Introducing Research Uptake Management

Research Uptake Management (RUM) is an emerging university management field with a practical, cost-effective and sustainable approach to getting research into use. It requires specialist individual capacity, aligned organisational structures and strategic management processes to optimise conditions for the dissemination, uptake and application of scientific evidence.

Policies underpinned by sound research evaluation, impact assessment and demonstrable Research Uptake can lead to higher impact interventions and programmes for poverty reduction and improved quality of life for Africa’s children, women and men.

About us

DRUSSA provides direct support to universities at individual, institutional and systems levels to improve participation in and impact on policy and practice.

The programme has been designed to consolidate and strengthen existing capacity that can be sustained in the long term by the universities themselves.

In support of this, it provides a digital platform, DRUSSA Online, to engage with all segments of its audiences, principally located in Sub-Saharan Africa, but also internationally.

The five-year programme was established in October 2011 following a two-year design and development phase. The DRUSSA partnership consists of three entities:

• UK-based Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), an organisation with 110 African member universities;
• The Centre for Research into Evaluation, Science and Technology (CREST) at the University of Stellenbosch; and
• Organisation Systems Design (OSD), a South African-based consultancy specialising in facilitating change in the research management and capacity-building sectors in Africa.

This programme is funded by the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) under Accountable Grant Arrangement Component Code 202004-101)