The OPALS programme is training a cohort of research leaders equipped to contribute to the better management of ecosystems to meet the needs of future generations. Achieving sustainable, resilient, and prosperous livelihoods in Africa requires stronger and more innovative leadership in evidence-led adaptive capacity. OPALS is delivered through solutions-orientated projects, predominantly led by a pan-African community of postgraduate trainees. OPALS scholars are contributing to sustainable systems transitions by co-producing science-based solutions to understand, mitigate, and adapt to environmental change. Their work extends beyond their targeted research projects to engage with social-ecological systems at scale and understand how applied research can make a positive difference to societies and ecosystems in Africa. Trainee-led projects are overseen by supportive supervisory teams including African experts and ideally mixed genders. These projects foster a strong collaborative network of change agents working on interconnected problems across African landscapes.
Example Activities
To maximise the wider societal benefit from our contributions for informing evidence-based management, Oppenheimer Senior Research Fellow Dr Andrew Cunliffe champions Open Science approaches. This includes utilising free and open-source software to maximise reuse, and open access dissemination of all research outputs (publications, reports, thesis etc) and data via FAIR research archives (where permitted). We also have a seminar series focusing on research integrity for the OPALS scholars and our partners, supplementing the project-specific training that each of the OPALS scholars receive to further enhance the quality of our contributions.
To assist African early career researchers access opportunities for advanced training aligned with OPALS, Oppenheimer Associate Professor Dr Andrew Cunliffe has developed a Funding Finder that signposts opportunities over 450 funding awards that nationals of African countries are eligible to apply for to support study on undergraduate, masters, or doctoral programmes, undertake applied research fellowships, or international exchanges/visits. This has already been used by over 800 people from 27 counties across Africa, and we have provided targeted mentorship to over 50 individuals to facilitate ideation and applications.
To deepen understanding of co-creation in engaged research practice, and strengthen transnational research networks, we led a workshop for 35 early career researchers in Zimbabwe at the Shangani Holistic Research Station in October 2023. This also provided an opportunity for the OPALS and FEFA communities to gain insight into the management practices being implemented at Shangani Holistic Ranch.
Oppenheimer Programme in African Landscape Systems (OPALS) 