University of the Witwatersrand
Project Title
As a final grant to the Centre for African Philanthropy and Social Investment (CAPSI)
Date
Mar. 05, 2026
Duration
24 months
Description
The Centre for African Philanthropy and Social Investment (CAPSI),establishedin 2017 at the Wits Business School, University of the Witwatersrand, is the first higher learning institution on African philanthropy. With Carnegie support since 2018, CAPSI has built a network of early-career researchers and doctoral and master’s students in the field of African philanthropy, produced publications, andconvenedforums including the annual African Philanthropy Conference. With renewed Carnegie support, this proposed final grant will allow CAPSI to expand doctoral and master’s training, strengthen research and publication activities, and deepen its role as the leading center for African philanthropy scholarship and practice, producing a new cohort of emerging academics and advancing the study and practice of African philanthropy.
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Project Title
As a final grant to the African Research Universities Alliance
Date
Mar. 05, 2026
Duration
24 months
Description
The African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA), formed in 2015 andcomprisingtwenty-three leading universities across thirteen countries, seeks to build globally competitive, research-intensive institutions capable of driving Africa’s socioeconomic future. ARUA hasestablishedthirteen Centers of Excellence to strengthen doctoral training, research collaboration, and supervisory capacity across member universities. In this proposed final grant of Carnegie support, ARUA will implement a fellowship for mid-career researchers,convenea high-level meeting on higher education in Africa, and support leadership engagement with member institutions to advance institutional capability, deepen collaboration, and strengthen research and policy influence across the continent.
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Project Title
As a one-time only grant for the South African Committee for Higher Education (SACHED) archive project
Date
Jun. 05, 2025
Duration
24 months
Description
The South African Higher Education Committee for Higher Education Trust (SACHED) served as an adult and community educational organization in South Africa from 1959-2004. It resisted apartheid education and presented educational alternatives with the aim of fostering a democratic education system in South Africa. Through the current iteration of the project, the SACHED Archiving Project, the Corporation will support recording and archiving the history of the organization’s adult education efforts including consolidating existing documents, publications, and audio visual materials that were produced, digitizing existing materials, anddisseminating its history online and on social media platforms. It will also engage with community educators and stakeholders.
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Project Title
For research on African philanthropy by early-career African scholars
Date
Mar. 07, 2024
Duration
24 months
Description
Philanthropic culture in Africa, comprising an array of formal and informal giving, is part of African societies. However, there is little knowledge about the field of philanthropy in Africa that is based on research and academic scholarship. The Centre for African Philanthropy and Social Investment (CAPSI) at the Wits Business School, University of Witwatersrand, seeks to address this gap. Established in 2017, CAPSI aims to: close the gap in research on philanthropy between Africa and the rest of the world; support the development of African researchers with expertise on philanthropy practiced in Africa; and generate knowledge about African philanthropy. With renewed support, CAPSI will pursue a set of training, research, and publication activities.
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Project Title
As a final grant for building capacity for institutional data gathering, policy advocacy, and research at African Research Universities Alliance universities
Date
Sep. 12, 2024
Duration
24 months
Description
Recognizing the critical need to advance quality research conducted by African researchers in African universities, and the valuable role of collaboration across sectors, regions, and disciplines, several university presidents established the African Universities Research Alliance (ARUA) in 2015 with initial support from the Corporation. Today ARUA is comprised of sixteen member universities and holds thirteen centers of excellence as focal points for world-class researchers from its network. With renewed support, ARUA will continue to strengthen its members’ capacity to conduct research, provide research training, and advocate for the sector. It will also expand its on-line data collection portal for detailed statistics on Africa’s universities.
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Project Title
For advancing university transformation through strengthening the early- and mid-career academic pipeline
Date
Sep. 14, 2023
Duration
36 months
Description
Over the last decade, the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) has enhanced its profile as a leading research-intensive university while changing the demographics of its faculty. It has reached over 50 percent from designated groups through empowering emerging academics. Along with diversifying the academy, Wits endeavors to produce scholars who work across disciplinary and institutional boundaries to solve complex problems, who serve communities locally while being globally connected, who transform thinking that transcends the digital economy, and who make a difference in society regardless of their home-based discipline. Corporation renewed support, combined with Wits’ internal funds and other external funding, will offer competitive doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships, as well as grants to enable advancement of early-career researchers.
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Project Title
For research on African philanthropy by early-career African scholars
Date
Jun. 09, 2022
Duration
25 months
Description
In 2016, the Centre on African Philanthropy and Social Investment (CAPSI) was established at the University of Witwatersrand Business School, primarily in response to the dearth of knowledge, data, and research on African philanthropy, and with the aim to develop a new narrative informed and driven by a cohort of African scholars and researchers. Since then, CAPSI has built a thriving training and research environment that has enabled the graduation of 3 PhDs with another 20 in the pipeline, and has hosted 13 postgraduates and 27 research associates. With renewed funding, CAPSI will continue to expand research and researchers in the field of African philanthropy and their contributions through a publication of an academic journal.
