Professional Documents
Culture Documents
RUFORUM/SADC PROPOSAL, SCIENTIFIC WRITING AND
COMMUNICATION WORKSHOP
Skills Enhancement Training for NARS Scientists in Southern Africa
Workshop Report Submitted by RUFORUM to SADC
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Skill Enhancement Training for NARS Scientists in Southern Africa, 20‐25 April, 2009, Arusha, Tanzania
Table of Contents
Cover page 1
Table of Contents 2
Acknowledgements 3
1.0 Summary 5
2.0 Introduction 7
8.0 Appendices 40
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Skill Enhancement Training for NARS Scientists in Southern Africa, 20‐25 April, 2009, Arusha, Tanzania
Acknowledgements
The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture thanks the Southern Africa
Development Community (SADC) through its ICART Programme for supporting this important
workshop on strengthening capacity of SADC members in proposal development, scientific writing
and communication skills. RUFORUM is especially grateful to the ICART team for guiding the
design of the workshops to ensure that SADC priorities are met, and that these skills development
workshop contribute to wider goals.
We extend our gratitude to the facilitators Prof. Obura, Dr. Tenywa and Dr. Nampala for the
excellent training course that they have been able to deliver. We also thank Dr. Jane Alumira,
ICART Staff and all those who in one way or the other contributed significantly during the
workshop, we extend our sincere thanks and appreciation on your valuable contribution toward the
success of this workshop.
The management and staff of ESAMI, who offered and maintained the conference space and
taking care of the participants during the workshop period, are also acknowledged. The success of
the workshop was largely dependent on the commitment of the trainers, participants, ICART Staff.
They were excellent individuals who worked so hard and diligently through out the workshop period
and some times for extended hours without grumbling or sneaking out. To them we extend our
sincere gratitude.
RUFORUM SECRETARIAT
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Skill Enhancement Training for NARS Scientists in Southern Africa, 20‐25 April, 2009, Arusha, Tanzania
1.0 Summary
In the Eastern, Central and Southern African (ECSA) region (excluding the Republic of South
Africa), Agriculture remains the mainstay of the economies and supports livelihood strategies of
more than 280 million people surviving on more than 300 million hectares. The natural resources of
the region are exploited through agricultural activities. This makes the resources vulnerable to
biophysical constraints such as drought, diseases and pests, declining soil fertility and agro
biodiversity as well as economic externalities that affect trade. The Framework for African
Agricultural Productivity (FAAP) of the AU-CAADP stresses the need to mobilize Science and
Technology to deliver for enhancing agricultural production and value addition. In order to make the
region a major actor in agricultural trade and bio-resources; food and nutrition security; wealth
creation; sustainable use of resource base; and a strategic player in Agricultural Science and
Technology Development (ASTD), Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture
(RUFORUM) is keen on developing the capacity of the NARS scientists to enable them to be
competent and relevant in promoting Research for Development (R4D) in the ECSA region. It is on
this background that RUFORUM organized the Proposal Development, Scientific writing and
Communication skills Workshop for ECSA-NARS scientists with the following objectives:
• Develop competitive research and training proposals;
• Relate research to development;
• Produce scientific publications for peer reviewed journals; and
• Design appropriate communication products.
RUFORUM, has among its mandates, capacity enhancement of researchers and scientists in
universities and the NARS of its member countries, in the aspects of scientific writing for access to
competitive research grants, scholarly publishing and production of knowledge and communication
products. For this purpose, a groundbreaking workshop targeting scientists drawn from the
Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Region was conducted at Gaborone in
Botswana in September 2008 to cater for institutions in the Southern Africa.
The effort was very successful and as a follow up a similar workshop was arranged in Arusha
Tanzania in April 2009 to benefit other scientists, particularly those that had made attempt to
respond to previous ICART Expression of Interest (EOI) but did not win grants. Four participants
that attended the previous training were invited to interact with the facilitators as part of the process
of training of trainers with a view to build resident capacity within the region. Participants were
drawn from SADC countries including Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland,
Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Their mother institutions included universities, national research
systems, government departments, private sector and other organizations. The focus of the
workshop objectives was to enhance capacity in scientific writing for competitive grants, peer
review publications and other communication products/research outputs.
The approach was highly participatory and hands-on, and was catalyzed by theoretical expositions
commensurate with the current donor trends and expectations; captivating terminologies and
writing styles for both technical and non-technical publications. The process was beneficial to all
participants but most especially to those without or with limited insights in research for
development. The participation of the SADC ICART officials greatly enriched the process.
