14th WARIMA Annual Workshops and Conference 2023

The West African Research and Innovation Management Association is a non-profit professional membership organisation for research managers and administrators for the promotion of best research and innovation management practices in West Africa.

Our diverse membership covers Academic and Research Institutions across West Africa with expertise in various fields of research, making it the most prolific research association in the sub-region with its headquarters in Ibadan, Nigeria. Membership with WARIMA offers a wide range of services including partnerships with funding organisations, opportunities for capacity building, skills development, and networking with multi-national leaders in various fields of research.

Host: The Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (MoHERST), University of the Gambia (UTG) and MRC Unit The Gambia

Date: 15th and 18h January 2023

Venue: Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawarai International Conference centre Bijilo, The Gambia

Theme: Research Management in the Era of Equitable Partnership and Open Science.

Sub-Themes:

1. Research impact management Engagement, dissemination, and utilization of research outputs.
2. Research culture – building a resilient structure for research development
3. Research Management in an Era of Big Data and artificial intelligence
4. Research integrity and compliance to multiple rules at the same time
5. Technology/Knowledge transfer and exchange to extend the reach of research
6. Building collaborations – research partnerships and engaging with industry and northern partners
7. Professionalization of research management – bridging the gap in the region
8. Open Science – what does it mean for research managers?
9. Gender research and innovation management in emerging economies
10. Ethics and Professionalism in Research and Innovation Management

Workshops: We will draw on an excellent faculty of trainers for two days of preconference workshops on the following themes:

1. Funding, Research development and support in a changing world
   This session will look at the funding landscape. Give a detailed exploration of funding options available to scientists/researchers at different levels in their career. The session shall explore researcher development and its challenges as well as necessary support systems needed by researchers. It will explore grant writing support from the perspective of a research management professional.
2. Managing research outputs – optimising research benefits
   As collaborators, most often researchers in emerging economies do not have much influence on management of their research outputs – publications, intellectual property, patents, data etc. The resources they bring along such as data, access to populations, samples, etc are not adequately acknowledged. In the era of big data, open access, open science and data repositories, this session will explore the challenges faced by universities, researchers and research management professionals in resource-limited environments and provide insights and learning on appropriate protections, solutions to ensure optimal benefits are achieved by researchers and research institutions.

Who can participate: University VCs, Rectors and Heads of tertiary institutions, Directors of Research Institutes, Directors of Research and Linkages, Heads of Research and Innovation Management Offices, Provosts, Deans and Directors in tertiary institutions, Project/Research Directors, Postgraduate students, Managers of Research-focused NGOs and Private Sector Organizations , Technology Transfer Professionals, Senior Academics and Researchers from Universities and Research Institutes Research Administrators; Policy Makers in Government, Parastatals and Science Granting Councils and all who are interested in Research and Innovation Management.

Conference attendance will be:

1. Members US$200
2. Non-Members US$250

Those attending the preconference workshops will pay $100 extra

Abstracts – Closing date for Abstracts – 13th November 2022. All abstracts should be sent to warimaabstracts@mrc.gm cc njilan.johnson@lshtm.ac.uk

Accommodation: Please send enquiries to njilan.johnson@lshtm.ac.uk who will advise you on accommodation arrangements

Key Contacts:

1. Ms Elizabeth Stanley Batchilly (Chair, Local Organizing Committee)
   MRC Unit, The Gambia at LSHTM
   Email: elizabeth.batchilly@lshtm.ac.uk
2. Professor Eme Owoaje (General Secretary, WARIMA)
   University of Ibadan
   Email: emetheodora@gmail.com
3. Ms Chibuzor Mokelu (WARIMA Administrator)
   WARIMA Administrative Office
   Advancement Centre, University of Ibadan
   Email: charismokelu@gmail.com
4. Prof Patricia Lar, WARIMA Vice President,
   University of Jos
   +2348039665806, Email: larp1000ng@yahoo.com