The African Academy of Sciences and Association of Research Managers and Administrators (ARMA) UK are launching the International Research Management Staff Development Programme (IRMSDP) to contribute to the strand on developing individual capacity of research management staff. The programme is focusing on knowledge sharing and the development of tools and resources, created by teams consisting of research management professionals from across Africa and the UK.

This call for expressions of interest serves as an invitation to all research management professionals in Africa and UK working in academic and research institutions to lodge applications to participate in the programme which will involve

  1. Virtual seminars/workshops to support individual professional development,
  2. Innovation development to generate community benefit,
  3. Staff exchange visits from the UK to Africa to facilitate relationships and knowledge exchange.

Key Themes

Scoping studies undertaken in Africa have shown that there are critical gaps in the African research ecosystem that need to be addressed to support a vibrant research culture and leadership at universities and research institutions. In their proposals, teams should therefore creatively describe how their proposed Innovation/idea aligns to one or more of the following themes:

  1. Research management support functions and infrastructure
  2. Professional development for research managers and administrators
  3. Funding and collaboration for research
  4. Research Uptake and Impact

Programme Activities and Timeline

The programme has three main activities

  1. Virtual seminars/workshops
  2. Innovations and project development
  3. Staff exchange visits from Africa to the UK and vice versa.

Individual Criteria

  1. Research managers and administrators working at universities and or research institutions in Africa.
  2. Hold a permanent or fixed-term contract in an eligible African institution, which must span the duration of the programme.
  3. All individual applicants should have a supporting letter from their institution allowing them to take part in the programme and expressing their support.
  4. Successful individual applicants will be expected to seek membership in or affiliation with their respective Research Management and Innovation Association Central Africa Research and Innovation Association (CARIMA), Eastern Africa Research and Innovation Management Association(EARIMA), Southern Africa Research and Innovation Management Association( SARIMA), Western Africa Research and Innovation Management Association (WARIMA).In instances where a Research and Innovation Management Association (RIMA) doesn’t exist, participants will be added to a mailing list and will be required to join the RIMA once it is up and running.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage To Apply 

Application Deadline:: July 26th 2020 (16.00 EAT/12.00 GMT)