Achievement Report: FAR-LeaF cohort I (2022-2024)
Updated: Sep 14
The Future Africa Research Leadership Fellowship
(FAR-LeaF) Programme
Achievement Report for Cohort I
Future Africa is the University of Pretoria’s collaborative research platform that works across the sciences and with society to address Africa’s biggest and most urgent contemporary challenges. Its fundamental purpose is to develop and unleash the transformative potential of African sciences to inform and inspire a future of thriving African societies.
Future Africa was established in March 2019 to promote transformative research excellence, capacity development, foster the development of research networks, train at an advanced level, and thereby contribute to Africa’s sustainable and equitable development.
Future Africa seeks to develop novel research ideas and build scientific capacity around them. It also aims to shape a new generation of researchers and academics through mentorship and science leadership development programmes. Future Africa’s vision is to advance transformative research for thriving African futures. Read more: https://www.futureafrica.science/
The Future Africa Research Leadership Fellowship (FAR-LeaF) is an early-career research fellowship programme that develops transdisciplinary research and leadership skills. In particular, the programme seeks to build a network of emerging African scientists with the skills to apply transdisciplinary approaches and collaborate to address complex challenges at the nexus of human well-being and the environment in Africa. The programme recognises the value of creating a long-term network of future-focussed science leaders with transdisciplinary research skills who can address the challenges of a post-Covid-19 society.
RESEARCH THAT IS TRANSDISCIPLINARY BY NATURE
FAR-Leaf Fellows have used a transdisciplinary research approach that builds trust and transparency to ensure community ownership (through skills development and training), incorporates indigenous knowledge systems and local practices, and respects religious practices where necessary.
Trust and transparency remain significant challenges for researchers working in rural African communities.
Local and regional communities were the primary stakeholders – rural community members, subsistence farmers, weather forecasters, fishermen and herders. The participants were invited to assist in supplying information on practices to enable the research processes and were regarded by some as the primary beneficiaries of the research outcomes. Scientific data that is well communicated and accepted within the community knowledge base enables informed decision-making. These primary stakeholders can help ensure the success of the research projects by sharing their knowledge and expertise, actively participating in decision-making, ensuring their needs and concerns are reflected in the study, and even contributing to data collection through citizen science.
STAKEHOLDERS
Research Fellows engaged more than 85 government and academic stakeholders.
Collaboration has ensured the development of relationships between the researchers and their communities, the development of policies and guidelines, and the uptake of research outcomes at national, district, and local government levels.
These localised governing structures often served as the entry point for conducting research by granting permission, permits, and approvals. Stakeholders included
Ministerial Departments, Commissions (national, district and residential), government officials, assembly members (the mouthpiece and representatives of the people), and
traditional authorities (such as chiefs, local leaders, and tribal leaders).
Tribal leaders and other local stakeholders can support the communication and dissemination of research findings to inform decision-making.
These governing structures were also well-positioned to provide valuable insights – due to their expertise and resources – which enhanced the quality and relevance of the community-focused research projects.
THE VOICES OF WOMEN
Tabitha A. Amollo Sophie Etomes Seraphine Mokake Anna Msigwa Tonye V. Odubo Hellen Namawejje Jumoke Oladele Nkechi S. Owoo Hauwa Mohammed Sani Dorothy Tembo
Eight gender-specific research articles focused on the plight of women in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Three research projects focused on gender-specific skills development and challenges, including projects that established focused information-sharing networks in Kenya (technology-enhanced agricultural networking), Tanzania (drought prediction for subsistence farmers), and Uganda (empowerment through association).
Dr Anna Msigwa was selected to participate in the Organisation for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD) Early Career Fellowship programme for her work on drought prediction modelling in Tanzania.
Ten female researchers participated in the programme.
Five gender focussed research outputs include:
Research | Determinants of Financial Literacy Levels Among Rural Women in Uganda
Research | Do Economic Factors and Financial Behaviour Influence Financial Literacy Performance Among Rural Women in Uganda?
Submitted (Odubo) | Constraints to Livelihood Sustainability among Women Farmers and Fishers in the Niger Delta region, Nigeria.
Submitted (Bazaanah) | Shadow of Justice: Review on Women’s Struggle Against Gender-based Violence in Ghana and South Africa
Submitted (Owoo) | Multidimensional poverty and climate mitigation in Ghana: Heterogeneities by gender and location
CREATING A GLOBAL FOOTPRINT THROUGH ENGAGEMENT
Fellows visited Future Africa twice during the programme and attended regional workshops for their clusters in Botswana, Ghana, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe.
Fellows used their funding to broaden their horizons, share their research findings, and establish networks on and off the African continent. Thirty-nine conferences were attended, and 14 research events were hosted, supporting transdisciplinary research practices, training at local institutions, networking, and stakeholder engagements. Seven Fellows have been awarded further fellowships to help continue their FAR-LeaF research projects with international funding.
THE SUCCESS OF GOING DIGITAL
The unique benefits of digital media include, but are not limited to, new forms of collaboration.
Research Fellows had access to eight important platforms for research-specific training, technical support, and online collaboration. At the institutional level, each Fellow was paired with a mentor from the University of Pretoria in their respective discipline.
Fellows used UP-research support and training networks and platforms to access institutional resources and support services, including the necessary software packages and library resources.
Bi-weekly “temperature check” online meetings ensured that Fellows could report back, share challenges, receive training, and meet with experts in diverse fields.
The virtual network that supported the Fellows included an online collaboration platform, science communication through blog posts and social media, WhatsApp groups and research cluster collaboration opportunities.
RESEARCH SOLUTIONS THAT CREATED IMPACTFUL PRODUCTS
The programme produced outputs including research articles, book chapters, policy documents, accredited science communication articles, reusable datasets, multimedia tools, and other science-related products.
Some of the most impactful spin-offs from the research are listed below:
Two new academic research centres were established by FAR-Leaf Fellows: The Humanitarian Development Centre (Nigeria) and the Centre for Climate Change (Uganda). |
A new BTVET curriculum in financial literacy was developed for Makerere University in Uganda, and a new postgraduate diploma was developed for Uganda Management Institute (Uganda). |
Land ownership for female farmers in Nigeria can be improved by a newly established electronic Land Rights Database. |
The development of a mobile application for accessing community-specific weather forecasting services (scientific and indigenous) supports improved weather prediction in Ghana. |
In Kenya, a physics lab with a self-sustaining financial model was established to support research at an institution with limited infrastructure. |
A solar-powered refrigeration system for medicine was developed and donated to a clinic in rural Kenya. |
The use of open-source software to develop a mental health testing tool in Nigeria and South Africa) allows for the sharing and adaptation of the instrument for use by other researchers. |
A national educational drive in Ghana will help schoolchildren understand the importance of energy efficiency. |
The online DotBox toolbox in Ghana ensures food safety using blockchain technology. |
The exclusion of women from trusted health information was mitigated through street theatre in rural marketplaces in Nigeria. |
A recycling facility was established as an NGO to support plastic waste collection, with the material shredded and turned into new, usable products. |
The unique slash-and-clear method curbs black flies, significantly reducing patient infections in Cameroon, where black flies are the leading cause of river blindness. |
