Ijeoma Umeh
Benin City – The need for transparency and accountability in the use of research grants formed the crux of the discourse at a 2-day Hands-on Workshop organized by the Directorate of Research and Innovation, Benson Idahosa University, BIU.
The workshop organized in Collaboration with IWEMI, with theme: Graftsmanship Clinic Workshop 2025, held at the Heritage campus of BIU, Ugbor, Benin City provided a guide on how to write grant-winning proposals and general academic writing skills.
It also x-rayed how funding decisions are made by donor agencies, focusing on pitfalls that grants seekers must avoid for their application to succeed, saying that grants had been lost by some research fellows and institutions for lacking in integrity in grants use. The training also deepened the knowledge of prospective applicants on how to align funds utilization with funders’ priorities.
Trainees were also advised against fraudulent grant proposals and diversion of fund from original purposes, which the resource person described as bane of research grant applications.
Declaring open the workshop convened by Prof. Abiodun Falodun, Director, Research and Innovation, Benson Idahosa University, Prof. John Aroye Okhuoya, Vice-Chancellor represented by Prof Mrs Theresa Akpoghome, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Administration, said the workshop became necessary as the need for sourcing worthwhile research grants intensifies.
He further stated that BIU is leading among institutions that engage in specialized trainings for advancing knowledge in the art of writing grants winning proposals for purposes of strengthening innovative services.
The Guest Speaker, Prof. John Igoli, Professor of Organic Chemistry from the Joseph Sawuan Tarka University, Makurdi, Benue State and a Visiting Professor, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK, was awesome in his presentation.
An expert in Grant Writing and winner of several international research grants, Igoli is also a research scientist with over 200 publications in his name. He described the workshop as apt and commended participants for taking bold initiatives to cause a paradigm shift in their research endeavours.
“When it comes to grant research, no one is born with the silver or golden spoon.” He stated, tasking participants to tap from the resources that would be shared at the workshop, to network with other participants from various agencies and institutions for future collaborations.
“If you don’t network, it won’t work! ” he stated.
He took participants drawn from various public and private institutions, including staff of academic and non-academic departments of tertiary institutions, civil society and non-profit organizations on the imperative of research, identifying funding opportunities, aligning the research goals with any of the 17 themes of the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, the funding process and writing grant applications.
A segment of the workshop was dedicated to an examination of typical funding applications, guidelines for success, among other sub-themes.
Earlier in his welcome address, Prof. Abiodun Falodun, convener, stated that the workshop would not only seek to demystify the grant writing process but also enhance the capacity of individuals to access grants. He further stated that the Workshop is also strategic to the growth of the training institution.
At the end of the certificated training, participants were grouped and tasked
with writing grant seeking proposal to test their knowledge on the subject area in practical terms.
High point of the workshop was the presentation of certificates to participants by Mr Vinton Okoedo-Itoya, Registrar of the institution.
