The Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) at George Washington University has hosted a small cohort of research administrators from Ghana and South Africa through the month of March as part of an international knowledge-sharing program.
The visit is part of OSP’s ongoing participation in multiple international knowledge-sharing and fellowship programs.
In recent months, the OSP team has also hosted cohorts from Burkina Faso and Georgia. These sessions typically include discussions about the administrative structure needed to support GW's research efforts, with faculty and campus partners often invited to chat with visitors on these topics or on areas of shared research interest.
Sylvia Ezekilova, assistant vice provost for sponsored projects, currently serves on the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) Select Committee on Global Affairs and co-chairs NCURA’s Global Community Working Group. The NCURA committee advances international educational programming, oversees NCURA’s fellowship program and its members serve as ambassadors to visitors and organizations outside of the United States.
“From our location in D.C., we consider our community of peers in a very international sense,” Ezekilova said. “Fellowships and knowledge sharing programs forge relationships that increase collaboration and enable new research partnerships for institutions as well as individual faculty investigators.”
The three visiting fellows are Dorcas Opai-Tetteh, a senior research and development officer at the College of Humanities at the University of Ghana (UG); Naseema Sonday, a deputy director of Research Contract and Compliance at Stellenbosch University in South Africa; and Deborah Akyeampon, the lead at the College of Education Grants Management and Research Support Unit at UG.
These fellows are part of the International Research and Exchange Board (IREX) program, supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, which aims to support mid and senior-level university leaders across Africa by enhancing their ability to manage research, funding opportunities and knowledge transfer at their institutions.
The fellows took advantage of their time at GW to observe and learn from the university’s practices in addressing research administration challenges and apply these insights to improve operations at their institutions.
Opai-Tetteh, whose role at UG includes seeking funding opportunities, said one of the reasons she was excited to participate in the fellowship was to learn more about opportunities for research collaborations.
“These collaborations are essential because, with limited funding, there’s a greater focus on projects that bring together different disciplines,” Opai-Tetteh said. “It’s easier to secure a grant through collaboration than working alone. Collaboration also helps build capacity across institutions, which is critical for research growth.”
Akyeampon said because UG is undergoing a restructuring of its research administration operations, she wanted to understand how GW’s research management systems evolved over the years. She hopes to apply the lessons she learned at GW to improve efficiency and strengthen the decentralized grants offices when she returns to her role.
“I’m here to understand the GW system and, I think research management is an evolving process,” Akyeampon said. “I can take what I learn to the University of Ghana and assist with the process there.”
Sonday explained that her role at Stellenbosch University centers on ensuring compliance with research contract regulations and implementing new processes to enhance this area.
She noted that being assigned to GW was an ideal fit because she’s been able to ask the team at OSP questions about challenges she faces in her role, particularly regarding specific United States federal government funding requirements.
“Research is an increasingly international endeavor,” Ezekilova said. “The GW team also benefits by gaining insight into the institutions and approach to managing sponsored awards on the other side of these collaborative projects.”
In addition to meeting with research administrators, Sonday also appreciated that the program allowed the fellows to speak directly with researchers.
“GW has put together a very well-rounded schedule for us. So, while our main purpose is to come here and chat with the professionals in research administration, they've also balanced our schedule with meetings with some of the schools and particular researchers,” Sonday said. “So, we've gotten feedback from both the professionals who provide the service as well as the researchers who essentially are the clients and receive the service. So, in that way, it's not just been a theoretical learning experience, but also, a practical one, and that’s been wonderful.”
Akyeampon agreed, adding that she appreciated her time at GW because it helped her see a researcher’s perspective on how they view their work.
During an event the group attended at the George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum, Akyeampon was especially moved by the documentary presented by the Women Engaged Against Violence Everywhere (WEAVE) Collective. The short film featured researchers from India, Nicaragua, Australia and South Africa presenting their key findings about the critical role that women's movements play in the struggle to end violence against women and girls.
“Interacting with the researchers in that particular moment made me feel connected with the research the person was doing and made me feel the emotions that the researcher was also feeling at the moment,” Akyeampon said.
Opai-Tetteh said global exchange programs like this are valuable because they allow for the spread of knowledge and information across borders and create opportunities for collaboration, which can lead to innovative solutions and stronger connections between institutions.
“What we are learning is not just learning for our sake,” Opai-Tetteh said. “We are supposed to take what we learn and bring change and make an impact.”