Abstract
This article is informed by the Implementing the Third Mission of Universities in Africa (ITMUA) which was an 18 months Action Research collaborative regional research project incepted January 2010 to August 2011. It was a Support Project of the UK Department for International Development (DFID) in Africa, and the Association of African Universities (AAU), Accra under the Mobilizing Regional Capacity Initiative (MRCI). During the three staged Action Research Project, 10 work packages were completed. The four universities which were part of the ITMUA project provide testimony and point of contact that African universities can work together on collaborative projects that depict university service to communities in their regions. A conclusion drawn from the impact assessment journal prepared during the life of the project suggests that there are positive evidence based initiatives to write about selected African universities that have fruitfully brought the 18 months collaborative engagement research project to a fruitful completion. Key words: Impact assessment, Implementing the Third Mission of Universities in Africa (ITMUA), Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), community service.
Highlights
The ITMUA project was an exploratory action research project which focused on the extent to which four universities across the African continent were implementing their community service mission in relation to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – those goals related to poverty reduction, education and health
Findings from the ITMUA small scale case studies and information exchanges informed the development of policy briefings and a policy framework for African contexts in relation to the university’s third mission and the MDGs
The remainder of this paper summarises the core themes arising from stakeholder responses to three questions, with a special focus on impacts of the research project
Summary
The ITMUA project was an exploratory action research project which focused on the extent to which four universities across the African continent were implementing their community service mission in relation to the MDGs – those goals related to poverty reduction, education and health. The end goal of the project was to produce policy frameworks and benchmarking tools to enable universities enhance their third mission activities. In Botswana, the University of Botswana (UB) Office of Research and Development provided matching funds for the unmet part of the ITMUA local budget. A key challenge for African universities is how to match global demands for higher education as a commodity for knowledge production whilst preserving indigenous qualities of pedagogy, identity and relevance to regional and local development needs
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