Communities of Practice: When do they succeed?

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Anna Steynor, Katharine Vincent (Kulima Integrated Development Solutions), Katinka Waagsaether and Tracy Cull (Kulima Integrated Development Solutions) The establishment of a “community of practice” (COP) is an idealised vision that is often expressed as a desirable outcome of research projects.  The successful establishment of a COP is seen to embody the notion of extending the… Read more »

Spoke or wheel?

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A couple of weeks ago, a spoke in my bicycle snapped. I took the broken one out, got to the bike shop and handed it to the shop assistant. “What wheel is that?” he asked. “26 inch road bike’s” I answered confidently. He wasn’t satisfied: “Well, what type of wheel?” “Uh… round one?” He was… Read more »

MSc./Ph.D studentship: Seasonal forecast information for improved sector-specific decision making

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Opportunity: MSc/PhD studentship TITLE: Seasonal forecast information for improved sector-specific decision making. Institution: University of Cape Town (UCT) Department: Environmental and Geographical Science (EGS) Research Group: Climate System Analysis Group (CSAG) Deadline: Application is open-ended, with the intent to start the MSc./Ph.D as early as July 2016 and no later than January 2017. The University of Cape Town is committed to… Read more »

Okay, now it’s personal

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Usually I try to take an objective angle to my blog posts, supported by scientific evidence, rigour etc etc.  But this time, it’s personal.  So no facts, (well few facts) and more a reflection on a personal crisis I find myself in and I’m sure I’m not the only one.  I have started to ask… Read more »

Water Harvesting Toolkit Launch

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Written by Rodger Duffett   The Water Harvesting Toolkit is an extension to the Climate Information Platform (CIP) that was funded by the South African Water Research Commission (WRC) under the SmartWater Fund initiative. It provides a link between climate data stored in the CIP and a practical application of the data. The toolkit was… Read more »

Article on SciDev.Net: Study aids climate forecasts of two African regions

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  An article focusing on some of the results produced by Kamoru Lawal’s (one of our graduates) doctral thesis has been published on SciDev.Net, titled: Study aids climate forecasts of two African regions.   Researchers used climate modelling to predict rainfall and temperature They found different outcomes for West and Southern Africa An expert says the findings… Read more »