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Skill Enhancement Training for NARS Scientists in Southern Africa, 20‐25 April, 2009, Arusha, Tanzania
Generally, group profiling, which enabled a multidisciplinary mix, was instrumental in breaking
barriers to multidisciplinary team building across institutions represented in the region. The
objectives of the workshop were achieved and among the outputs of the workshop, was enhanced
cohesion and networking among participants from the participating countries and diversity of
institutions and disciplines.
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“On Tue, Apr 28, 2009 at 8:38 PM, Martin Kimanya <mekimanya@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> Dear All, I appreciate the way we are showing commitment to the team work spirit as
> was emphasised at ESAMI. This shows that success in proposals and publications is on
our way. So we should try to respond to the CEI sent to us by Upright in order to enjoy fruits
of the training. Comments from those who attended my oral presentation in Belgium today
> (28/04/2009) show that the fruits of the good work done by our facilitators are ripe and
should be picked out for our use as soon as possible. It was well presented!. I thank you all
for your good wishes. With best regards, Martin (Knowledge)”
The Workshop was a resounding success with several testimonies to the effect such as the above quote from Martin Kimanya’s
correspondence.
2.0 Introduction
Many scientists in Africa find it increasingly difficult to access research grants owing to the
continuously dwindling support from various development partners; dreary efforts in developing
grants and the eliminative conditions placed on them. Along with formulation of wining proposals,
is the challenge of competitive scholarly publishing and developing effective knowledge
communication products for various audiences to achieve the intended impact. Universities are in
the most challenging positions of paradigm shift as the research grants focus shifts towards
agricultural research and development (R&D), and more lately, agricultural research for
development (AR4D) and integrated research for agricultural development (IAR4D). Universities
and indeed the entire National Agricultural Research System as partners in the research and
innovation processes must maintain a system of tooling or retooling their staff to dynamically
respond to global, regional and national research and outreach dynamics to be able to maintain
relevance with public interests.
National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) scientists play important roles in developing and generating
technologies for innovations. To support these activities NARS scientists undertake training to develop the
required skills and competencies and also conduct research to advance knowledge. However, they need
funding to support their research and other activities. To source for such funds, the NARS scientists must
write fundable proposals to the relevant funding agencies. On the other hand, once the research is
completed, they should communicate their findings to their peers and to the broader community, including
policy makers and other relevant stakeholders. Nevertheless, the capacity for Proposal development,
Scientific writing, and Communication Skills is weak in several NARS in sub-Saharan Africa. This deficiency
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Skill Enhancement Training for NARS Scientists in Southern Africa, 20‐25 April, 2009, Arusha, Tanzania
has been recognized in several fora, by the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture
(RUFORUM, see www.ruforum.org) and during the Southern African Development Community (SADC)-
Implementation and Coordination of Agricultural Research and Training (ICART) competitive grant process.
Thus, RUFORUM has initiated a process to strengthen Proposal development, Scientific Writing and
Communication skills for NARS scientists in the SADC region. In particular, RUFORUM is keen to see that
research funds are sourced and that research findings are shared among peers, relevant stakeholders,
inform policy makers and is also communicated to the broader audience. In addition, RUFORUM would like
to see greater contribution of African scientists to global knowledge.
Rather than provide such skill enhancement training at the individual NARS level, RUFORUM is of the view
that initially it is more efficient to tackle these deficiencies by group learning events organized for the benefit
of scientists from various NARS in the SADC region at large. Such trainings will also provide opportunities
for NARS scientists to meet and learn from one another and also forge working relationship. The training
activities would then subsequently be done periodically at individual NARS level. To support scaling up, a
training of trainers would be needed.
It was through appreciation of this that the RUFORUM continues to mount training workshops to
enhance staff from the NARS in the SADC and indeed other regions, in scientific writing skills for
grant winning proposals and competitive scholarly publication. The training attracted over 30
scientists from the region, with a good representation of women (Appendix 1 – Participants
Profiles). The underlying assumption in the design and module delivery was that the trained group
would eventually out-scale the skills acquired to the wider staff communities in their institutions as
well as mentor especially the young scientists.
For this purpose, four participants who participated in
previous proposal and scientific writing sessions were
invited to shadow the facilitators.
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A highly intensive training programme was the basis for training (Appendix 2 – Programme
Profiles). Participants were divided into two groups, and a set of facilitators and SADC staff
interacted with each of the two groups.
