The 1st Annual Summit, held on 14 May 2025 in Cape Town, marked the formal launch of the Academy and the commissioning of the first R2I cohort. Designed as a convening platform rather than a ceremonial event, the summit embodied the Academy’s core purpose: to cultivate leaders who translate frontline observation into rigorous evidence, and evidence into meaningful change in practice and policy.
Affordable, structured guidance for Honours and Master’s candidates, and early-career practitioners, tailored to candidates' stage and budget. We take you through all research stages (from concept development to developing a submission-ready proposal, data collection tool development, data collection processes, results analysis, and write-up). From as little as R400 per hour
Research MentorshipAligning MERLA Academy and R2I Fellowship: MERLA Academy builds the skills to observe, generate, and use evidence, while the R2I Fellowship applies these skills to transform practice, policy, and public health impact.
We apply Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, Learning, and Adaptation (MERLA) to turn everyday practice into usable evidence that informs better decisions, stronger leadership, and more effective systems. We help organisations move beyond reporting and compliance, using evidence to adapt non-functional programmes, reform ineffective management practices, and reshape policies so that learning leads to action and results improve across health, social, and organisational systems.
FAIPHA equips faith leaders with practical public health knowledge and skills to support non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention, communicable disease response, and community preparedness for health emergencies