General
Mak-CARTA Workshop Day Two identifies funding for Research
Researchers have been advised on the quality of the grant proposals they write for research funding. This was at the second day of the Faculty and Administrators Capacity Development Workshop organized by the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) and Makerere University. Convening in the Senate Building, Level 4 Conference Hall on 22-July 2014, participants from the various partner institutions were advised to give grant proposals high priority when looking for research funds.
According to Dr. Alex Ezeh, The Executive Director, African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), Kenya, researchers should focus on the research idea, objectives, time, the budget and budget justification for a smart and transparent proposal in case they are to succeed in the securing grants for their research studies.
“Funders are looking for great ideas which have promises and potential from great individuals who have a great transparent background in research from great institutions, many researchers tend to neglect the ideal of a good proposal and focus on other issues like who should fund and from where, which culminates into the rejection of their proposals,”he said.
In his presentation Dr. Ezeh stated that irrelevance of the research topic, improper budget planning, failure to disclose the funders, and competition among individuals and institutions for grants were among the factors which led to failed research bids. He therefore encouraged researchers to engage in writing their own proposals as this can give it a uniform flow of ideas and also make them realize the errors and common mistakes which can prevent them from securing funds.
“We should find time and write our own proposals. Researchers should write a proposal in their line of expertise, be concrete, collaborate where possible, and also find someone to make a review on their proposals and give feedback before sending it to funders. Research is a public good and so you should not do it with your own salary,” he advised
After Dr. Ezeh’s presentation participants were divided into various groups for parallel sessions based on their areas of expertise. The five parallel sessions sought feedback in the areas of: improving the experience and success rates of postgraduate students entailing mentorship and monitoring; Budgeting and managing research grants; Librarianship and information management; Information and Communication Technology Units of Partner Institutions; and Public Communication Units of Universities.
By Nabatte Prossy, Intern, Public Relations Office
By Agnes Namaganda
On July 22nd 2022, Makerere University–Child Health and Development Centre (Mak–CHDC) launched a draft manual for the National Parenting Standards. The Centre has been working together with the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) with funding from UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund), to develop standards that are agreeable to all organisations in the country that are involved in parenting work. The draft manual was being presented to members of a consortium that brings together all these organisations together, called the Parenting Agenda Consortium.
“We produce many documents and they are shelved,” Irene Ayot Chono, who was speaking on behalf of UNICEF said. “We hope that this document will not be one of them,” she emphasized.
Dr. Godfrey Siu, the Principal Investigator from Mak-CHDC who presented the draft manual to participants, emphasized that if any organization is doing parenting work, there should be a minimum package that they should offer.
Draft Manual Content
The manual which will have several modules. These modules will be delivered face-to-face in 1.5 hour sessions. Some of these include; Module 6 which will focus on “understanding responsible masculinity and fatherhood” and on “understanding the concept of head of family.”The draft manual also proposed that Module 11 focuses on Parenting in the 21st Century. Some of the sessions in this module will include Children and Technology, Contemporary Influence on Children and Modernity, Culture and Morality.Module 9 will focus on Parenting for Adolescents and some of the suggested sessions within this module are Needs for Adolescents and The Art of Communicating with Adolescents. Module 5 will focus on Preventing Violent Parenting and Promoting Alternative Discipline Strategies while Module 10 will be about Parenting to Address the Mental Health for Children and Adults.
Participants’ suggestions
After the presentation, participants raised several suggestions for discussion and consideration. These included whether there should be a module on spirituality since Uganda is a strongly religious nation. There was also the concern of how children in remand homes should be parented. Another concern raised by a participant was as to whether teachers who make an undeniable contribution to parenting, should be taken through the parenting manual.
In her closing remarks, Ms. Juliana Naumo Akoryo, the Director of Cultural Affairs at the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) said that the manual is for the parenting organisations to utilize and not for MGLSD.
Ms. Chono also adjured the team behind the manual to use picture illustrations in the manual that can be relatable by the Ugandan parents.
Contact: Agnes Namaganda – agnesvioletnamaganda@gmail.com
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