Gede Foundation, in collaboration with King’s College London (KCL) and the Nigerian Psychological Association (NPA), held a two day training (24th and 25th January2017) at the Foundation’s headquarters in Abuja on Advanced Research for Health and Development. There were participants from leading organisations such as the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), Society for Family Health (SFH), Institute of Human Virology in Nigeria (IHVN), Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Excellence Friends Management and Care Centre (EFMC), Society for Community Development (SCD), the Centre for the Right to Health (CRH), Centre for Family Health Initiative (CFHi) and individuals who attended independent of their organisations.

Dr. Rosie Mayston, a senior researcher from the Centre for Global Mental Health, King’s College London, had this to say about the training, "We had two great days research training- it was very inspiring to be a part of this, alongside Prof. Andrew Zamani and colleagues from Gede Foundation. It was really exciting to see so many people from governmental and non-governmental agencies with enthusiasm for research. I am very much looking forward to taking part in future similar events!” Dr. Mayston included theory as well as practice in her lectures. She began with a seemingly simple question - what is research? and then moved to different types of research methods.

Professor Andrew Zamani, the President of the Nigerian Psychological Association and also the Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Nasarawa State University, was one of the facilitators and covered ethics in research, research in health development in Nigeria and other topics.

The training was fashioned in such a way that it appealed to audiences who had little or no experience in research as well as expert researchers. At the end of the second day of training, there was a panel discussion that included Professor Zamani, Dr. Mayston and Gede’s Managing Director, Mr. John Minto. Among the topics discussed were were challenges and opportunities related to research dissemination, partner engagement and sourcing key information

Participants also asked questions relating to research as well as contributions on how research can be made more effective. One of the participants noted that there is need to generate culturally relevant research. She said that usually, research methods are not adjusted to fit Nigerian standards but instead, carried out as they would in other parts of the world and this may affect the results. Professor Zamani agreed with her and noted that there were gaps in research which are being addressed to ensure better collaboration between organisations.

The training ended with calls from participants for more in depth training. Some organisations wanted personalised training for their staff members. This is definitely an avenue that the Foundation, King’s College London and the Nigerian Psychological Association will explore. The training offered opportunities for participants to recognise the significance ofquality research in adding value to their work and this is reflected in their feedback from the training. If you would like to be offered similar opportunity, please email training@gedefoundation.org

Please come back to the blog for more on further trainings with KCL and NPA.