Early- and mid-career transitions to research leadership in Africa.

Linda Mtwisha,Karim Outtara,Harriet Kebirungi,Ama De-Graft Aikins,Jose Jackson,Clare Viney,Alison Mitchel

doi:10.12688/wellcomeopenres.16540.2

Abstract

This article examines the early-and mid-career transition to research leadership in Africa. Much of the available African literature on research leadership indicate several challenges related to poor conceptualisations of career transitions and gaps in the availability of research training. Qualitative data were collected using individual interviews (n=24) and focus groups (n=27) to identify key transition points of early career researchers (ECRs) and mid-career researchers (MCRs) in selected African countries. The qualitative data was complemented with quantitative survey questionnaires (n=250) and a triangulation approach was adopted to analyse the results. The findings were themed into different categories describing the common career paths, stages and challenges of research leaders. The latter part of the findings present a discussion on development approaches to attract and retain researchers in African universities. By focusing on the African continent, this study contributes to the current body of literature on research leadership in the Global South.

Highlights

Studies on early career researchers (ECRs) and mid-career researchers (MCRs) have received significant attention in the Global North (Baldwin et al, 2008; Clay, 2012; European Commission, 2018; Hottenrott & Lawson, 2017; Hurley & Taylor, 2016; Wong, 2019), the terms remain poorly understood in higher education institutions (HEIs)
Since researchers are a relatively scarce resource in the African context (Vitae, 2020:8), this study focuses on the transition pathways of ECRs and MCRs to research leadership using a mixed-method approach
Study design Since very little is known about the transitions of early and mid-career researchers (EMCRs) to research leadership in Africa, a mixed methods approach was adopted to examine the career paths of those who have navigated the transition of ECRs and MCRs

Summary

Introduction

Studies on early career researchers (ECRs) and mid-career researchers (MCRs) have received significant attention in the Global North (Baldwin et al, 2008; Clay, 2012; European Commission, 2018; Hottenrott & Lawson, 2017; Hurley & Taylor, 2016; Wong, 2019), the terms remain poorly understood in higher education institutions (HEIs). Australian research typically associate the early career period with research capability in the first five years following the completion of a doctoral programme (Bosanquet et al, 2017; Browning et al, 2017; Hurley & Taylor, 2016; Schriever & Grainger, 2019) while the African literature classify ECRs as assistant lecturers, lecturers or occasionally senior lecturers (Harle, 2011; Merritt et al, 2019; Shinkafi, 2020). Several other scholars consider research leadership as leading with new knowledge, while others suggest that it depends on the number of staff, number of publications, global recognition or running a research centre (Fraser et al, 2017; Owusu et al, 2014; Richards et al, 2021)

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Conclusion