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Skill Enhancement Training for NARS Scientists in Southern Africa, 20‐25 April, 2009, Arusha, Tanzania
The purpose of this learning event was to update skills in Proposal development, scientific writing and
communicating skills of SADC-NARS scientists. After attending this skill enhancement training, NARS
scientists would be able to:
• Develop competitive research and training proposals;
• Relate research to development;
• Produce scientific publications for peer reviewed journals; and
• Design appropriate communication products.
The main objective was to strengthen the capacity of NARS scientists in Southern Africa in
competitive proposal preparation and scientific writing. The primary objectives of the workshop
included:
(i) Introduce and/or share experiences in scientific writing for developing interdisciplinary
grant winning proposals and competitive manuscripts for publication in peer reviewed
journals;
(ii) Strengthen capacity for production of educational and extension communication products;
(iii) Strengthen capacity for capacity building in formulation of grant winning proposals and
competitive knowledge and communications products
(iv) Foster multidisciplinary team building and cohesion within and among scientists in the
SADC region.
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Skill Enhancement Training for NARS Scientists in Southern Africa, 20‐25 April, 2009, Arusha, Tanzania
scientific writing and components of Communication skills. Participating NARS scientists were also expected
to actively contribute to this learning event.
The training involved presentations, discussion and experience sharing as well as computer-based
practical exercises. The training was heavily participatory and interactive. There were short and
diverse presentations and discussions led by the facilitators to precede the group discussions and
plenary presentations. The training approach was based on Experiential Learning Cycle for adult
learners. The group exercises and other computer-based practical and experience sharing were
designed to expose the participants to aspects of proposal and scientific writing in line with the
premise of the workshop. The workshop emphasized practical application, internalization and
ownership of concepts, resources, methods and output by the participants. The participants were
expected to develop analytical and integration frameworks and guidelines based on relevant
individual, institutional and discipline-based proposal writing capacities, needs, situations and
experiences. The workshop intended to realize a plan to strengthen individual and institutional
proposal writing skills.
The approaches and methodologies for the training program entailed a combination of training
methods like interactive presentations, group work, activity based reflections and discussions with
major emphasis on participatory approaches coupled with games and other focused energizers.
Intensive discussion opportunities were offered to the participants during the sessions. The
workshop adopted adult learning principles to facilitate the learning by the participants through
participation. In addition to this, brainstorming exercises was also used throughout the workshop.
The 6-day training was dominantly hands-on, but enriched with facilitators’ guiding highlights in
plenary sessions prior to most items on the programme. Initially, all participants went through a
joint plenary session which enabled them present their (i) expectations from the workshop, (ii) fears
that would hinder achievement of the expectations, and (iii) plausible intervention to mitigate the
fears. This was done to (i) purposely customize the workshop to the participants’ needs, (ii)
establish a cross-cutting baseline of knowledge training needs among the diverse participants, and
(iii) initiate and ensure a participatory process that would be maintained throughout the workshop.
The participants’ workshop expectations, fears and suggested interventions to the fears formed the
milestones for evaluation of the training workshop. The detailed account of the participants
expectations, fears and suggested interventions are presented in Appendix 3.
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• Appreciation of any contribution - there was no stupid question, the key assumption
was that not every body was familiar with scientific writing and communication
concepts. Participants were encouraged to ask any question, so that at the end of the
meeting no one goes home with unanswered questions.
• Creativity- participants were encouraged to think beyond the box. They were
challenged to continuously re-assess their perceptions in order to see if there could be
new thinking or new way of seeing things, which was very useful in generating new
ideas and presented avenues for discussing issues exhaustively.
• Flexibility- The meeting did not have a rigid agenda. The process was designed to be
flexible in order to cater for any emergent burning issues.
• Honesty and Political incorrectness – In consideration of the observation that people
tend to be polite especially when real sensitive issues are discussed, and thus put the
real issues under the carpet. Participants were encouraged to ensure that nothing was
hidden under the carpet or the table.
• Inclusiveness- It was indicated that the facilitators would foster the participation of
everybody, thus giving priority to the quiet ones if they speak up or prod them if they
remain quiet.
• Informality- was key to creating a relaxed atmosphere for free interaction and active
participation by all.
• Integrity – It was stressed the facilitators were independent, with no stake in the
meeting agenda per se, but rather there to guide the process. The approach was to
ensure balance in contributions so that at the end of the meeting every participant is
happy of the outcome, without compromise to delivery of principles and key aspects of
the programme.
• Open dialogue/multilogue- this workshop was not a chairman type, so there were to be
no one way communication but rather an open dialogue. This is the reason why the
sitting arrangement is in the sense that in will encourage active participation of all.
