PARC’s Leon Tikly has been working with researchers at the University of Cape Town (UCT) on how African universities can work in genuinely engaged ways with communities to address a range of community issues – from poverty to transport to gender-based violence.
Together with Dr Lesley Powell, he recently presented this at the Human Sciences Research Council conference on Engaged Research. This was also an opportunity to showcase some of the tremendous research going on at UCT, which is a strategic partner of the University of Bristol.
The Engaged Research project explores how academics can work with communities to solve real world problems. The researchers looked at institutional enablers and barriers to conducting co-creative work with communities. Their recent report, Transforming Knowledge – Engaged Research at UCT, examines the evolution, practice, and institutionalisation of engaged research at UCT.
It is a project that resonates with the Africa Charter, exploring how we can transform knowledge in ways that support African needs and aspirations. The research generated learning that will be useful for other universities across the world – about how we can work in engaged ways with our communities.
