellon, Bill and

Melinda Gates Foundation, Rockefeller and the United Nations system).

93. The ADA will intentionally focus on both immediate and longer term strategies with regards to funding.

Initiatives that have the potential to lead to significant future funding opportunities will be strategically

pursued. Strategic networking for expanding and developing capacity with high level stakeholders will be

nurtured and established21.

94. Non-traditional sources of funding (e.g. Asia) will intentionally be sought. An example of this is the

successful workshop in May 2013 by the Global Science Forum of the OECD, the University of Tokyo,

Japan and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in partnership with the NRF and the ADA.

The workshop focussed on identifying the processes for developing successful partnerships between

developed and developing countries. As a result of the successes of this workshop, the ADA has been

invited to submit a proposal for a follow-up activity focusing on the African Diaspora in the context of

capacity development to take place in 2014.

To produce high quality research on doctoral education in Africa

95. The ADA will continue to further its research agenda focusing on the African PhD, including current and

prospective studies, and will present seminars to discuss findings.

96. The ADA will participate in the development of the FRINDOC project to develop a framework for the

implementation of internationalisation strategies in doctoral education as well as an online tool to help

institutions to achieving their ambitions.

97. The ADA will expand its existing research agenda to include the study of capacity development as

research domain in order to address the paucity of research in this area22 and with the aim of

understanding the impact of capacity development initiatives implemented under the auspices of

and/or in collaboration with the ADA.

98. ADA will also learn and draw insights from other capacity development initiatives on the continent23 -

for example RUFORUM and AWARD.

21 An example of this is the OECD sponsored collaborative workshop presented by ADA, STIAS and the University of Tokyo on developing successful partnerships between developing and developed nations. 22 See for Babu, S. C. & Sengupta, D. (2006). Capacity development as a research domain. International Food Policy Research Institute. 23 Examples include RUFORUM and AWARD.


Strategy Framework

To strategically support, strengthen & advance doctoral training & scholarship on the continent across disciplines through an integrated holistic approach to contribute to (i) institutional, (ii) regional (iii) national, and (iv) global objectives & priorities

Firmly establish governance & management

structures

Capacitate supervisors on the African

continent across

disciplines

Expand & diversify PhD capacity development

offerings

Address strategic

elements of the “leaky

pipeline”

Produce high quality research on PhD

education in Africa

Establish sustained collaborative networks

& partnerships to enhance African

scholarship

Advisory Board and Management

Committee

Approve ADA

Strategy

ADA becomes a unit with PGIO to confirm

institutional identity

Identification of talented masters

students African Scholars Platform (i.e. fellows of the ADA)

Deputy Director

appointed

Postdoctoral research

incubator (STIAS)

Capacity development

as a research

domain

2-month Summer School for A&LS, HS

Research on the African

PhD

Consortium of historically

disadvantaged universities

Extensive resource

mobilization

National, regional & global alliances

Continued partnerships

network

Potential masters

programme

Sandwich and regional PhD programme with partners

Mentorship Programme

Scholarship seminars & dialogues

Proposal development seminars

Accredited supervision course for multi- & trans-disciplinary

research

Summer & Winter Schools, short courses: Research Methods

Seminar series: Management of

doctoral studies

Scholarship workshops Accredited supervision course

PGIO skills development

offerings


Partnership and funding matrix Level Strategic Driver Partners Potential funding partners

Institutional Institutional Intent and Strategy 2013-2018 and the Hope Project

Faculties NRF and International foundations

National PhD as key driver NRF and other science councils, HDI’s and Universities of Technology

NRF, DoHET, DST

Continental

Develop and strengthen Africa’s science, technology and innovation capacity

African partners

Foundations with African capacity development focus, i.e. DfiD, Edulink, Rockefeller, Gates, Carnegie Corporation of NY, MasterCard Foundation

Global

Global knowledge partners to assist in enhancing SU as a knowledge vehicle

Selected international universities, funding bodies and other entities such as IIASA, the OECD’s GSF

Foundations with African capacity development focus, i.e. DfiD, Edulink, Rockefeller, Gates, Carnegie Corporation of NY, MasterCard Foundation

Management and implementation framework 99. The ADA structure will need to be successful at multiple levels, incl. (i) as a recognised and preferred

capacity development entity (marketable) with (ii) an institutional reach and identity (iii) addressing

needs of various target audiences.

100. Successful management and implementation of the ADA Strategy will address two key requirements,

namely (i) developing shared/common priorities and plans and (ii) finding the balance between

central and decentralised decision-making and responsibility.

101. The expansion of the ADA to address its intent to function at multi- and interdisciplinary levels

across faculty and disciplinary boundaries necessitate a carefully conceptualised and considered

reporting structure.

102. research, teaching, service and support entity within the The ADA will function as an autonomous

PGIO of Stellenbosch University (SU).

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