OGR Trains Staff of Department Of Economics, KNUST in Grant Proposal Writing

Following a request from the Department of Economics (DOE), the Office of Grants and Research (OGR) organized a one day workshop on Tuesday, 11th March, 2015 on the theme “Attracting External Funds through Proposal Writing” for the staff of the Department. The workshop recorded an attendance of eight (8) academic staff of the Department. The facilitators for the workshop included Prof. Peter Donkor, Director of OGR, Ms. Nadia Tagoe, Grants and Research Manager, OGR and Dr. Ellis Owusu Dabo, Scientific Director, KCCR.

The Head of Department, Dr. (Sr.) Eugenia Amporfu, in her welcome address indicated that the department takes research seriously and the staff members in the department are also very enthusiastic about conducting quality research and thus needed to upgrade their knowledge in the field.

Professor Peter Donkor, Director of OGR, pointed out that, OGR is fully committed to advancing the research mandate of KNUST. He stated that, high ranking universities all over the world have a designated office purposely for research and grants administration and the establishment ofOGR places the university in a better position to promote research and grants administration. He commended the Head of the Economics Department for taking the initiative to engage OGR to undertake this training.

In line with the theme of the workshop, five key aspects of grant proposal writing were discussed by the facilitators.  These are Building your Research Portfolio, The Role of OGR in Research Administration, Looking for and Dissecting a Funding Opportunity Announcement, Writing a Winning Grant Proposal and Building a Budget.

On the topic of building your research portfolio, Prof. Donkor stressed the need for more collaborative research in the university. He emphasized that, the Department of Economic is in one of the best positions for conducting collaborative research with most disciplines, as Economics is a cross-cutting discipline and encouraged participants to take advantage of this unique position. He shared on the need for participants to make research a priority by dedicating ample time for it and creating a personal research plan.

Ms Nadia Tagoe, took participants through the essence of research administration and the role OGR plays to make work easier for researchers. Ms Tagoe stated that, the research terrain has changed with funders demanding a lot more from researchers and institutions. As a result, Research Administrators have become of much importance in the conduct of research. She noted that, all the top universities with big research reputations have done so with large research administration and management support structures and it is against this background that KNUST established the OGR. She iterated that the office provides support before the award of a grant proposal (pre award) as well as during award and post award stages. She outlined some of the initiatives being undertaken by OGR which include training, development of policies for grants management in the university, creation of research management database, proposal development support as well as the preparation of a maiden Research Report for KNUST. MsTagoe indicated that, the plan is to have satellite offices at all colleges to make research administrators easily accessible to researchers. She ended by stating that, a well-established research administration system in KNUST will help to provide institutionalized support for researchers, timely delivery of grant information, improved research processes and output and enhanced funder confidence in the university.

Dr. Owusu Dabo later delivered a presentation on how to write a winning grant proposal.  He pointed out some of the common errors in proposal writing and gave some useful hints on how to package a proposal to meet funders’ requirement. He also outlined the various types of funding opportunities and admonished participants to familiarize themselves with Request for Application (RFA/ RFPs) or Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA). Again he stressed that, one does not become an expert by writing a single proposal; instead there is a need for continuous practice and commitment.

Ms Tagoe then took participants through the process of building a budget for a grant proposal. She indicated that the budget serves as a proof that the researcher knows how to accomplish the project.  She noted that to ensure a successful grant application, the researcher must work together with research administrators and accountants to develop a feasible budget that covers the full cost of the project.

Following the various presentations and discussions, participants engaged in a practical exercise of reviewing a Funding Opportunity Announcement and brainstorming on potential research concepts in response to the call. Participants also engaged facilitators in a question and answer session.

At the end of the workshop, participants expressed gratitude for the knowledge they have gained from the various facilitators regarding the entire grant proposal writing process. They however requested for similar workshops to be organized for a longer period and on regular basis to ensure a deeper understanding of the research process. The Head of Department thanked the OGR team for dedicating time and efforts towards the workshop. The OGR team also assured the group that, the office is ever ready and committed to offer help to researchers in the university therefore members should not hesitate to approach the office at any time.