ABSTRACT
The Community Action Research Projects (CARPs) are a unique ‘scaling laboratories’ approach to co-creating solutions that gives a new orientation to universities: both in their purpose and in how they engage with society. The participatory, multi-disciplinary, multi-sector orientation of the CARP platforms widens the field of engagement, further enriching practical and experiential learning. These combined approaches provide more relevant training for students because they are engaged in real-life situations. Through facilitating and engaging deeply in practical work to strengthen value chains, universities orient themselves to serve as fulcrums of development, thought leaders and catalysts for change. These efforts have galvanised institutional change processes and focused new attention on what it means for African universities to be ‘fit for purpose’ in the 21st century. In breadth and depth, the CARPs have helped to encourage a wider paradigm shift in the universities towards engaging with research for development and positioning students and researchers as change makers, catalysts and development facilitators underpinned by co-creation of development solutions. These efforts have helped to strengthen the universities’ capacities to engage with complex challenges and drive inclusive rural development through multi-stakeholder collaborations.
