Centre for Research and Development PDF 
 
About Us
Kenyatta University, under the visionary leadership of Prof. Olive Mugenda, lays great emphasis on research as core function of Kenyatta University that will continue to inform learning, teaching and service delivery at the university and will also influence National. However, there are numerous challenges hampering research activities at the University, including insufficient funding, inadequate infrastructure for research and dissemination of research findings, and lack of an Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) policy at the university level and lack of a comprehensive database on past research, and the dynamism in knowledge and skills in research methodologies. To address these challenges, a Center for Research Development and Consultancy (CRDC) was created with the aim of entrenching and strengthening a culture of research and provision of consultancy services in Kenyatta University.

Vision and Mission

The vision of CRDC is to strengthen and entrench a strong culture of multidisciplinary research and consultancy service provision, and encourage synergy at the Kenyatta University. The mission of the CRDC is to enhance competitive research undertaking in the University through building human and infrastructure capacity, documentation and dissemination of research results, and protection of research results and products through intellectual property rights.

The Mandate of the CRDC

  • To develop and implement a policy on research and consultancy at Kenyatta University
  • To build capacity and stimulate development of competitive research grant proposals by individuals and teams of researchers,
  • To develop a relationship with development partners for funding to enhance research skills and infrastructure
  • To document and disseminate the research results in a quarterly research bulletin at Kenyatta University
Strategic Goal

Promote research, development and consultancy Services

The Functions of the CRDC

  • Capacity Building in staff, students and communities for research & services delivery
  • Development of research infrastructure with Kenyatta University
  • Develop research linkages with other local, regional and international organizations in both public and private sectors
  • Development of research teams for project formulation and implementation
Activities
The period of reporting is June 2006 to April 2007. During this period, the Director for Research Development and Consultancy Services was Dr Charity Gichuki.

Development of the Research Policy

The development of a policy to govern research undertaking and the provision of consultancy services by staff and students of Kenyatta University was the first priority that the Centre was to address. To facilitate this, a committee, composed of representatives from all academic schools, Graduate School and Administration was formed to brainstorm on the policy issues that would address the conduct of research in and by the staff and students of Kenyatta University. The membership of the committee was:
  • Dr. Constance Shisanya School of Humanities
  • Dr. Nicholas Gikonyo School of Health Sciences
  • Dr. Waceke Wanjohi School of Pure and Applied Sciences
  • Dr. John Kabutha Mugo School of Education
  • Dr Karanja Thiong’o Linkages
  • Dr Jonathan Chege Dean, School of Business Studies
  • Dr Samuel Otor Dean, School of Environmental and Human Studies
  • The Late Prof.Wanjiru Mwatha Dean, Graduate School

A draft policy was drawn up and debated upon by the committee in weekly meetings between the months of June and July 2006 culminating in a retreat to include views from the various academic schools of the University. In November 2006, a new governing board was constituted and given the mandate to look at the research policy and recommend it to the Senate. The board had a retreat on the 13 th March 2007 and looked at the draft policy and the recommended draft is now ready for presentation to the Senate for ratification. The draft policy is appended to this report.

Research Capacity Building

During the development of the proposals, the volunteers were trained on developing and writing winning proposals, developing working teams, peer reviewing/ quality assurance of developed proposals, presentation of the proposals.

A series of workshops have been held to create awareness and expose Kenyatta University staff to research opportunities in areas that are relevant to Kenyatta University Strategic and Vision Plan. These include:

  • ICT : workshops conducted by CISCO and MIT
  • Capacity building : Two workshops conducted by Japan Society for Promotion of Science and Hoffmann-Reif Consultants respectively
  • Community responsive/impacting research : Workshop conducted by Vicress
  • KU-Githurai Partnership

The outcome of these workshops is that research and capacity building proposals are being developed with all these partners.

