Members of staff and lecturers of the Faculty of Economics, Energy and Management Science have acquired invaluable insights into the complex world of research funding. The skills were given to them in a grants writing workshop held on October, 1, 2024 at Silver Spring Hotel Bugolobi with the aim of inspiring grant writers to enhance their chances of winning research grants. The workshop was opened by the Principal Prof. Moses Muhwezi who underscored the significance of grant writing and its potential to enhance staff welfare, foster institutional and community development. “Get into the game of grant writing so that we win more resources for individuals, university and the community at large”, he advised.
Prof. Muhwezi explained that government does not allocate enough resources to institutions of higher learning, therefore, the ability of staff to write competitive and winning grant proposals is crucial for research funding and MUBS’ sustainability. It is imperative to get into the game of acquiring more resources through grant writing and be assured of management support.
Ms. Elizabeth Mabisi a Senior Finance, Grants and Contracts Consultant and Capacity Building Team Leader at Link Partners International emphasized that the ability of staff to seek research funding is key in a university and called upon MUBS to empower the Grants Writing Offices with qualified professionals to enable the development of the grant profession in the School.
Dr. Amerit Bosco, the Head of Department Business Administration urged staff to get involved in grant writing regardless of their academic qualification and experience in academia. Writing a successful grant proposal only requires one to have networks in various disciplines.
The Director of the MUBS Economic Forum Dr. Fred Muhumuza called upon staff to attach value to what they write because funders are only willing to fund proposals in which value is exposed. And also to focus on finding a solution to the problem for most of the funders are solution oriented.
He encouraged them to write as many proposals as possible because the more one writes, the more experience and the closer one gets to winning multiple grants.