What happens when funding is designed for partnership, not just projects?

Seven jointly funded research projects have brought researchers from the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) and The George Institute for Global Health together around health priorities ranging from chronic kidney disease and maternal health to youth health and Universal Health Coverage. But the most important outcome may not be any single project. It may be a partnership model designed to last.

In global health research, partnerships are often discussed as an essential ingredient of impact. Yet building meaningful collaboration across institutions, disciplines and countries takes time, trust and shared ownership, resources that are rarely funded explicitly.

In 2022, the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) and The George Institute for Global Health signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen collaboration between researchers at the two organisations. The following year, that commitment was translated into action through a jointly funded seed grant programme focused on South Africa's health priorities.

Seven projects were selected and funded between 2023 and 2026. But the objective was never simply to support seven individual studies.
Instead, the program was designed to test a broader idea: whether relatively small investments could help researchers begin to develop equitable partnerships, combine complementary expertise, generate new evidence and create a platform for future collaboration.

As the first phase of the initiative ends, participants are reflecting not only on research outputs, but on what they have learned about building partnerships that place relationships, shared leadership and locally relevant priorities at the centre of research.

Building a different kind of research collaboration

Many research grants begin with a predefined project and established research teams. The SAMRC-The George Institute seed funding programme took a different approach.

Researchers were encouraged to develop ideas together, identify shared interests and build collaborations around questions that mattered to South Africa's health system and communities.

For Dr Deepika Saluja, Program Manager of the Ubuntu Initiative, the value and success of seed funding is reflected not only in the evidence generated, but in the trust and deeper connections it enables.

"When researchers come together across institutions and contexts, they create opportunity for mutual learning, shared leadership, and more inclusive approaches to knowledge generation. These early investments help lay the groundwork for stronger long-term partnerships and more sustainable impact in the future."

The programme paired investigators from both organisations, including established researchers, emerging scientists and postdoctoral fellows, creating opportunities for collaboration that extended beyond traditional institutional and disciplinary boundaries.

For some projects, the funding supported evidence synthesis and analysis. For others, it enabled interest holder engagement, community consultation, intervention design or the development of larger future research programmes.

According to Dr Niresh Bhagwandin, Executive Manager for Strategic Research Initiatives at SAMRC, this flexibility was one of the programme's greatest strengths.

"Seed funding gives researchers something that can be difficult to find through larger grants: space to test an idea, learn how to work together and establish whether there is a strong basis for taking the research further. What has been encouraging is seeing these projects develop from initial ideas into collaborations producing evidence, engaging communities and opening up new questions."

From collaboration to co-creation: Ubuntu in practice

At the heart of the initiative is a shared commitment to equitable partnership.
Through The George Institute's Ubuntu Initiative, researchers have sought to move beyond traditional models of collaboration towards partnerships grounded in shared ownership, mutual learning and recognition of local expertise.

That means asking different questions from the outset: Who helps define the research agenda? Whose knowledge shapes the project? How are decisions made? Who benefits from the work?

The approach reflects a growing recognition across global health that strong research partnerships require more than technical collaboration. They require intentional investment in relationships, trust, governance and shared leadership.

As Dr Kenneth Yakubu, Co-Lead of the Ubuntu Initiative, explains:

"Partnership is not measured by the number of organisations named on a grant. It is measured by who shapes the questions, who makes decisions, whose knowledge is valued and who ultimately benefits from the research. This seed funding programme has given us an opportunity to put those principles into practice and learn where we can continue to do better."

Seven projects, seven pathways to impact

The projects funded through the programme addressed a diverse range of health challenges, but all shared a commitment to locally relevant research and joint leadership.

Diabetes and depression

Associate Professor Nasheeta Peer (SAMRC) and Dr Mercian Daniel (The George Institute) explored the relationship between type 2 diabetes and depression. A major systematic review involving more than 22,000 people with diabetes across low- and middle-income countries found that depression was associated with poorer glycaemic control, highlighting the need for more integrated approaches to care.

