Congratulations to Dr Andiswa Mfengu

Congratulations to our doctoral graduate, Dr Andiswa Mfengu, and supervisor, Prof. Jaya Raju, on the thesis titled: Developing a holistic framework for assessing research impact in South African higher education institutions, using a research-intensive university as a case study.

Andiswa Mfengu’s thesis focuses on the development of a holistic framework for research impact assessment that can facilitate transformative and socially responsive research assessment in higher education institutions. She critically explores research impact assessment practices, challenges, institutional culture and best practice for assessing research impact across disciplinary spaces. Her findings show that higher education generally incentivises a limited set of researchers’ contributions and that there is over-reliance on metrics, both of which tend to influence researcher behaviour. Consequently, she argues, universities and funders need to complement metrics with qualitative indicators. Andiswa Mfengu’s thesis proposes a research impact assessment framework that is balanced, flexible and, context sensitive, and that calls for a paradigm shift in policies, processes and structures amongst higher education institutions and funders – in order to effect socially responsive research assessment practices that speak to the dynamic needs of researchers and key stakeholders.

Andiswa is the first black South African woman to graduate with a PhD in the new era of the school.