By:Florence Onyango

The Africa Research and Impact Network (ARIN) announces a groundbreaking collaboration with Taylor & Francis Group (T&F), a leading international academic publisher. This strategic partnership aims to significantly enhance research collaboration, capacity building, and, most importantly, publication opportunities for African scholars.

Formalized on June 7, 2024, this initiative will focus on several key areas:

• Mini-grant Opportunities: A cornerstone of the partnership, ARIN and T&F will join forces to launch mini-grants. These grants will provide crucial financial support to African researchers, directly addressing research excellence and publication costs.
• Capacity Building: To equip young African researchers with the necessary skills to navigate the academic publishing landscape, ARIN and T&F will co-host capacity-building webinars and workshops. This includes the exciting launch of a dedicated Research Publishing Academy, modeled after T&F’s successful program in South Asia.
• Researcher Engagement: ARIN and T&F will develop a roadmap for the next six months, featuring co-branded marketing strategies and interactive sessions designed to foster knowledge sharing and collaboration among researchers.

Dr. Joanes Atela, Executive Director of ARIN, emphasized the critical role of this partnership: “Supporting young African scholars through capacity building and, especially, mini-grant opportunities is vital. This collaboration with Taylor & Francis represents a significant step forward for African research and development.”

Dr. Gagandeep, Senior Publisher at Taylor & Francis, emphasized, “Our goal is to make researchers believe in the value of publishing with Taylor & Francis. This collaboration will showcase the immense potential and high-quality research coming from African scholars, providing them with the global recognition they deserve.”

The two organizations will finalize a comprehensive campaign calendar within the next week, aiming to launch the official partnership on July 19, 2024. Additionally, ARIN and T&F are finalizing the co-publication agreement for two books, paving the way for future co-publishing ventures.

This strategic partnership is expected to significantly contribute to the advancement of African research, empowering researchers to make impactful contributions to the global scholarly community.