50 FACULTY OF HUMANITIES ANNUAL REPORT 2021 longer-term vision of a Masters-level postgraduate qualification in evidence-informed decision-making. The SLP was delivered in an innovative way, blending online synchronous learning with asynchronous offline work, embedded within a social learning approach. The course focused on equipping students with not only technical skills to support evidence-informed decision-making in their places of work but also with the soft skills and social networks to properly scaffold the institutionalisation of evidence-informed decisionmaking in their respective workplaces, and in wider evidence ecosystems. In addition to the SLP, three ACE staff are proud to have supervised two Masters students and nine doctoral students in progressing further with their studies. In 2021, the centre gained four new PhD students. “ACE represents the integration of different worlds of knowledge generation and practice, where the value system of transparency, social justice, and development impact are matched with methodological rigour and quality in all research outputs. Together with staff who remain people centred against various challenges is what makes ACE a natural attraction for me to study at.” – ACE PhD student 1.2. Research ACE is dedicated to writing up its research from all areas of its diverse work: in 2021, ACE published a total of 30 academic papers, of which 23 are in accredited journals. This included papers in the Lancet and Nature, with additional papers currently under peer review with Nature and with Science. Additionally, ACE researchers disseminated their research in a total of 12 of popular media platforms, such as The Conversation Africa and SAfm. The ACE team were also proud to participate in a webinar focusing on the Fourth Industrial Revolution and misinformation alongside UJ Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Saurabh Sinha. Twenty-twentyone also saw ACE staff being involved in highlevel academic and policy conferences. In just one example, Mr Promise Nduku, Dr Laurenz Langer, and Professor Ruth Stewart all participated in the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Global Evidence to Policy Summit. There, they engaged with fellow global evidence-to-policy experts about ‘connecting insights from the evidence-support ecosystem to make progress towards WHO’s Triple Billion Targets’ and ‘institutionalizing evidence-informed decision-making for effective health policy’ respectively. Additionally, in her role as board member for the Collaboration for Environmental Evidence, Professor Stewart participated in the United Nation’s Conference of the Parties 26 (COP 26) as an observer. Off the back of this engagement, Professor Stewart copresented a UJ-coordinated event alongside University of Johannesburg Vice Chancellor Professor Tshilidzi Marwala that reflected on the implications of COP 26 for Africa. 1.3. Community engagement ACE staff are often asked for evidence-informed advice by the communities in which we live, and by community leaders at all levels. In 2021 we were consulted on a wide range of issues including schools reopening, masks for young children, the safety of vaccines, and the use of public transport in times of COVID. ACE also continued to be active in our pan-African community by coordinating and participating in Africa Evidence Week 2021. During this virtual celebration of evidence-use in Africa, ACE built connections and collaborations, showcased its research, and provided mentorship to emerging scholars. The centre also took this opportunity to engage with the regional evidence-use community to share the blog series staff at ACE had produced to disseminate research findings from 2020; the blog series ran for eight months in 2021. Additionally, the communications team and the evidence communities team at ACE coordinated the entire week, which drew over 4,9 million organic impressions on Twitter over a five-day period.
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