Development of University Proposals

Based on the Kenyatta University Strategic and Vision Plan, 31 project proposals were identified for development. The bulk of the extracted proposals were to address the infrastructural and organizational needs of the University that would lay the foundation for enhanced teaching, learning and research at Kenyatta University. The Vice Chancellor and the Centre for Research Development and Consultancy appealed to the Academic staff to assist in developing the project proposals. Over 200 members of staff volunteered and started working on the 31 project proposals after which the University, through the Centre would identify development partners who would fund the proposed project. The completed proposals are:

Infrastructural/organizational

Environment /organization

  • Alumni Centre
  • New Library
  • Teaching Research and Referral hospital
  • Student Centre
  • Publishing Unit
  • Culture and Language Centre
  • Strengthening the centre for research and development
  • Gender mainstreaming
  • Mentoring program
  • Quality assurance
  • HIV and AIDS
  • Support for needy student
  • Capacity Building for teaching and non-teaching staff

A series of three consultative meetings have been held with development partners, banking and private sector where the proposals were presented and suggestions received. Some of the partners, especially the banking sector demanded that they be sent specific proposals for consideration. Five banks, namely National Bank, Equity Bank, Cooperative Bank, Kenya Commercial Bank and Standard Chartered have already been sent the proposal on the development of a Student Centre. The World Bank has been sent the proposals on the establishment of a publishing Unit. The proposal on establishing a teaching, research and referral hospital has been presented to the Minister for Health, who pledged support over a five year period, beginning in the 2007-08 fiscal year.
Services

During the year under review, the centre disseminated information regarding research opportunities and grants for students and members of staff. The following are some of them:

1. Association of African universities (AAU) small grants programme

  • Three applications were sent and one has already been funded.

2. UNESCO-Keizo Obuchi Research Fellowship

  • Four postgraduate students applied. None of them was funded.

3 Japan Society for The Promotion Of Science (JSPS)

  • 17 members of staff have forwarded names for linking with researchers in Japan
  • 1 staff member has visited Japan this year on the JSPS invitational program
  • MoU with Hiroshima University has been signed

4. Commission for Higher Education (CHE )

  • Kenyatta University submitted 20 proposals but only 4 were funded.

5. Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS )

  • First deadline was in March
  • There is an upcoming deadline in September

6 Nordiska Afrikainstitutet

  • 4 students applied for this

7. Climate Change Adaptation In Africa (CCAA)

8 DFID: sustainable agriculture for international developed

9 BeCAnet/BIO-EARN fellowship and competitive grant proposals

10 EDULINK consortium development proposals

  • 3 proposals developed
  • Partnership for Higher Education

Dissemination of Research News and Information

The activities of the CRDC have been publicised in the Kenyatta University Newsletter. The statutes governing research have been compiled into a Research Policy and a draft is ready for presentation to the Senate. The Centre has also designed and collected publications for the launching of the first Kenyatta University Research and Development Journal. An ISSN number needed to take the publication of the journal is awaited.
Linkages

Research linkages and proposals have been developed with the following institutions

  • Cisco Systems
  • Massachussets Institute of Technology
  • Georgia Institute of Technology
  • University of Florida
  • Kennesaw
  • Hoffmann & Reif Consultants
  • Japan Society of Promotion of Science
  • Partnership for Higher Education in Africa
Achievements

The centre will concentrate on consolidating a culture of multidiscipline research planning and undertaking within Kenyatta University. With this regard the CRDC, has developed a whole-value-chain approach to research and service delivery.

This approach ensures that only demand-driven, high impact research and service delivery is undertaken. It also ensures involvement with the various sectors in the Kenyan society in a hands-on approach to research, thus understanding the needs within the society and developing research-based solutions to those needs. The approach maintains contact with the target society, to ensure that transferred products operate optimally in the hands of the end user. The approach culminates in the linking of the end-user to existing markets or development of new markets where none exist. Sustained contact with recipient societies informs further research for improvement of developed products and development of new and needed solutions.

This approach will influence the learning and teaching and introduce a shift towards a work-based, solution -oriented approach, making the teacher a facilitator and releasing intellectual and innovative space to the students. It will bring student into direct contact with the industry and real-life problems and will drive them to develop solutions that are relevant to the markets. Thus, Kenyatta University , through the CRDC, will develop the capability of assessing society’s needs and mobilizing the resources to make relevant services available.

The Centre will continue to solicit funding for and build capacity within KU for enhanced research undertaking. With this regard, the Centre has written proposals on:

  • Building e-capacity in the Staff of KU
  • Establish a Cisco academy at Kenyatta University to offer courses to staff and students
  • Capacity building for teaching and non-teaching staff of KU
  • Project management
    • Proposal writing
    • Project/program reporting
    • Project monitoring and evaluation
  • Financial management for non-financial managers
  • Program development workshop
  • Going-to-Scale with our programs

In conjunction with Cisco, the centre is planning to conduct a whole-system-in-room workshop to create awareness, sensitize and develop multidiscipline teams within Kenyatta University for future research development and planning.