• Transparency- Facilitators urged the participants to open up and intelligibly present
their ideas.
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The approach to engaging the participants in fruitful activities during and after the workshop through the
Participant Action Plan Approach (PAPA) was presented. The final PAPA is presented in the subsequent
section.
Multidisciplinary groups and sub-groups were used as a means to ensure effective participation
and learning. This was earlier on resisted by some participants who believed in maintaining their
disciplinary groups. However, the facilitators were instrumental in allaying the fears in light of the
realities of meaningful development and implementation of IAR4D projects, which requires
multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary approaches. The groups formed the focal points for the hands-on
exercises. The participants also chose unique adjective as “nick names” that were used in the
workshop as part of a strategy to dissolve professional titles. Additionally, this was useful in
galvanizing the teams and indeed team spirit prevailed throughout the training.
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The approach was intensively hands-on and group outputs were discussed in plenary sessions for further insights; all
plenary sessions were guided by the facilitators
The approach was intensively hands-on catalyzed by theoretical expositions commensurate with
the current donor trends and expectations; captivating terminologies and writing styles for both
scientific and non-technical publications.
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The process was relatively challenging to most participants, especially those who lacked or had
limited insights in research for development. Aspects of inter-multidisciplinary and participatory
approaches appeared unusual to many. However, by the nature of the modules, all these became
immaterial progressively.
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construction, and
unnecessary.
materials.
Additionally, development of the goal, purpose, results/outputs and activities was particularly
challenging. Despite the initial difficulties in adjusting to the new approach, participants finally
appreciated the value of the LFA and the logframe in focusing and directing the writing process.
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For technical publications, the biggest challenge was the linking project out puts to publications and
designing relevant communication products for various audiences. All modules presented and
other relevant reference materials valuable for the participants and others in their institutions were
provided to participants as resource materials both in soft copy format.
Virtually, all the objectives of the workshop were met based on participants’ assessment, despite
the limited time for group work and hands-on.
Overall, the major achievements can be summarized as:
(i) Capacity in scientific writing for grant winning proposals and for publication in peer
reviewed journal was strengthened;
(ii) Perceived disciplinary walls were reduced significantly; participants realized the benefits of
teaming up even in areas slightly different from their traditional disciplinary confines;
(iii) Potential synergies for close collaboration were realized and enhanced; platforms for
future regional collaboration and networking among participants were laid-out;
(iv) Participants embraced the value of the LFA and log frame as a backbone in proposal
development;
(v) Participants realized the importance of not having to rush to literature in developing
interpretation of results and discussion and appreciated that literature should be used to
substantiate own work and not vice versa round as is always the case with most writers.
(vi) Participants generated through a participatory process a Participants Action Plan using the
PAPA. In addition, country action plans were also discussed and presented during the
closing plenary session. The country action plans were still very preliminary but served as
strong indicators of willingness to swing into action with regard to applying the skills gained
and also as avenues for initiating collaboration within the SADC region.
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actions:
materials;
collaborators,
communication products.
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A. Impact of Workshop from the standpoint of what participants gained from the
experience
60
50
40
% Response 30
20
10
0
1 2 3 4 5
Level of objectives met (Not at all - on target)
1
Hard copies of the completed evaluation forms are available as Annex 1 of the hard copy version of this
report.
