NRF Partners with DFG to Host SGCI Peer Learning Visit in Bonn

From 08 to 10 April 2025, under the auspices of the Science Granting Councils Initiative in Sub-Saharan Africa (SGCI), the NRF and German Research Foundation (DFG) co-hosted a peer learning visit in Bonn, Germany. This peer learning visit brought together SGCI funding partners, collaborating technical agencies, and public funders from 13 countries across the African continent. Leveraging a strong and long-term bilateral relationship, the DFG and NRF have collaborated in the SGCI since 2019 with a focus on strengthening research management.

Hosted bi-annually, the SGCI peer learning visits have been instrumental in supporting the sharing of experiences, practices, systems and processes. They bring together all the SGCI participating councils in a co-created manner to share experiences and practices linked to research and grants management. They are a space for connecting peers within funding agencies for long term professional relationship building and engender the development of communities of practice in the SGCI. They have also allowed councils to optimise sharing and exchange on how they shift research and grants management processes, systems and practices to be fit-for-purpose and aligned to global shifts regarding responsible research assessment.

During the week, councils discussed a suite of topics including equality, diversity, and inclusion in research, research infrastructure, impact, enabling curiosity driven research, and stewarding research partnerships. The NRF was represented by Dr Dorothy Ngila, Ms Puleng Tshitlho and Mr Themba Ngomane.

The SGCI strengthens the capacities of 17 Councils in Eastern, Western and Southern Africa to support research and evidence-based policies that can contribute to economic and social development. The initiative is supported by United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the NRF, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the DFG, and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad).