General
Persuasion-an effective tool to communicate research for social change
The Executive Director for National Planning Authority (NPA) Dr. Joseph Muvawala has highlighted the importance of using persuasion to communicate research for social change. This was during the Makerere University PhD Convention held on 14th November 2019 under the theme; “Communicating Research for Social Change.”
Speaking to Makerere University Postdoctoral Fellows, Dr. Muvawala said that while research is an instrumental factor in causing social change for development, its communication and delivery can either yield positive or negative results. He was much concerned about the vast amount of research that remains unutilized largely due to weak communication procedures when he suggested persuasion as an effective communication tool, researchers can adopt during the dissemination process of their findings.
“Persuasion can shape and reinforce the response of your audience by altering their beliefs, attitudes, intentions, motivation and behaviors. It also helps the researcher to drive his or her audience towards a certain direction,” he said.
He pointed out the critical modes of persuasion developed by Aristotle and how they can be used to effectively communicate research for social change: The three modes are;
Pathos: emotional appeals designed to arouse feelings among the recipients. Emotional appeals are effective when you are trying to influence a behavior or when you want your audience to take immediate action.
Ethos: the credibility of a researcher/ speaker. This includes three dimensions; competence, trustworthiness and dynamism.
Logos: the reasoning, logic and rationality behind the research paper and answers to questions of what is stated.
“To anticipate the reader’s expectations, the author must ensure credibility and authority while undertaking research. His work should reflect well contextualized and evidence based recommendations. the information to be disseminated should have relevant, specific, unbiased and credible facts which are also warranted by citations,” he stated.
Dr. Muvawala outlined some of the research communication strategies for social change and these included;
- Providing a clear, concise and defined thesis
- Providing a clear, organized and conceptualized structure/framework
- Ensuring logical and well-controlled progression of ideas
- Using meaningful transitions and strong sentence-to sentence connections
- Building strong introductions
- Constructing a well-developed argument with strong evidential support
- Building strong conclusions
- Using purposeful and precise word choice
The PhD Convention is an annual event organized by the Directorate of Research and Graduate Training in conjunction with the PhD Forum at Makerere University. According to Mr. Simon Peter Okiror, the President of the PhD Fellows, the PhD Convention presents a platform for both late and early stage PhD students to reflect on their identified research topics.
“The convention also aims at establishing a supportive worldwide community of doctoral students and promoting social and intellectual interactions among students and researchers from academia, industry and government,” he said.
The Director of Research and Graduate Training Prof. Buyinza Mukadasi who is also the Patron of the PhD Fellows at Makerere University recognized the PhD Convention as an important platform to discuss how the on-going research output at Makerere University can be translated into policy that will socially, economically and politically empower the citizens of Uganda to lead better lives. He stressed that the day’s theme; “Communicating Research for Social Change” rightly depicts the role that Makerere University has to play in national and regional development.
“The challenges to society today are increasingly becoming more complex in a world that is witnessing emerging and re-emerging development challenges resulting from health-related epidemics and pandemics, climate change, energy and renewable energy concerns, natural disasters, food insecurity, human rights abuse and conflict and insecurity among others. Makerere University continues to address these challenges through impact oriented research,” he said.
According to Prof. Buyinza, the current drive by Ugandan Public Universities to quickly transition into centre of excellence in graduate training is a commendable sustainability plan. He mentioned that the ultimate benefit of research lies not only in the generation of new knowledge but also in the translation of knowledge into technologies, interventions and strategies effectively and appropriately delivered to the communities.
He applauded the Government of Uganda for recognizing the crucial role of Universities as vital sources of new knowledge and innovative thinking when he said, “The government-funded initiative to strengthen doctoral training and supervision and to develop the institutional capacity of participating universities to conduct and lead internationally-competitive, cutting-edge research will go a long way in supporting Makerere University to realize its vision and strategic goals, 2020-2030.”
Over 100 students presented their research work, proposals and research topics for constructive feedback.