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Project Title
For building capacity for institutional data gathering, policy advocacy, and research at African Research Universities Alliance universities
Date
Sep. 15, 2022
Duration
24 months
Description
Collaboration across societal sectors is instrumental to ensuring progress toward development goals is sustained and far-reaching. The African Research Universities Alliance(ARUA) collaborates across sectors, regions, and disciplines, aiming to enhance the quality of research conducted in Africa by African researchers. ARUA seeks to build the network’s relationships with government and society, to advocate for its member universities, and expand its institutional partnerships. With renewed Corporation support, ARUA will strengthen its impact through improved institutional data gathering and analysis;design of collaborative,interdisciplinary doctoral programs withinitsresearchcenters of excellence;scholar participation in ARUA’sfourth biennial conference;and an evaluation of the alliance’s activities to date.
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Project Title
For the Wits-Carnegie Diaspora Programme
Date
Sep. 10, 2020
Duration
60 months
Description
The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the importance of international collaboration and timely exchange of scientific information in order to tackle global crises. African university linkages with scientists in the diaspora serve as an effective means of international knowledge exchange and sharing of resources. The Wits-Carnegie Diaspora Programme, supported by the Corporation since 2013, has grown into a collaborative research network between Wits Faculty of Health Sciences and its alumni around the world. Building on its success, Wits seeks to expand the program to additional faculties through longer-term visits that strengthen research productivity at Wits. With renewed support, Wits will host four distinguished professors from the African diaspora who will supervise and co-publish with master’s, doctoral, and postdoctoral fellows.
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Project Title
For advancing university transformation through strengthening the early-career pipeline
Date
Jun. 04, 2020
Duration
48 months
Description
Over the last decade, the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) has enhanced its profile as a leading research-intensive university while simultaneously implementing a comprehensive strategy aimed at changing the demographics of its faculty and empowering emerging academics. Wits has made much progress, recently attaining 50 percent representation of black and/or female faculty. Building on this success, Wits proposes to accelerate its Diversifying the Academy program, the vehicle for faculty transformation, as part of its strategy of filling and advancing the talent pipeline. Corporation support, combined with Wits’ internal funds and other external funding, will offer competitive doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships, as well as grants to enable advancement of early-career researchers.
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Project Title
For transregional research on mobile space, porous borders, and pathways of regionalization
Date
Jun. 04, 2020
Duration
0 months
Description
In 2020, the Corporation issued a Request For Proposals (RFP) responding to the rise in multidisciplinary and multiregional research exposing critical challenges that are appearing across traditionally defined regions. The Witwatersrand Institute for Social and Economic Research (WISER) is a premier independent research institute based at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa (Wits). In collaboration with institutional partners across the continent, India, and Brazil, WISER will examine new trends in capital flows, borders, technological interconnectivity, and climate change to advance innovative theoretical approaches toward the study of regions and transregional systems. Activitieswill include research by regional scholars, international networks, publications, podcasts done in collaboration withnews magazines, and dissemination of outputs through a variety of traditional and digital mediums.
Website
Project Title
For research on African philanthropy by early-career African scholars
Date
Jun. 04, 2020
Duration
24 months
Description
In 2016, the Centre on African Philanthropy and Social Investment (CAPSI) was established at the University of Witwatersrand business school, primarily in response to the dearth of knowledge, data, and research on African philanthropy, and with the aim to develop a new narrative of African philanthropy informed and driven by a new cohort of African scholars and researchers. As CAPSI enters its third year, with fourteen affiliated doctoral students and ten more to be enrolled by 2021, it will continue to focus on the development of the next generation of researchers in African philanthropy. Targeting doctoral students and junior researchers, the grant will support research, conference attendance, methodology seminars, and publication of an academic journal.
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Project Title
For building capacity of institutional data gathering, policy advocacy, and research at African Research University Alliance universities
Date
Sep. 10, 2020
Duration
24 months
Description
Collaboration across societal sectors is instrumental to ensuring progress toward development goals is sustained and far-reaching. The African Research University Alliance(ARUA) collaborates across sectors, regions, and disciplines, aiming to enhance the quality of research conducted in Africa by African researchers. The COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated the reliance of African governments onARUA member universitiesfor provision ofpandemicresearch. ARUA seeks to build on these relationships to advocate for its member universities and expand its institutional partnerships. Corporation’s renewed support will strengthen ARUA’s efforts, reach, and impact through improved institutional data gathering and analysis,postdoctoral fellowships,and scholar participation in ARUA’sthird biennial conference.
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Project Title
As a one-time only grant to evaluate programs aimed at transforming the university’s faculty
Date
Sep. 12, 2019
Duration
20 months
Description
Over the past decade, the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) has been implementing its plan to transform and diversify the academy. While the plan is tracked and monitored regularly, feedback is anecdotal. Given the university’s history, these programs are a crucial part of achieving true transformation of the academy. The outcome of this proposed deep evaluation will enable Wits to better understand the performance of its multiple transformation initiatives and assist the university in crafting more responsive programs that take into account the gaps and opportunities. This grant will allow Wits to engage a senior researcher and research assistant to conduct in-depth quantitative and qualitative evaluation research, which will result in recommendations to guide strategic and programmatic endeavors for the next five years.
