The annual conference of the Southern African Research and Innovation Management Association (SARIMA) took place in Stellenbosch, South Africa from 2nd to 5th September 2025 at the Protea Hotel.
Hosted by Stellenbosch University, the 2025 SARIMA Conference was a gathering of research management (RM) professionals from across the African continent and aimed to build professional resilience and consolidate the role of research administration in scientific scholarship.
The theme for the conference was “Expect the Unexpected: Unlocking the Value of Research and Innovation Management”. The programme for the conference consisted of plenary sessions exploring a range of scenarios on how research management and innovation can navigate disruption and create impact.
Three Research Development Officers, Mrs Amma Appah, Ms Mary Twum-Barima and Mrs Sylvia Antwiwaah Sarbah of the Research and Innovation Directorate (RID), attended the 3-day conference.
There were two oral presentations during plenary sessions by RDOs i.e Mrs Amma Appah of the Capacity Building and Research Performance Unit presented on ‘Strategies to navigate disruption in the Research management environment: A case of the University of Ghana. Her presentation enumerated the strategies UG adopted to keep research, lectures, and all its constituents fully engaged through global interruptions such as the pandemic and research funding cuts. UG’s actions underscored the ingenuity and resilience of the Institution, to manage and adapt to change and remain the leading research-intensive University in Ghana.
Mrs Sylvia Antwiwaah Sarbah, of the Grants Management and Research Support Unit presented insights on “Essential first steps for new Research Managers in African Universities. She gave a ‘personal’ account of the initiatives she adopted to gain better appreciation for a new career path in research management. The theme for the particular session in which her presentation was made; ‘Advancing the professional identity of research managers and administrators in Africa’ aligned perfectly with her presentation. There was a call to focus on mentorship to sustain a profession which has evolved to become a critical nexus in the higher education landscape globally.
Strengthening avenues for mentorship emerged with a renewed focus at the conference with SARIMA initiating a mentorship programme as part of the Association’s efforts to consolidate research management as an imperative vocation in advancing research delivery.
Following insightful presentations on diverse strands of the research management value chain i.e commercialization, compliance mandates, artificial intelligence, impact beyond citations, key takeaways were summed up by Professor Sibusiso Moyo, Deputy Vice- Chancellor of Stellenbosch University, in a talk on ‘Bringing It All Home: Translating Strategic Dialogue into Actionable Pathways for Research and Innovation Leadership. She identified the research management profession as having ‘distinct expertise that is central to research success’, advocating for greater recognition of the profession, while advising participants to build global Research Management Associations (RMAs), share best practice, create positive impact and promote ‘pracademics’ (practical academics).
Shared experiences proved that research managers are perceived to be occupying a ‘third space’ after researchers and funders. However, with a growing momentum for accountability and evidence-based impact of research, research managers have evolved to represent the bridge that keeps researchers and funders effectively synchronized.
At the closing session, representatives from all African Research Management Associations led by the newly elected president of SARIMA, Dr Anna Matros-Goreses, from Namibia University of Science and Technology announced the formation of an alliance of established African Research Management and Innovation Associations i.e the Pan African Research Management Association (PANRIMA) made up of CARIMA -Central African; WARIMA- West African; EARIMA- East African, NARIMA-North African (Research Management and Innovation Association) and the host SARIMA.
The University of Ghana’s continued representation on the international research management stage, is testament to the efforts of pioneers of this crucial enterprise; Mrs Diana Owusu Antwi, Mrs Nana Oye Akuffo, Mrs Sakyibea Biney, Mrs Dorcas Opai Tetteh and Mrs Mammie Hutchful who build capacity to support the RM profession on other platforms such as WARIMA and NCURA (National Council of University Research Administrators) and uphold UG as a ‘hill’ of knowledge.
