The role of research units at higher education institutions: intention or reality?

Higher education institutions are moving towards highlighting the importance of research. According to the Department of Higher Education and Training in South Africa, the status of higher education institutions will be determined by the extent to which they are engaged in research and research-related activities. Higher education institutions have a role to play in generating new knowledge as well as producing appropriately skilled professionals. The current study explored key stakeholders' perspectives of the role of the research units within a faculty of health sciences that is clinically driven, and how these units could contribute towards developing and strengthening interprofessional postgraduate research, collaboration and capacity development amongst staff. The study adopted a qualitative, exploratory descriptive approach. Data were gathered from individual face-to-face, in-depth semi-structured interviews with 15 participants. Five themes emerged from the thematic analysis, namely: i) "There's been intentions and there is the reality"; ii) "Driving the research agenda and pulling it together"; iii) "The stronger your base, the stronger your output, the stronger your future: Creating a succession pipeline"; iv) "It takes a specific kind of personality to run a Unit" and v) "The climate has changed, views have changed". The findings of the study clearly indicated that the stakeholders perceived the role of the Units differently. The establishment of a 'Faculty Research Centre' with a contextually relevant framework or model could contribute towards developing a clear understanding and consistent description of a research centre. It may also facilitate the strengthening interprofessional, postgraduate research, collaboration, and capacity development amongst staff