Team members

As Projects Coordinator at the Namibia University of Science and Technology Mr Bas Rijnen manages grants for interdisciplinary research projects including: resource mobilization, donor-relationship management, grant supervision and capacity building. He has over 15 years experience with a track record of successfully applying for funds of multiple donors. Bas is a member of Southern Africa Research and Innovation Management Association (SARIMA) and has presented on north-south research collaborations (2019) and on Research Information Management Systems (2020). He holds a master’s in organisation anthropology at Utrecht University and is currently doing his PhD in Sport Management at the University of Johannesburg.

Maryke is the Director: Research Information and Strategy at the Division for Research Development (DRD), Stellenbosch University (SU). She has over the past decade made a considerable contribution to research management practices through her involvement in communities of practice and knowledge production in the field. Maryke`s expertise lies in the areas of research-related information management and policy development, research audits and landscape analyses, science communication and the development of research-related marketing material to advance institutional research portfolios. She holds a MPhil in Social Science Methodologies from SU and is a member of the South African Academy of Science and Arts.

Dr Batisani is the Research Coordinator at the Botswana Open University. She coordinates and manages research development and dissemination activities at BOU. She has experience in managing both external and internal grants and building research collaborations. Her involvement in an EU funded project on the Professionalization of Research Management in the SADC and EU regions has further advanced her interest and capacity on research management. She holds a M.Ed (Monitoring and Evaluation) from University of Botswana, Msc (Strategic Management) from University of Derby UK, and a PhD in Educational Leadership and Policy from University of Witwatersrand.

Ms Caz McNamara is the Research Manager at the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (CoE-MaSS) hosted at Wits University, in Johannesburg. She has 13 years’ experience in Research Management in the Higher Education Sector in South Africa, with a focus extensively on multi-institutional collaborative programmes; running locally, regionally and internationally. She is experienced in pre- and post-award grants management, branding and digital media content, financial management, data management, and strategy. She also has extensive event and conference organising experience. Her work focusses on bringing stakeholders together within a research enabling environment to pursue research excellence and develop capacity for both emerging and established researchers. Prior to joining Wits, Ms McNamara was worked at Rhodes University, from where she also holds a Masters degree in Molecular Biology.

Pamela Claassen is the Research Ethics Coordinator at the University of Namibia (UNAM). She is responsible for policy development , implementation, monitoring and evaluation. She is actively involved in a myriad of Ethics Boards ranging from Health Research Ethics, Environmental Ethics, Animal Ethics and Human Ethics. She is currently the Resource Person to the newly established Ethics Task force at UNAM on various ethics processes and strategies for decentralisation. She also advises the National Commission for Research Science and Technology (NCRST) on ethics matters and conducted several Ethics Training Workshops, both nationally and internationally. She participated in the Erasmus Strengthening of Research Management (SToRM )Project which included training in South Africa, Namibia, Denmark and the United Kingdom which recently came to an end. She holds several academic qualifications ranging from Molecular Biology, Botany, Health Research Ethics, Environmental Law to name but a few. She brings along a wealth of experience and knowledge, serving the ethics fraternity for over two decades.

Kate has worked in higher education since 1994 in roles spanning external relations, philanthropy, enterprise and research development. She is currently a Research Development Manager at Loughborough University where she supports researchers from across all disciplines whose research falls under the broad banner of health and well-being. In this varied role, Kate helps academics at all career stages to develop their research portfolios through new collaborations and attracting research funding. Most recently, a significant focus has been on developing international partnerships and attracting funding to support global health research.

Clare Edwards is a Research Development Manager at Loughborough University in the UK. She is responsible for supporting funding applications from the School of Science and research under the Environmental Science remit. She has also been responsible for developing activity around international research development including GCRF, Newton Fund and Horizon 2020. Clare oversees the training provision for research and enterprise activity across the institution. Clare has successfully supported over £70 million of funding awards so far. Prior to joining Loughborough, Clare worked as a funding consultant, supporting companies to apply for funding for R&D.

Laurence is Head of research services at De Montfort University he has a background in translational research and the development of research funding pathways. As senior manager, Laurence has significant of experience in developing organised and systemic approaches to research funding and management across a broad range of national and International funders and projects. Over past 13 years, he has managed the development of national and international funding portfolios in areas such as Global Food Security, Global Challenges Research fund and Health and Wellbeing. Laurence has developed over £100 million in funded awards with a wide range of funders.

Deryn Evans is Research Grants Facilitator at Cranfield University supporting the agrifood, environment and water science departments. She has comprehensive knowledge of the funding cycle having worked in research management for over 7 years, first with a funder supporting pre- and post-award services, before moving into research development within higher education. In her current role she provides pre-award support and training to researchers across career stages, developing ideas and funding applications. She is also the research office specialist on official development assistance (ODA), providing cross university support for applications and delivering training on compliance. She is also a member of the ARMA Editorial Working Group.