The centre will also continue to solicit funding for the developed proposals and to develop proposals for the development of appropriate infrastructure, organization and environment to enhance a multidiscipline research culture that will for high impact, community responsive research, learning and teaching, and service delivery.

  • Launching the KU Cisco Academy July 2007
  • KU annual Research Review September 2007

The 1st Kenyatta University Research Conference

Preamble

Wealth is not created but transformed from one form to another: from intellectual (knowledge) and natural (natural resources) capital to social (human welfare) and financial (wealth) capital. The financial capital can then be transformed into physical capital (assets) which can then be re-transformed back into financial, human and natural capital. The African continent is rich in human and natural capital.

The knowledge required to create wealth ... is not lacking, what is lacking in Sub-Saharan Africa, is the will to turn this knowledge into practical innovations; - HE Kofi Anan

It is high time that institutions of higher learning, such as Kenyatta University, used research to inform the transformation of Africa’s human and natural capital into social, financial and human capital. This refers to a systematic and organizationally specified process for acquiring, organizing and putting knowledge into use to facilitate innovation – research.

In recognition of this reality, Kenyatta University launched a ten-year Strategic and Vision Plan (2005-2015) in 2005, with the vision “to be a dynamic, an inclusive and a competitive centre of excellence in teaching, learning, research and service to humanity.” To attain excellence in research, Kenyatta University recognizes that it must conduct research in a way that can stand internal, National and International criticism. To achieve this, KU must first walk before she can run. While KU might have started walking, there is humble recognition that to perfect the walk, there is a need for internal criticism courage for constructive internal and external criticism to ensure that she can walk tall and straight.

It is in this regards that KU decided to be holding an annual research review. 0n 28TH – 30TH April, 2009 KU will hold its first University Wide Research Review Conference. The purpose of this conference is to broaden the intellectual terrain for people to become creative and innovative at both the conceptual and empirical levels. The theme of this year’s research conference will therefore be:

“Moving research to wealth creation”

The first KU Research Conference was a stock taking exercise, to show case the research that is carried out in the University, open it to internal criticism and selected external criticism, guided by key papers in select thematic areas of research. A break out workshop/ symposium on education research will be co-hosted by KU and KIE during this conference.

The conference was organized into the following thematic areas

  • Management of natural resources for wealth creation
  • Ethical and sociological imperatives in managing public wealth
  • ransforming biological sciences to Bio-power (human and animal health) and Bioeconomies (industry)
  • Technological innovations for economic growth
  • The role of education in the enhancement of social and financial capital
  • Artistic creativity for wealth creation

Download Conference Poster

Papers to be presented

1. Plenary lecture (45 min)
2. Short Communication (20 min)

Abstracts, not exceeding 250 words should be sent to the Secretariat by e-mail not later than 27th March, 2009. Authors of accepted abstracts will be notified.

Payment for conference registration fees may be made as Bank drafts (drawn in favor of Kenyatta University, and posted to Secretariat together with the registration form) or as Telegraphic transfers (Kenyatta University Research,

Account No: 0102110781300,

Bank Name: National Bank,

Bank Address: Kenyatta Avenue Branch P.O. Box 30645-00100 GPO Nairobi
Account Name: Kenyatta University Research.
Personal cheques are not acceptable.

For those who will need hotel accommodation, there is limited accommodation at Kenyatta University Conference Centre. There are also hotels nearby which will need to be reserved. Should you need hotel reservation, let the secretariat know in advance.

Conference Language: English

Registration fees:

  • Students (locals) KSh 500
  • KU Staff members KSh 2,000
  • Others US$ 50
Payment of registration fees entitles you to:
  • Conference registration materials.
  • Conference lunches, teas and coffee.
For people travelling from out of Nairobi, there are several choices of accommodation as shown below, in the order of proximity to Kenyatta University:

Hotel

B&B KSh

HB KSh

Kenyatta University Conference Centre

2,800

3250

Kasarani Sports View Hotel

3100

3800

Safari Park Hotel

12500

14500

Blue Springs Hotel

1800

2150

Roasters Hotel

1650

2000

La Mada Hotel

9300

10850

Utalii Hotel

6125

7425

The KUCC has only 35 rooms. Hotel booking can be done directly by participants who wish to use KUCC and other hotel facilities.

Conference Secretariat:

Director, Centre for Research,

Kenyatta University, P.O. Box 43844 Nairobi 00100, Kenya.,

Tel: 254-20-810901 extension 57357 Fax:254-20-811575,
E-mail: director-crd@ku.ac.ke