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60
50
40
% Response 30
20
10
0
1 2 3 4 5
Level of new skills acquired (very little - substantial)
60
50
40
% Response 30
20
10
0
1 2 3 4 5
Likelihood of applying the concepts (very little - substantial)
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Skill Enhancement Training for NARS Scientists in Southern Africa, 20‐25 April, 2009, Arusha, Tanzania
Expectations met
50
45
40
35
30
% Response 25
20
15
10
0
1 2 3 4 5
Level of expectations met (very little - substantial)
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Skill Enhancement Training for NARS Scientists in Southern Africa, 20‐25 April, 2009, Arusha, Tanzania
B. Overall assessment on the suitability of the methods and materials used in the training
Clarity of hand outs
Poor Outstanding
1 5
60
50
40
% Response 30
20
10
0
1 2 3 4 5
Rating of clarity of handouts (Poor - Outstanding)
60
50
40
% Response 30
20
10
0
1 2 3 4 5
Rating of content of handouts (Poor - Outstanding)
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Skill Enhancement Training for NARS Scientists in Southern Africa, 20‐25 April, 2009, Arusha, Tanzania
60
50
40
% Response 30
20
10
0
1 2 3 4 5
Rating of clarity of visual aids (Poor - Outstanding)
60
50
40
% Response 30
20
10
0
1 2 3 4 5
Rating of content of visual aids (Poor - Outstanding)
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Plenary discussions
45
40
35
30
25
% Response
20
15
10
0
1 2 3 4 5
Rating of plenary discussions (Poor - Outstanding)
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• Scientific writing for journals and oral presentation skills. Also networking with/meeting
other scientists in SADC. This is because I am yet to have my publication and knowing the
do’s and don’ts is a great help. I also find myself giving presentations to various audiences
and I learnt a lot of skills at this meeting
• Linking proposals to reports and publications because of the valuable guidelines presented
• Choosing a research team. This is because the composition of a team determines
success or failure
• Dos and don’ts in proposal writing – This is important because elements of writing were
emphasized which are essential for proposal writing
• Proposal writing in particular problem tree (problem identification) objective development
and log frame development. This was new knowledge for proposal development
• Almost all the presented materials were valuable. This is mainly due to the fact that I was
actually learning. So everything would be put to good use and see what comes out at the
end
• The power point presentations were well prepared
• Linking the proposal with the report production and publication. Because it has helped me
to understand how to start writing my report and publication
• Writing skills for publications, making effective teams for collaboration
• Discussions in groups. Multidisciplinary groups help to understand more things and
exchange experiences
• From the technical point of view, materials were excellent, presentations well facilitated
and encouraged a high level of participation
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• I would change nothing. As I have already said, to me, all the materials were very
valuable and they contain the latest information which could help one come out with a
good proposal and effective publication thus improving his/her writing and communication
skills
E. Any additional comments or suggestions you might have about the workshop?
• Program too compact, there was limited time for participants to accomplish
exercises and hence concentrate on hands-on
• The workshop was enlightening and refreshing. Keep it up!
• RUFORUM could have looked for a better place/hotel for participants. In future I
request the organization to at least send an administration officer to survey venue.
Otherwise delegates were so mature and dedicated to the training SADC/ICART
needs to convene more training in the region for proposal writing so that the region
can be equipped.
• Participants should be told prior to workshop that they should bring a draft
proposal, data, papers targeted for publication. Just to assist exercises. It will
take off a lot of pressure on time. Give time for a early break in the evening
• Availability of email facilities at the workshop institution is a plus
• The last plenary session should have been made earlier to enable the resource
persons integrate proposal writing for knowledge generation with those of
information sharing and networking
• No concrete suggestions at the moment
• Schedule too congested – working on Saturday – No please. Venue:
accommodation and food – poor quality
• Could have 2 weeks for this important training to finish all the contents well and
then give participants 4 – 5 days to work on proposals
• To benefit more scientists, the workshop could be held at national level within the
SADC countries, if possible
• More working groups; may be in the morning we should do the exercises and in
the afternoon the presentations
• Improve on the venue for future workshops. Allowances for free time is essential,
adults need a more relaxed atmosphere
• Give enough time for different aspects. One week is not enough to adequately
cover training on scientific writing, proposal writing
• Target people who are still relatively junior in their systems to be trained. Senior
people such as commissioners not likely to disseminate workshop information as
they have too many commitments
• The training should be followed up by impact evaluation
• Run the workshop over a longer period – 7 working days at a venue that promotes
teaching and learning
• Allow for socialization during the training. Remember: “All work and no play makes
Jane a dull girl”
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• Inform participants that they must bring data or ensure that a draft paper should be
produced by end of workshop. The paper should be published with help of
resource persons
• I think the program was very tight/congested thus making the resource persons to
rush some presentations. Important: I appeal to RUFORUM to help provide
scholarships MSc., PhD to some of us.
• Improve on lodging arrangements
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8.0 Appendices
APPENDIX 1
Participants Profiles2
2
Other SADC staff in attendance to handle logistic arrangements, but complete profiles not presented here,
were Mr. Joel Motswagole, Finance Officer (tgower@sadc.int) and Ms. Tshegofasto Gower, Secretary
(tgower@sadc.int)
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Makoala V. Marake, Educational Experience: Ph.D Soil and Water (1993); Msc.
Soil Fertility and Management (1989) - University of Nebraska, Lincoln. USA.
Bsc. Agronomy – Soil Science (1985); Diploma – Soil & Water Resource
Conservation (1983) - Colorado State University. Colorado. USA. He is Senior
Lecturer, Department of Soil Science and Resource Conservation. Faculty of
Agriculture (1993 to Date); Inter alia Director of Transformation (2002–2004)
National University of Lesotho. Currently Department Head: Soil Science.
