HERI Africa is strengthening Africa-led research and the implementation of Research Chairs to align with the continent’s education priorities following a strategic learning visit to the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa.
The week-long (13-17 April 2026) knowledge exchange, with HERI Africa represented by a high-level Kenyan delegation, brought together research leaders from Kenya and South Africa to share experience in designing, funding, governing, and sustaining Research Chairs. The engagement formed part of HERI Africa’s commitment to learning from successful African models and to strengthening research capacity, collaboration, and evidence-informed policymaking across the continent.
The programme focused on the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI), a flagship research capacity development programme on the continent. Over the past decade, SARChI has played a key role in strengthening South Africa’s National System of Innovation by attracting and retaining world class researchers, building sustainable research teams, training postgraduate students, advancing transformation and inclusivity, and supporting research aligned with national socio-economic priorities.
Building on HERI Africa’s Momentum
The visit came at a pivotal moment, as earlier this year HERI Africa was launched alongside Kenya’s National Education Research Agenda (NERA), and three research chairs were launched, marking a significant step towards strengthening education research and aligning evidence generation with national and continental development priorities.
The Research Chair in Language Education has been established at Kisii University, while the Research Chair in Mathematics Education is being implemented at the University of Embu. Kenyatta University has also established the Research Chair in Life Skills and Values Education, further expanding HERI Africa’s efforts to strengthen research leadership in priority areas of education.
The South Africa learning visit, therefore, provided an important opportunity to gather practical lessons to inform the continued growth and sustainability of these Research Chairs and to support HERI Africa’s long term vision of building strong, responsive research ecosystems across Africa.
Learning from a Proven African Model
Designed as a peer-learning engagement, the visit gave the Kenyan delegation a comprehensive understanding of how a nationally coordinated Research Chairs can be strategically designed, effectively governed, sustainably financed, and successfully implemented.
Throughout the engagement, participants explored the policy and strategic foundations underpinning South Africa’s Research Chairs, including the role of the National Research Foundation within the country’s National System of Innovation and the alignment of research investments with national priorities. Discussions also examined programme governance, institutional responsibilities, legal and accountability frameworks, funding mechanisms, quality assurance processes, and approaches to managing public resources effectively.
The delegation also gained insights into the full lifecycle of a Research Chair, from designing competitive calls and conducting peer reviews to grant management, post-award administration, compliance, monitoring, evaluation, and impact assessment. Sessions also highlighted how annual progress reviews, mid-term evaluations, end-of-term reporting, and five-year programme reviews are used to ensure accountability, continuous learning, and long-term programme impact.
A key highlight of the visit was engagement with universities hosting Research Chairs, where participants met with Research Chairs, research office leaders, and institutional coordinators. These visits provided valuable insights into how universities provide administrative support, infrastructure, co-funding arrangements, mentorship, and strategic leadership that enable Research Chairs to thrive and contribute to national development priorities.
Turning Learning into Action
During the engagement, HERI Africa developed a comprehensive learning framework to guide observations and discussions throughout the visit.
The framework focused on 12 strategic learning areas critical to building sustainable Research Chairs. These included governance and institutional architecture, sustainable financing, selection and performance management, research agenda setting, postgraduate training and mentorship, knowledge translation and policy uptake, strategic partnerships, monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL), administrative systems, branding and visibility, scalability, and lessons on risks to avoid.
For each learning area, HERI Africa identified specific questions, evidence to collect, and practical outputs to directly inform the continued strengthening of its Research Chairs. These outputs include governance frameworks, financing strategies, performance management systems, partnership models, knowledge translation approaches, operational guidelines, branding strategies, and roadmaps for scaling Research Chairs across Africa.
Strengthening Africa Through Collaboration
The exchange also created a platform for sharing experiences, practical approaches, and lessons to strengthen research capacity, institutional collaboration, and evidence-informed policymaking. It highlighted the importance of regional partnerships in building stronger, more responsive research ecosystems capable of addressing Africa’s development priorities.
Importantly, the engagement provided an opportunity to identify approaches that can be thoughtfully adapted to Kenya’s context and HERI Africa’s broader vision of strengthening education research systems across Africa.
Looking Ahead
As HERI Africa continues to expand its Research Chairs initiative, lessons from South Africa will play an important role in shaping stronger governance systems, sustainable funding models, effective institutional support mechanisms, communication and robust monitoring and evaluation frameworks.