Universal Health Coverage governance

Professor Tamara Kredo (SAMRC) and Associate Professor Laura Downey (The George Institute) examined how health systems navigate governance challenges during transitions towards Universal Health Coverage, generating evidence relevant to South Africa's ongoing National Health Insurance reforms.

Health-related quality of life valuation

Dr Darshini Govindasamy (SAMRC) and Professor Stephen Jan (The George Institute) undertook foundational work to support the development of South Africa's first health-related quality-of-life value set, a critical tool for health policy and resource allocation decisions.

Chronic kidney disease across Africa

Dr Cindy George (SAMRC) and Professor Mark Woodward (The George Institute) advanced the CKD-Africa collaboration by pooling data from studies across the continent. Their work produced one of the most comprehensive assessments of chronic kidney disease prevalence in Africa to date.

Data governance and injury research

Dr Megan Prinsloo (SAMRC) and Dr Dennis Mazingi (The George Institute) explored injury surveillance, trauma-data governance and data sovereignty in Western Cape communities, helping lay foundations for future research while engaging stakeholders directly affected by these issues.

Youth-centred digital health

Dr Kim Jonas (SAMRC) and Dr Sudha Kallakuri (The George Institute) worked with young people in KwaZulu-Natal to co-design a digital health intervention addressing non-communicable diseases and sexual and reproductive health, ensuring that end users were involved from the earliest stages of development.

Maternal multimorbidity

Dr Vundli Ramokolo (SAMRC) and Dr Parul Puri (The George Institute) investigated maternal multimorbidity in low- and middle-income countries, helping strengthen understanding of a complex and under-researched issue affecting women before, during and after pregnancy.

What has the programme achieved?

The programme's impact extends beyond individual research outputs.

Collectively, the projects have:

• Generated peer-reviewed publications
• Produced new research protocols and evidence syntheses
• Strengthened collaborations between researchers from both organisations
• Engaged policymakers, communities and practitioners
• Advanced discussions around data governance and sovereignty
• Supported emerging and early-career researchers
• Created foundations for larger future studies and funding opportunities

The programme has also demonstrated the value of investing in relationships before investing at scale.

Several projects are already progressing towards new collaborations, expanded research agendas and additional funding opportunities. Others have established networks and partnerships that may continue to influence research and policy long after the seed funding concludes.

Looking ahead

Seed funding is, by definition, a starting point.

Not every project will evolve into a major program of work. But each has contributed something valuable, whether new evidence, stronger relationships, fresh ideas or a deeper understanding of how collaborative research can be conducted more equitably.

The seven projects may have begun as seed grants, but together they represent something larger: a practical demonstration of how research partnerships can be built around shared priorities, joint leadership and mutual learning.

Publications from the seed funded projects

• Nguyen KA, Daniel M, Zhao Y, Sekgala D, Kallakuri S, Hill J, Joshi R, Kengne AP, Peer N. Association of depression with glycaemic control in people living with diabetes in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Global Health. 2025;10(7):e018939. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2025-018939
• Gadsden T, Verstraete J, Moyo A, Carries S, Sithole N, Davids EL, Besada D, Angell B, Jan S, Govindasamy D. Methodological insights from health valuation studies in low- and middle-income countries: A scoping review. Value in Health. 2026. [View article].
• George C, Okpechi IG, Motshwari DD, Stoker S, Jun M, Kotwal S, Fatumo S, Agyemang C, Fabian J, Matsha TE, Bovet P, Woodward M, Kengne AP. Prevalence of CKD Among Adults in Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis - American Journal of Kidney Diseases
• Ramokolo V, Roomaney RA, Maqungo M, Nyirenda M, Puri P, Yakubu K, Gummidi B, Zembe-Mkabile W, Xu X, McCauley M. Multimorbidity before, during and after pregnancy among women in low-income and middle-income countries: protocol for a scoping review - PubMed