Teaching and supervising students at undergraduate and graduate levels; Teach a
course in research methods incorporating philosophy of science, proposal
development and technical writing; Research and consultancy in environment,
conservation and agricultural development. Conservation Soil Scientist (1985-
1987). Department of Conservation, Forestry & LUP. Ministry of Agriculture.
Lesotho. Researcg and training interests include Soil Science and Environmental
Management: Soil Management & Quality, Wetland Soils and Management,
Conservation Agriculture; Climate Change Adaptation: Inter/transdisciplinary
research issues. Training, leadership & transformation. Professional Services:
Expert Evaluator - Research Proposals on Agriculture & Land Use. European
Community Research Frame Work. Brussels, Belgium. November, 2001.
Member of an International Review Panel for the 5th Research Framework of the
European Community. Brussels, Belgium. November 2002 to April 2003. Contact:
Work : +26622340601; Cell : +26658772958; Work Fax: +26622340000;
Personal e-mail: mv.marake@nul.ls; National University of Lesotho P.O.
Roma180 Lesotho
Mtaita Tuarira Abduel, Bsc in Agriculture from Sokoine University Tanzania and
an MSc. in Tropical Horticulture from University of London. I work with Africa
University, Mutare, Zimbabwe where I teach Ecology, Fruit Production and
Principles of Landscaping. Tel:+263-020-61611/616775
Email: tamtaita@africau.ac.zw
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Frieda Lucy Kayuni from Malawi. I work as a Deputy Director in the Department
of Agricultural Extension Services which is one of the departments under the
Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. Iam responsible for providing guidance,
coordinating and monitoring gender, HIV and AIDS activities. I have a Bachelors
degree in Agriculture obtained from Bunda College of Agriculture and a Master
Science Degree in Extension Education obtained from Oregon State University,
USA. In my career I have worked as a gender specialist at Zone level and as In
charge of Agricultural Programs at District level. I have also worked on Women in
Agricultural Development Project funded by USAID as a co Researcher, Small
holder Irrigation Project for Rice production and HIV/AIDS project to facilitate
mainstreaming of HIV/AIDS and related gender issues in Agricultural Programmes.
Currently Iam interested in doing research on Extension Methodologies that can
effectively reach vulnerable groups and Crops and Herbs that can significantly
improve the immunity of People Living with HIV. My contact information is:e mail
address; flkayuni@yahoo.co.uk, Fax; 26501750384 and Postal Address;
Department of Agricultural Extension Services, P.O. Box 30145, Lilongwe, Malawi
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Skill Enhancement Training for NARS Scientists in Southern Africa, 20‐25 April, 2009, Arusha, Tanzania
Jane Alumira, PhD. currently working with the Implementation and Coordination
of Agricultural Research And Training (ICART) Project under the Food, Agriculture
and Natural Resources (FANR) Programe of the SADC. She is a Social Scientist
with wide ranging experience in extension pathways/methodologies. Prior to
joining ICART Project, Jane worked and made significant contribution with CGIAR
Centres, including ICRISAT under the Challenge Program on Water and Food
(CGIAR CPWF). She is the Networks Support Officer of the ICART and can be
contacted at email address: jalumira@sadc.int or icart@sadc.int; Mailing Address:
P/Bag 0095, Kgale View Offices, Gaborone, Botswana; Tel. +267 395 1863; Fax:
+267 395 1821.
Kennedy K. Muimui, (MSc Plant breeding and Genetics, BSc Agric, Dip in crop
science). Principal Agric Research Officer/Bean Breeder. Working as the Bean
Programme leader and National Coordinator for the Southern African Bean
Research Network (SABRN). Working on incorporating biotic and abiotic stresses
in bean lines. Working with partners to disseminate preferred bean varieties to
farmers and bean-based technologies.
Sίlvia Maússe Sitoe, Mozambican and Bsc in Forestry from Eduardo Mondlane
University. I currently work at Department of Forestry, Faculty of Agriculture and
Forestry, Eduardo Mondlane University as a research assistant. I have been
working in fruit flies research since I finish my first degree. I am still doing my MSc
in forestry and hope to finish early. Address: Eduardo Mondlane University,
Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Department of Forestry. Campus Universitario.
