NIOB to wealthy Nigerians: Invest in research for societal development

WEALTHY Nigerians, groups and organisations have been urged to invest in research for societal development.

Besides, institutions within and outside Nigeria have also been challenged to deepen their research efforts and
agenda for the benefits of the building industry and the society at large.

The President of the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), Mr Kunle Awobodu and other scholars made the call for investment in research during the second edition of the lecture series of the Association of Builders in Academia.

Awobodu affirmed his firm belief in the potential of the black man for excellence while challenging participants to also explore local sources of funding for their research endeavours.

“Bringing research outputs to a finished level for society’s adoption is a crucial part of the research ecosystem,” he said.

Awobodu explained that the NIOB’s commitment to research was manifest in its ongoing efforts at realising the development of a world-class research centre in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

He said that part of the key objectives of the centre is to research alternative building materials and promotion of skills for the nation’s development.

The Chairman of the Association of Builders in Academia, Professor Martin Dada, reminded participants that men of ideas rule the world, urging them to continue in the search for workable ideas to advance society.

Two resource persons that spoke on the topic, ‘Exploring Opportunities for Research Grants, Conferences and Publications’ were Professor of Building and a former Sub-Dean of Students Affairs of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa
University, Bauchi, Sani Kunya and Associate Professor of Construction Management at the Massey University,
New Zealand, James Rotimi.

Kunya explained the concept of research grants and related it to the mandate and history of the Nigerian Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND). Kunya also challenged participants to source research grants for advancing scientific
knowledge, career development, increased visibility and supplementing provisions for the development
of new programmes in their respective institutions.

He referred to what was termed the global-local context and took participants through the processes of writing research proposals for grant support. He then explained some potentials of grant support available at university levels and also TETFUND.

Rotimi acknowledged the need for research but emphasised that researches should aim at closing the gap between the industry and academia.

According to Rotimi, the researcher should engage the industry to identify industry’s concerns and what Rotimi termed ‘wicked problems’ of the organisation or society.

“Beyond scoring points in publications, the researcher must demonstrate the impact of his research on society or sectors thereof,” he said.

Rotimi further identified some areas of interest for a typical research funding agency. The areas, he said included a clear indication of the problem that needs to be solved and how it is to be solved and a credible plan for implementation and how to turn knowledge into benefits for the society.

Rotimi further emphasised the need for interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary research teams to consider the research from various perspectives and the need for communication on how each member of the team would contribute to the research endeavour.

He also harped on the need for research proposals to align with the interests of funding agencies.

Rotimi gave an example of a research project he is leading in New Zealand, which was started in the year 2020 and funded by a government agency in New Zealand, with the potentials of showing the gains accruable from a reorganised construction sector’s market. At conferences, Rotimi opined that opportunities should be provided for practitioner-based views not necessarily following any serious academic format. In the process, the industry’s needs and concerns can be mapped and addressed in research endeavours.

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