THE DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLICATION WRITING SKILLS AND PUBLICATION OPPORTUNITIES: A CASE STUDY IN THE MANAGEMENT OF RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT

This article deals with the impact of an intellectual capacity-building approach to publication writing skills and publication opportunities. The case study is based on the approach followed by the Central University of Technology, Free State. The authors argue that a structured intellectual capacity-building approach based on workshops, an in-house journal and a focused research plan have resulted in the growth of the number of accredited publications. This growth in turn has supported the sustainability of a research culture which itself impacted positively on the growth in research publications. In analysing the accredited publications over a ten year period, it is quite evident that the challenge is to get more staff members to participate in research which will lead to the publication of research results. Another challenge is to get more completed Masters' and Doctoral studies rewritten into publication format. A third challenge is to utilise the post-doctoral fellows' research skills and expertise more effectively to contribute to a publication culture.