Edificio 1. Maputo. Mozambique. Tel./Fax: +25821496238. Mobile:
+258822832810. Email: smausse@uem.mz, smaussesitoe@yahoo.com,
smaussesitoe@gmail.com
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Skill Enhancement Training for NARS Scientists in Southern Africa, 20‐25 April, 2009, Arusha, Tanzania
Moses W. Munthali (Msc Agric ( Env. Soil Chemistry), Bsc Agric). Working as a
Soil Scientist and Soils Research Commodity Team Leader in the Department of
Agricultural Research Services -- Ministry of Agriculture and Food security.
Research interest Areas: soil fertility and water management
Contacts: Chitedze Agricultural Research Station, P.O Box 158, Lilongwe, Malawi
Tel + 265 1 707 041
Fax + 265 1 707 041
Cell + 265 999 067 350
Email: munthalimw@yahoo.co.uk
3
Biodata not available
44
Skill Enhancement Training for NARS Scientists in Southern Africa, 20‐25 April, 2009, Arusha, Tanzania
Tauro. T.P
A soil scientist currently working as a Senior Research Officer (Crop Nutritionist) at
Chemistry and Soil Research Institute of DRSS. I have just finished a Degree in
Master of Philosophy at the University of Zimbabwe majoring in soil fertility
management and ecology. I have experience in soil fertility management and
fertilizer and lime recommendations for crop production. A team member of Soil
Fertility Consortium for Southern Africa (SOFECSA), working in Makoni District
and Wedza District of Zimbabwe. Research interest: soil fertility management
mainly focusing on ensuring food security for smallholder farmer. Email:
phirilani2@yahoo.co.uk or crsipss@mweb.co.zw
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Skill Enhancement Training for NARS Scientists in Southern Africa, 20‐25 April, 2009, Arusha, Tanzania
4
Biodata not available by the time of report compilation
46
Skill Enhancement Training for NARS Scientists in Southern Africa, 20‐25 April, 2009, Arusha, Tanzania
Facitators
Obura Robert Kariuki is a Kenyan. He holds a B.Sc. (Agric) from University of
Nairobi, M.Sc. Agronomy from Tuskegee University, Alabama, USA and PhD in
Soil Microbiology from Clemson University, South Carolina, USA. Currently he is
lecturing in areas of soil microbiology and pasture agronomy. He is also the
Director of Egerton University, Board of Post Graduate Studies-the graduate
school since Jan 2007 to date. Robert is also a consultant in the areas of proposal
writing and scientific writing since 1990 to date which he has done widely for
various IARCs, NARIs, CTA, and ARC-South Africa among others. He can be
contacted at: P.O.Box 536, Egerton, Phone/fax: +254 51 2217847, Cell: +254 722
734181, Email: jarapedhi@yahoo.com or eugradschool@wananchi.com
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Skill Enhancement Training for NARS Scientists in Southern Africa, 20‐25 April, 2009, Arusha, Tanzania
48
Skill Enhancement Training for NARS Scientists in Southern Africa, 20‐25 April, 2009, Arusha, Tanzania
APPENDIX 2
Programme profiles
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Skill Enhancement Training for NARS Scientists in Southern Africa, 20‐25 April, 2009, Arusha, Tanzania
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Skill Enhancement Training for NARS Scientists in Southern Africa, 20‐25 April, 2009, Arusha, Tanzania
Programme for Day 5: Thursday 23 April 2009 – Part 2: Technical Scientific Writing
8.00am Review of Day 4 Participants
8.20am Linking proposals to report production & publication
8.50am Discussion
9.10am Presenting results
9.40am Interpretation of results
10.30am Health Break
10.50am Group Exercise: Results presentation and
interpretation
11.50am Group presentations-Plenary discussion
1.00pm Lunch Break
2.00pm How to write discussion, conclusions and
recommendations
3.30pm Group Exercise: Discussion, conclusion and
recommendations
4.30pm Health break
5.00pm Plenary discussions
6.00 pm Evaluation and House Keeping
7.30 pm Open Session - Proposal Drafting
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Skill Enhancement Training for NARS Scientists in Southern Africa, 20‐25 April, 2009, Arusha, Tanzania
Programme for Day 6: Friday 24 April 2009 – Part 2: Technical Scientific Writing
8.00am Review of Day 5 Participants
8.20am Citing and listing references
8.40 am Publishing in Journals
9.10 am The role of journal editors and reviewers
9.30 am Responding to review comments
10.00am Plenary Discussion –Experiences, challenges and
opportunities
10.30am Health Break
11.00am Effective oral presentations
11.30am Effective poster development and other scientific
communication products (Policy briefs, Fact and
knowledge sheets
12.00pm Group exercise-designing a poster
1.00pm Lunch Break
2.00pm Group presentation-posters
3.30 Participants focus on their manuscripts
4.30pm Health break
5.00pm Closing remarks and house keeping
7.00pm Reception
Programme for Day 7: Saturday 25 April 2009 – Part 2: Technical Scientific Writing
8.00am Review of Day 6 Participants
8.20am Group exercise-participants – Publications and other
knowledge communication products
10.30am Health Break
