The South African Organisational Research Impact Capacity community (ORIC-SA) was formed in 2021 when in 2018, the University of the Western Cape (UWC) was awarded as the only SA University, to join the Center for Advancing Research Impact in Society (ARIS, OIA #1810732) to support the continuation and expansion of ARIS core objectives, its community, and the professionalization of broader societal impacts.

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The goal of the Scholarship of Engagement for Societal Impact (SoE-SI) at the UWC is to create a community of practice that fosters the development of sustainable and scalable institutional capacity and engagement in Societal Impact & Broader impacts activity(s).

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• Identification and curation of promising models, practices, and evaluation methods for the Societal Impact (SI) community;

• Expanded engagement in and support of the development of high-quality SI activities by educating current and future faculty and researchers on effective SI practices;

• Development of the human resources necessary for sustained growth and increased diversity of the SI community; and

• Promotion of cross-institutional collaboration on and dissemination of SI programs, practices, models, materials, and resources.

 

SoE-SI efforts will lead to the expansion of transformative societal impact in communities, a thriving annual Summit that brings together Societal Impact (SI) community members from various universities (and TVETs) of South Africa. 

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The ORIC / SoE-SI virtual office is housed at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and works with scientists and engagement practitioners to build capacity, advance scholarship, grow partnerships and provide resources to help them engage with and demonstrate the impact of research in their communities and society.

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The UWC virtual (SoE for SI) office together with the Scholarship of Engagement for Societal Impact (SoE-SI) virtual office (in each Faculty) is beneficial to researchers who are responsible for driving discovery, to practitioners who collaborate with researchers and community stakeholders, and to the public who benefit from research and education advancements. These virtual SoE-SI offices will emphasize support for serving traditionally underserved populations while providing inclusive public engagement to ensure a diverse science workforce.