Research offices sharpen proposal writing skills

Nothing for granted: Wilna Venter (far left) of UCT's Research Office and other representatives from African universities spent time at the NIH in 2010. Now Venter is taking part in a new series of NIH workshops.

Grants from the US's National Institutes of Health (NIH) are sought-after treasures, but the application procedures are exacting.

To improve the success rate and management of grant applications from Africa, the NIH is in 2012 funding a series of training workshops. Two of these will involve UCT and three other African universities - Mbarara University in Uganda, Moi University in Kenya and the University of Zambia (UNZA).

The NIH's supplement grant, from its Initiative on Research and Innovation Management, will allow research administrators from these universities to meet = once at UCT and once at UNZA in Lusaka - to spruce up their grants management skills. Here participants will get a broad overview of the research environment, the role of research administrators in this context, and the links between grantees and sponsors, especially the NIH.

UCT's Wilna Venter got an early start in 2010. Courtesy of an International Extramural Associate Research Development Award (IEARDA), she spent three weeks at the NIH headquarters in Washington brushing up on NIH policies and procedures.