This article was originally published in the March 2025 edition of the HSRC Review.
Engaged research transforms knowledge creation and application by actively and meaningfully involving communities and stakeholders in the research process. This collaborative approach ensures research addresses real-world challenges, fosters trust and empowers participants. The HSRC is committed to bridging the gaps between academia and society by fostering innovative, inclusive and co-created research and solutions that drive significant change in South Africa and beyond. By Jessie-Lee Smith
What is engaged research?
According to the National Research Foundation and the Wellcome Trust, engaged research is an approach that actively involves the perspectives of community members and stakeholders throughout the entire research lifecycle. This lifecycle includes agenda setting, funding, research design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
Dr Sara Naicker, a senior research specialist with the HSRC, argues that key elements include inclusivity of diverse perspectives, mutual benefit and the co-creation of knowledge to address real-world challenges. Naicker says, “This approach strengthens the link between academia and society, ensuring research is meaningful and actionable.”
Did you know that at any given moment, somewhere in the world, research is being conducted on almost any topic you can imagine? The findings from these pivotal studies often shape the policies that govern our societies, strengthen initiatives aimed at bringing about meaningful change, drive advancements in technology and healthcare, and influence the education of future generations.
Despite the profound impact of research conclusions, the people it affects most are often left out of the decision-making process. They are expected to adapt to new policies and interventions rather than being active contributors. This disconnect can leave significant gaps between research and real-world challenges. Engaged research aims to bridge these gaps.
What are the principles of engaged research?
According to Professor Paul James from Western Sydney University, engaged research is essentially an orientation towards others, including those being researched and those involved in the area of research. He identifies seven main principles of engaged research, including:
- relations of reciprocity with a negotiated distance between local communities and intellectually autonomous researchers;
- sensitivity to the past while being future- orientated;
- sensitivity to spatiality and lived places, e.g. local and global;
- the bridging of social, cultural and natural realms to understand the human condition;
- working through differences by holding them in tension and allowing them to inform the research process rather than resolving them;
- recognising the entanglement of knowledge and power; and
- remaining ethically and practically attentive to research methods.
Over the years, the HSRC has embraced engaged research principles to enhance its processes and improve its research outcomes.
Engaged Research examples
Including participants in the process
For example, in a 2019 HIV study known as the Botshelo Ba Trans Study, HSRC researchers found that including transgender women in the research process enhanced the authenticity of the study data, empowered participants by giving them ownership of the process, and made the findings more actionable and meaningful for intervention development. The study covered three of South Africa’s major metropolitan areas, including Cape Town and Buffalo City.
From the start, transgender women guided research decisions, including study design, data collection and analysis, through a steering committee. This committee was primarily made up of transgender women who were recognised as experts on the subject matter. This approach encouraged trust, ensured the research addressed issues that mattered to them, and allowed the conclusions to address relevant issues that reflected the community’s lived experiences.
Embedding research within the community
The HSRC maintains a consistent culture of participatory research through its Centre for Community-Based Research (CCBR) in Sweetwaters, a rural valley on the outskirts of KwaZulu-Natal’s second-largest city, Pietermaritzburg. Founded in the early 2000s, this centre works with community stakeholders, trains residents as fieldworkers, and partners with various community organisations to ensure its research into critical areas such as HIV and AIDS and maternal health is culturally sensitive, impactful and aligned with the community’s needs.
Recently, in a nationwide project to gain insight into how 30 years of democracy have impacted the lives of ordinary South Africans, the CCBR became a platform for amplifying community voices and experiences. Read more about the participatory process involved in the HSRC’s Democracy@30 Project and what the lives of South Africans have been like since the country’s first democratic election in 1994.
Improving and increasing participatory approaches
The HSRC continues to strive for a more effective research landscape. One way it is doing this is through the Engaged Research Project. Together with the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) and the National Research Foundation (NRF), the HSRC is working towards mainstreaming engaged research within the National System of Innovation (NSI).
In South Africa, the NSI is a network of institutions, policies and processes that work together to promote scientific research, technological development and innovation across the country.
To make the NSI more responsive to the country’s social, economic and developmental challenges, the project will mainstream engaged research practices by:
- seeking to understand the current landscape of engaged research (i.e. identifying and aggregating available evidence and key stakeholder information on engaged research practices);
- increasing awareness and broaden participation (i.e. enhancing skills through peer learning and staff exchanges by sharing knowledge and developing guidelines and frameworks); and
- amplifying the reach and effectiveness of engaged research (i.e. supporting new projects and growing existing collaborations).
So, what do we know?
The HSRC recently held a webinar to share updates on the project’s evidence-gathering progress. Dr Lorenza Fluks, an HSRC senior research specialist, provided an overview of an evidence-mapping process currently underway. This mapping is a collaborative project with the Pan African Collective for Evidence (PACE), where available evidence on engaged research processes used across low- and middle-income countries is being synthesised. “Evidence maps play a crucial role in promoting evidence-based decision-making by highlighting what we know, what we don’t know and what requires further investigation to optimise the impact of research,” said Fluks.
Dr Sara Naicker said, “What we have found so far in the landscape is considerable.” Naicker told attendees that South Africa currently has around 418 completed or ongoing engaged research projects across 22 higher education institutions and three research councils. Michael Ellis, a science communicator with the NRF, noted that identifying sectors that are underrepresented in engaged research, such as chemistry and mathematics, may play a critical role in strengthening the NSI.
A review of the NSI revealed gaps in addressing unemployment, poverty and inequality while also struggling to include marginalised stakeholders and integrate non-technological innovations. Domestic technology transfer – the process of sharing technological knowledge, innovations or skills within a country – is also weak. Limited stakeholder coordination and inadequate measures of policy impact further hinder the NSI’s effectiveness in addressing significant challenges in South Africa.
During the webinar, the HSRC and other NSI stakeholders shared several ongoing engaged research projects. For example, Dr Catherine Draper, an associate professor from the University of the Witwatersrand, mentioned a study funded by the European Commission to develop health promotion interventions with youth. She is also working on an interdisciplinary project with computer scientists to co-design and pilot a WhatsApp chatbot for social- emotional development and mental health in young children in disadvantaged communities.
| Research contacts: Dr Konosoang Sobane (principal investigator),Dr Lorenza Fluks (senior research specialist) and Dr Sara Naicker (senior research specialist) with the HSRC ksobane@hsrc.ac.za lfluks@hsrc.ac.za snaicker@hsrc.ac.za |
The project team aims to host a launch event for the evidence map of engaged research before the Engaged Research Conference be held in October 2025, where experts and other stakeholders will share knowledge and experience. For more information, visit the project’s website.
