Our Information

At WHC, our key task is to provide the governance, legal framework, human resource management, financial and grant management to over 100 research entities, also called divisions, in various academic departments. We perform this role through our Shared Services Centre (SSC), which employs over 200 skilled staff.

By doing what we do well, we free up academics and researchers to do what they do best, we enable them to pursue specialist research in their respective fields of expertise.

In our two decades of operating, WHC has established a world-wide reputation for responsibly managing sponsor and commercially-funded activities worth over USD72 million annually. WHC manages around 22% of the University’s total group income, with funding derived from leading international and domestic agencies, institutes, foundations and donors. These include the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) , the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Global Fund, Clinical Laboratory Services (CLS), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), Wits Clinical Research and other sponsors.

Our Shared Services Centre provides the following key services:

Grants management

Contracts and Legal services

Financial management, audits and compliance reporting

Administration, Human Resource management and Payroll

Assistance with proposal writing, applications, strategic co-ordination and access to donor funding

Given our flexible structure, our trusted management and our entrepreneurial approach, WHC harnesses the commercial potential of our scope of work by limiting any unnecessary or bureaucratic burdens. This enables clinical researchers and health academics to undertake ground-breaking projects and establish commercially-viable operations. These include the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre, which was first incubated within WHC, and the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute.

At WHC, we seek to provide a fertile breeding ground for globally-influential initiatives and to establish ourselves as key co-ordinators linking specialist researchers with some of the world’s top donors, sponsors and philanthropists. We also encourage our research entities to grow their sphere of influence and form strategic alignments to expand our services beyond South Africa, to benefit other universities in Africa and to enhance lives around the world through the important work we support.

WHC is a private company owned by the University of the Witwatersrand and, as such, we are a tax-exempt business. Any surplus earnings are reinvested back into WHC or into the University’s operational or academic infrastructures. An excellent track record, transparent audits and industry expertise ensure that we are a sustainable and self-sufficient entity contributing to the University’s ongoing success and its international reputation and brand value.

our services

WHC provides world-class administrative support to its divisions through a wide range of Shared Services Centre functions. Our skilled teams have acquired extensive knowledge and experience, enabling WHC to manage complex projects professionally and efficiently. Accessible representatives, a commitment to service excellence and quick turnaround times are just some of the traits that have established WHC as a trusted, reputable and value-adding business.

stakeholders information

As a wholly-owned company of the University of the Witwatersrand, the Wits Health Consortium has various stakeholders including university management, academic faculties, Health Sciences researchers, donors, sponsors and funders. With income in excess of R1 billion annually, accounting for approximately 22% of the university’s total group income, it is imperative that the WHC provides service excellence, cost-effective support and trusted financial management.

our divisions

The Wits Health Consortium (WHC) operates a Shared Services Centre (SSD) to support various divisions that operate within WHC. Members from the University of the Witwatersrand’s Faculty of Health Sciences create these divisions by forming ‘syndicates’ or research groups. Academically, these syndicates fall under their relevant university department but they are viewed as independent divisions of the WHC and managed according to criteria set out by the syndicate directors.