The CSDA is proud to announce that two post-Doctoral Research Fellows Dr Constance Gunhidzirai and Dr Emmanuel Rowlands have had their PDRFs renewed for another year. This is an indication of the efforts they and their supervisor Prof Leila Patel have made in publishing their research and the engagement they have had with CSDA projects.

Dr Constance Gunhidzirai was awarded a one-year post-Doctoral Research Fellow (PDRF) under the DST-NRF SARChI Chair in Welfare and Social Development held by Prof. Leila Patel in October 2021. She has been working with the CSDA team, academic researchers, practitioners, and government and non-governmental agencies on the Community of Practice for Social Systems Strengthening to Improve Child Well-Being Outcome intervention research study. Furthermore, Dr Gunhidzirai is writing and publishing articles in peer-reviewed journals accredited by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) in South Africa. To date, she has managed to publish one article and one book chapter. One article is in press and others are in review/accepted for publication in 2022. Prof Patel says: “It is with great pleasure that we announce the renewal of her 2^nd year as a PDRF from September 2022 – August 2023. Gunhidzirai has made a valuable contribution to the CoP project and we are excited to see how she grows in the coming year.”

Dr Emmanuel Rowlands was also awarded a one-year Post-Doctoral Research Fellow under the DST-NRF SARChI Chair in Welfare and Social Development held by Prof. Leila Patel. He participated in the Community of Practice (COP) Project: A Multi-Sectoral and Inter-Disciplinary Collaboration between Academic Researchers, Practitioners, Governmental, Non-Governmental and the CSDA team for Strengthening Social Systems to Improve Child Well-Being Outcome. His recent accomplishments include giving presentations on men’s experiences of gender-based violence in Johannesburg at various conferences, as well as publishing three articles in accredited peer-reviewed journals.

“I am very proud of Emmanuel. I am pleased that he will continue serving as a PDRF for a second year, from September 2022 – August 2023 and I look forward to seeing his contributions to the field in the coming months,” said Prof Patel.