PEER Participants' Conference in Arusha, Tanzania, August 4-7, 2014

The 2014 PEER Participants' Conference was held at the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology in Arusha, Tanzania, August 4-7. The conference was aimed at facilitating networking among current PEER PIs based in sub-Saharan Africa, to help them build productive linkages not only with their research colleagues but also with representatives from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). In addition, the conference was designed to promote capacity building by providing training in various non-research skills such as writing proposals, identifying and approaching potential funders, preparing and presenting research results to both technical and non-technical audiences, and reaching out to government agencies and non-governmental organizations to provide input on science-related policy issues. Besides our program’s Africa-based PIs and co-PIs, participants included guest speakers on the topics listed above, representatives from our sponsors at USAID and program partners at the National Science Foundation, and program staff from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).






Following are links to download presentations made by speakers at the conference:

(Presentations not currently available will be added when received from the speakers)

Monday, August 4: "Big Picture, Getting to Know Each Other"
 

9:00 am          Welcome Remarks, Introductions, and Meeting Logistics
                         Opening Remarks: Dr. Dalal Najib, National Academy of Sciences
                         Host Welcome Remarks: Dr. Burton Mwamila, NM-AIST
                         Welcome Remarks: Mr. Tim Donnay, Deputy Mission Director, USAID/Tanzania

9:40 am          PEER Program Overview: History, Purpose, Significance, and Future
                         Mr. Jerry O'Brien, USAID
                         Dr. Jessica Robin, NSF

10:20 am       PANEL: Connecting Your Research to USAID and its Mission in Sub-Saharan Africa
                        Dr. Kerry Reeves, South Africa Mission
                        Mr. John Brighenti, Ghana Mission
                        Prof. B.L. Ramakrishna, Power Africa/Washington
                        Dr. Hancox Jaoko, East Africa Regional/Power Africa
                       

11:45 am      The Art of Effective Negotiation
                       Prof. Geraldine Richmond, University of Oregon and President-Elect,American Association for the Advancement of Science
                      

2:00 pm        Conveying Science through Flash Talks
                       Dr. Djuke Veldhuis, Famelab

4:15 pm        Communicating with Your Grant Manager on the Financial and Administrative Management of Your Grant
                       Dr. Dalal Najib, Dr. Elizabeth Sharp, and Mr. Robert Gasior, National Academy of Sciences
 

9:00 am        Research4Life: Accessing Scientific Information
                       Ms. Kimberly Parker, WHO
                       Mr. Gracian Chimwaza, Research4Life

1:00 pm        AuthorAid Research Lifecycle Seminar Part 1
                       Mr. Ravi Murugesan, INASP

3:15 pm        AuthorAid Research Lifecycle Seminar Part 2
                       Mr. Ravi Murugesan, INASP

5:15 pm        Keynote Speech by The Honorable Dr. Mohamed Gharib Bilal, Vice President of Tanzania
 

 

 

9:00 am        ONRG's Activities and Holistic Approach in Addressing Energy Challenges: Education, Research, and Commercialization
                       Dr. Cung Vu, Office of Naval Research

9:45 am        Connecting Science Diplomacy with Development
                       Dr. Abdulazeez Atta, National Research Institute for Chemical Technology (NARICT)

11:00 am      SciDev.NET: Plugging into development-centered media
                       Mr. Kaz Janowski, SciDev.NET

1:00 pm        Entrepreneurship and Technology Transfer
                       Dr. Surya Raghu, Advanced Fluidics LLC
                       Dr. Moses Musaazi, Makerere University

3:00 pm        Identifying and Approaching Future Funders
                       Dr. Cung Vu, Office of Naval Research
                       Ms. Nesia Mahenge, The British Council

2:00 pm       Research into outcomes & impacts - the importance of evaluation in research
                      Dr. Julius Nyangaga, Right Track Africa