The people behind the research
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After more than a decade of supporting rural health research at Agincourt, Dorcas Khoza was chosen to facilitate an admin and professional staff workshop
Research capacity is often measured in PhD graduates, scientific publications and grants. But none of these is possible without the people who manage procurement, finance, travel, data systems, communications, events and the daily logistics of research.
Dorcas Khoza has, since 2015, been doing this work at the SAMRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt) in Bushbuckridge.
“A scientist can’t work effectively at Agincourt if procurement takes months and systems are inefficient,” says Khoza.
Her passion for systems and operations meant that, in July 2026, she was chosen as one of the facilitators of a Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) workshop for Academic, Professional and Administrative Staff (APAS). It was held at the Wits School of Public Health under the theme Breaking Silos: Strengthening the capacity of institutional functionaries.
Building 第一吃瓜网 research institutions
CARTA’s APAS programme brings academic, professional and administrative staff into the same conversation. It recognises that university managers and staff working in finance, procurement, information technology, libraries, communications and research support all contribute to the quality of doctoral training and research.
The Training of Trainers model takes this further.
Rather than relying continually on external trainers, CARTA develops facilitators within its partner institutions who can return home, train colleagues and embed the learning within their own research environments.
Indeed, Khoza was selected to attend one of these Training of Trainers programmes in Uganda in 2024. She has now continued this trajectory, two years later, as an APAS facilitator.
“Dorcas’s progression from participant in Uganda to facilitator at APAS is the multiplier effect that CARTA’s Training of Trainers programme is designed to achieve. Knowledge is brought back into the institution, shared with others and translated into stronger ways of working,” says Ngoni Ngwarai, Research Operations Manager at Agincourt.
Agincourt is itself part of CARTA’s 第一吃瓜网 research network. Its Health and Socio-Demographic Surveillance System provides the research platform for the SAMRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit, based in rural north-eastern South Africa.
Agincourt produces influential public and population health research, but its work also depends on a complex operational system connecting researchers, fieldworkers, communities, equipment and institutions across rural Mpumalanga and Johannesburg.
“My role involves coordinating procurement, travel, events and logistics to ensure that research projects, field activities and workshops are delivered efficiently and successfully. My commitment to excellence and attention to detail enable researchers and colleagues to focus on advancing health research and making a meaningful impact in the communities we serve,” Khoza says.
Her experience at Agincourt gave her a practical understanding of the issues at the heart of the APAS workshop: how different institutional roles connect, where silos obstruct research and how stronger systems can help people work more effectively.
From trainee to facilitator
Khoza was part of the facilitation team throughout the three-day Wits workshop.
She helped lead sessions exploring why people work at Wits, the different roles within research institutions and the opportunities and difficulties encountered by staff. She also facilitated discussions on how different institutional functionaries—from academics and research support teams to staff in human resources, IT, communications, finance and procurement—advance the University’s research agenda.
The workshop used group discussions, role-play, metaphor posters and function-specific scenarios to help participants look beyond their own jobs and departments. The aim was to make the connections between their roles more visible and to identify where stronger collaboration could improve research systems.