Article by Mak Public Relations Office
The Makerere University Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe has today, Friday, 26th June 2026 handed over the CCE (Complex) Hall of Residence Site to National Enterprise Corporation (NEC) Managing Director and CEO, Lieutenant General James Mugira for renovation and overhaul works. The UGX 12billion Government of Uganda-funded works, expected to be completed within a year, are the fourth project to be undertaken by NEC. They were preceded by; construction of the University Perimeter Wall, Renovation of Lumumba Hall, and Renovation of Mary Stuart Hall.
NEC’s Record Lauded
Prof. Nawangwe in his remarks at the handover ceremony lauded these projects. “The quality of work done by NEC makes us proud because we can finally say that we have Ugandans who can do the things, which we previously depended on foreigners to do.” He therefore thanked the Government of Uganda for fully funding the projects and the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Hon. Janet Museveni, whose visit set the renovation projects in motion.
The Vice Chancellor added that as the Alma mater for most members of both the Contractor and Project Management Teams, this was a moment of great pride as their expertise and skills have saved the country billions of taxpayers’ money. “Thank you for being patriotic”, he commended.
Prof. Nawangwe concluded by noting that CCE Hall, by virtue of its location, provides a first impression of Makerere University as a whole. He therefore urged the contractor to ensure that upon renovation, CCE Hall would create a memorable and lasting first impression, exceeding even that of the renovated Mary Stuart Hall.
A Project Fueled by Nostalgia
Speaking of impressions, Lt. Gen. Mugira, with nostalgia recalled that close to 42 years ago, he not only attended his first lectures in Hall 1 of the CCE Complex but also, on a more personal note added, “my wife was a resident, and so I have every motivation to put in a lot of effort and make sure that I deliver more than was done with Mary Stuart and Lumumba.”
He therefore extended heartfelt appreciation to his Alma mater Makerere University for the trust and confidence bestowed in NEC, which underscored their ability to deliver. “Trust is earned through performance, through integrity and consistency, and your decision to engage us motivates us to work even harder to exceed your expectations.”
In his remarks, the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Finance and Administration) Prof. Henry Alinaitwe reechoed the need to ensure that the project is executed with adherence to the cost, quality, specifications and safety related issues as earlier shared by the Acting (Ag.) Chief Engineer of Estates and Works, Eng. Ezra Sekadde.
“NEC has already demonstrated this (with previous projects), and that is why we have all the confidence that you can deliver this project within 12 months” remarked Prof. Alinaitwe. He equally lauded the Project Management Team (PMT) led by Arch. Dr. Kenneth Ssemwogerere whose supervision ensures timely project completion.
Relatedly, Arch. Dr. Semwogerere was on 25th June 2026, the eve of the handover, promoted to the rank of Associate Professor, a milestone Prof. Alinaitwe attributed to his track record as Head of PMT. He therefore, on a light note, urged him to keep up the good work as this could equally contribute to his promotion to the rank of full Professor.
Also present at the handover ceremony was the Principal, College of Education and External Studies (CEES) Prof. Anthony Mugagga, whose unit will be greatly affected by the renovations. He nevertheless welcomed and reiterated his full support for the project, noting that just as renovation of Lumumba and Mary Stuart Halls had resulted in many alumni revisiting, the CCE Complex would upon renovation attract former residents and teaching professionals to give back or forge new partnerships.
Student Welfare at the Forefront
On her part, the Dean of Students Dr. Winifred Kabumbuli lauded the renovations of Halls of Residence as a clear demonstration of Government’s dedication to the improvement of student welfare, and creating an environment conducive for nurturing responsible citizens who can contribute to national development. She pledged her Office’s and the Student Leadership’s readiness to ensure that the renovated facilities used responsibly for the benefit of future generations.
As a resident of the recently renovated Mary Stuart Hall, 92nd Guild President H.E. Kadondi Gracious could not help but appreciate how impactful the renovation of CCE Hall would be to student welfare. “The female students will be very excited (to occupy CCE Hall) but the male students will be left complaining – so we shall be expecting more renovations, not just for the female but also the male students,” she amiably concluded.
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