A relational lens to community-basedparticipatory research: An analysis of case studies of Engaged Research in South Africa

Abstract

The Engaged Research discourse has been evolving, seeking to strengthen relationships between academic research and society. While social and health sciences have largely facilitated engagements with communities, learnings from this process can be applied to other fields, especially as research shifts towards more inter- and transdisciplinary approaches in engagement. This research thus addresses the need for contextual analysis of Engaged Research in South Africa, exploring this approach to research, in practice. The research examines ten case studies that represent examples of Engaged Research collated through a collaborative process with the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement. Analyses of these cases emphasised the use of bottom-up Engaged Research approaches, which included fostering collaborative and inclusive processes seeking to actively engage communities throughout the research process. A relational lens applied in this examination (of the ten case studies) reinforces the relevance of community-based participatory research in an African context and consequently drives Engaged Research that may have value for concerned communities. This study provides key insights into challenges of Engaged Research in the country, pointing towards the need for approaches that encompass power-sharing between researchers and communities and programmes that are backed by capacity-building commitments from tertiary education institutions.