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Project Title
For research on African philanthropy by early-career African scholars
Date
Mar. 08, 2018
Duration
24 months
Description
The University of the Witwatersrand’s business school has established a chair in African philanthropy, in collaboration with the Southern Africa Trust. Its aim is to encourage research on the many forms philanthropy takes in the continent and to prepare practitioners to work in Africa’s growing philanthropic sector. A core of the initiative is a master’s degree program in philanthropy, which will begin in 2018, along with a research agenda and a network of African business schools with an interest in this topic. This grant will enable ten postgraduate students to conduct research and will support research methodology and results workshops. Peer-reviewed research products will be submitted for formal publication and used to augment teaching materials in the master’s program. The Ford Foundation and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation also support the activities of the chair.
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Project Title
As a one-time grant for a competitive postdoctoral research support program
Date
Dec. 07, 2017
Duration
72 months
Description
The period immediately following completion of the doctoral degree is a critical time for an African academic. Little postdoctoral research support is available, while the pressures of teaching and university administration often distract the scholar from conducting and publishing additional research. To avoid potential stagnation, the University of the Witwatersrand will implement a competitive postdoctoral research support program to benefit new doctoral graduates from the Global Change Institute and from the clinical medical research program. The fellowships will support salary or stipend, research grants, skills training, mentorship, and travel to academic conferences.
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Project Title
For building capacity of institutional data gathering, monitoring, and analysis at African Research University Alliance universities
Date
Sep. 07, 2017
Duration
47 months
Description
The African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA), established in 2015, is a network of sixteen leading universities from nine African countries. Its mission is to develop strong and viable African research-intensive universities. One of the biggest hurdles to measuring ARUA’s impact is the quality, accuracy, and completeness of the data that member universities can provide on research activities. Support from the Corporation will enable ARUA to do a baseline assessment of institutional data collection processes and user analysis; institutional capacity-building to address identified gaps; develop a set of performance indicators; and deliver a performance report on ARUA universities. The university performance indicators will be used to inform decision-making at institutional, national, and continental policy levels.
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Project Title
For an Alumni Diaspora Program
Date
Mar. 02, 2017
Duration
0 months
Description
In order to address the burden of supervision, teaching, and training in the growing higher education sector in Africa, the Corporation initiated a diaspora linkages initiative in 2013. Early results have shown progress in postgraduate supervision, use of laboratories and equipment, and access to research funding and collaboration. The University of Witwatersrand (Wits) alumni-diaspora program, supported by the Corporation since 2013, has grown into a collaborative research network between Wits Faculty of Health Sciences alumni worldwide and their peers at Wits, including twenty-five visits and nine return visits between 2014-2016. Partnerships have led to co-authoring of publications, submission of joint grant proposals, and provision of co-supervisors, lecturers, and laboratories. Continued support will provide thirty alumni diaspora visits, new research collaborations, and exchanges of postgraduate students.
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Project Title
For an African Research Universities Alliance Secretariat
Date
Dec. 10, 2015
Duration
20 months
Description
In the knowledge economy and society, universities have become politically and economically imperative as the only specialized institutions whose core business is the production, reproduction and dissemination of knowledge, along with the education of the next knowledgeable and suitably qualified generation. In this context, at a summit on the future of African higher education that took place in Dakar, Senegal in March 2015, an African Research University Alliance (ARUA) was launched with an initial set of fifteen African universities from eight countries. Endorsed by the African Union Chairperson, its main purpose is to bring together fields of expertise among its member universities to achieve coordinated programs of research and training to address key development priorities of the continent. ARUA is seeking support to establish its Secretariat
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Project Title
For tracing the trajectory of Corporation-supported academic staff in South African universities
Date
Sep. 11, 2014
Duration
24 months
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Project Title
As a final grant for postgraduate training and research programs to advance scholarship and improve the retention of African academics
Date
Sep. 12, 2013
Duration
86 months
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Project Title
For the acquisition of a research analysis tool to be used in university libraries
Date
Jun. 09, 2011
Duration
42 months
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Project Title
Toward postgraduate training and research programs to advance scholarship and improve the retention of African academics
Date
Sep. 16, 2010
Duration
36 months
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Project Title
As a final grant for an undergraduate scholarship program to promote black women in science and engineering
Date
Dec. 04, 2008
Duration
72 months
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Project Title
Final grant toward a project to train and retain the next generation of academics
Date
Sep. 11, 2008
Duration
46 months
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Project Title
For expansion and enrichment of collections of African literature
Date
Sep. 28, 2006
Duration
12 months
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Project Title
Toward a conference on contact and intergroup relations
Date
Sep. 28, 2006
Duration
7 months
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Project Title
Toward a project to train and retain the next generation of academics
Date
Mar. 03, 2005
Duration
60 months
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Project Title
Toward an undergraduate scholarship program to promote black women in science and engineering
Date
Sep. 29, 2005
Duration
36 months