By Loveth Asogwa,
African Polling Institute API on 30th November-1st December 2021 in Abuja, organized a two-day capacity building session for research officers of disability based civil society organizations (CSOs), The event is supported by FORD FOUNDATION.
Prof. Bell Ihua, Executive Director, API in his opening address said that challenges in the disability community is lack of data, different stakeholders that deals with issues of persons with disabilities (PWDs) wants to advocate but cannot do advocacy in isolation of data, and the knowledge of research and that is why API is providing technical capacity for CSOs on research within the disability community so the capacity building can boost their ability to be able to conduct a good research and that is why this section is not open for everyone but those who have at least some basic levels of research understanding such that the interaction during the capacity building will help broaden the horizon of the participants in need to conduct great research and a full research cycle, putting out their work, and knowing how to handle their research in order to make good point when it comes to advocacy.
He went further to say that the disability research project which API is handling has four key components, first working with scholars to populate research at the state level across the six geo-political zone of Nigeria where research on PWDs is currently being conducted, so working with scholars to populate research at the state levels for domestication of the disability act. Secondly working with statistical organization such as National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to populate disability data. NBS on past research of such demography and health study had some gaps because those surveys did not carter for PWDs.
*API is partnering with NBS to populate and include some disability indicators to the field to capture PWDs in their surveys which API and NBS has a memorandum of understanding (MOU)”.
“The third research is on gender-based violence (GBV) against PWDs, during the Covid-19 pandemic, cases spiked in the issue of GBV. So API is researching on GBV against PWDs”.
“The fourth component is capacity building of CSOs that deals with disability issues of PWDs”.
He expressed hopes that the two-day capacity building will be as engaging and interactive as possible he hopes that after rubbing minds together and having a robust conversation, participants will be able to produce a good research in their various organization that will be more inclusive and comprehensive.
Different modules were handled by the facilitators such as: why capacity building for disability based CSOs? Research conceptualization, terminologies used in disability and its implication for research, developing a literature review, designing a research methodology developing protocol, data collection, disability data collection approaches and tools, data processing and analysis, report writing, using infographics, communication dissemination of research, developing a disability inclusive proposal etc.
Participants asked question and shared some experiences and ideas that some of their organizations have been able to witness in their different researches. Finally, participants were able to take home ideas and methodology in actualizing a good research.
TQM reports that the highlight of the workshop was issuing certificate of participation to all the participants which made most them so excited and they poised to apply the knowledge gained in the research work they are doing in their various organizations.