11.00am Networking through Information Sharing in the SADC Dr. Jane Alumira
1.00pm Lunch break
2.00pm PAPA Presentation and discussions
4.30pm Health Break
5.00pm Final evaluation and End of Workshop
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Skill Enhancement Training for NARS Scientists in Southern Africa, 20‐25 April, 2009, Arusha, Tanzania
APPENDIX 3
5
The expectation highlighted in bold was not realized
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Skill Enhancement Training for NARS Scientists in Southern Africa, 20‐25 April, 2009, Arusha, Tanzania
Participants’ fears that the workshop would not meet their expectations included:
Participants Fears6
• Lack of inventory of researchers
• Understanding of networking of activities along common interests
• Time allocation for practice and management – time constraints
• Bad communications
• Irrelevant topics
• Lack of adequate experience in research
• Facilitators might be too fast in delivering facts on assumption that we understand
everything – too many assumptions
• Some participants may not be willing to open up
• Not to get help from resource persons on improving my proposal
• Not being focused and realistic
• Not having or identifying common priorities
• Narrow pool of experts in my field
• Incompetence of resource persons
• May not reflect new approaches in PW based on CORDEMA
• Expectation not met
• Failure to identify potential collaborators esp. SADC type
• Participants disciplines and difference may make the training difficult
• Overwhelming information
• Language barriers (not fluent in English)
• Unclear goal setting
• Generalities
• Much focus will be on agricultural research and will not take care of participants that
are not agricultural scientist
• Agricultural jargon will be used and cloud my understanding of training
6
The fears highlighted in bold were not overcome by the end of the workshop
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Skill Enhancement Training for NARS Scientists in Southern Africa, 20‐25 April, 2009, Arusha, Tanzania
Interventions
• Avoid jargon and acronyms that are likely to be understood only by agricultural scientists
• Broaden horizon to include other scientists e.g., demographers and sociologists
• Being specific with minimum assumptions
• Programme self and work within limits
• Let the training outline goals be part of the training
• Properly manage plenary and group work sessions (time management)
• Colleagues and facilitators have to speak slowly
• Decongest the program
• Categories participants into experienced and novices – Not applicable
• SADC to provide a list of all potential collaborators/scientists
• Appoint a diligent time keeper – Diligent time keepers were appointed but it was
difficult to stick to time given the overloaded program
• Sensitive areas for proposal should be given enough time and presented during morning
hours – Not applicable
• Facilitators to be well guiding and explain clearly
• Skills in involving rural poor in research process – Participatory approached not fully
addressed
• Fire the resource team or teach each other how to swim
• Talk about our institutions
• Build upon participants experiences
• Facilitators to take their time and avoid rushing
• Get help to improve my proposal to ICART
• Get to know more calls for proposals
• Facilitators to have away of obtaining participants feed back
• Facilitators to assist participants to build trust in each other
• More networking and participation in research project – Not applicable
• Provide lists of websites which usually call for proposals
• Participants knowledge to be tapped
• Allow flexibility in time management
• Clarify the questions
7
The proposed interventions highlighted in bold were not used to overcome the anticipated fears, it was
realised at the end of the workshop that some proposed interventions were not applicable given the
workshop focus and approach
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Skill Enhancement Training for NARS Scientists in Southern Africa, 20‐25 April, 2009, Arusha, Tanzania
APPENDIX 4
Your cooperation in completing this evaluation form will be greatly appreciated. The information
you provide will be useful in planning future events.
1. Assess the Workshop from the standpoint of what you gained from the experience
How well did the workshop meet the main Not at all On target
objective?
1 2 3 4 5
Equip MSc. Students with writing skills to enable them
produce research proposals of high quality and
feasibility
2. Rate the methods and materials relative to their value in accomplishing the workshop
Poor Outstanding
NA 1 2 3 4 5
Clarity of participant handouts
Content of participant handouts
Clarity of visual aids
Content of visual aids
Plenary discussions
3. What aspect of the workshop/materials was most valuable to you? Why?
5. Any additional comments or suggestions you might have about the workshop?
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Skill Enhancement Training for NARS Scientists in Southern Africa, 20‐25 April, 2009, Arusha, Tanzania
9.0 Annex
58