Dr Tembeka Mpako-Ntusi is a retired Director of Research at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in South Africa. She held a similar position at the rural-based Walter Sisulu University. She has worked in research management for the past 20 years and is a former president of the Southern African Research and Innovation Management Association (SARIMA). She continues to contribute to research development and capacity building in research and innovation management and she is a member of the Society of Research Administrators (SRA) International.

Dr Mpako-Ntusi obtained a PhD at Bryn Mawr College, PA in the US and started her career as a social worker, followed by an academic career at the University Fort Hare, and the University of Transkei. She was a Visiting Professor at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University and she is the author of numerous book chapters chiefly on social work issues, conference papers and journal articles. She was awarded a British Council scholarship for her Masters degree and a Fulbright scholarship for her doctoral studies.