The Global Research Administration Practicum (GRASP) Program, developed by grant administrators from the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health (VIGH), welcomed 17 grant administrators from Liberia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and South Africa to Vanderbilt for a three-week training practicum in October and November 2022. The goal of this practicum was to promote effective leadership in grants management by guiding administrative leaders in strengthening competencies to successfully administer sponsored projects, lead grant administration teams, and develop grant administration training programs at their institutions. Through an active learning workshop structure, participants developed advanced pre- and post-award leadership competencies and practical skills to increase their effectiveness as grant administrators, with all GRASP participants receiving a certificate on the completion of the program.
Practicum trainees shared that “prior to this training certain concepts in the research administration landscape were somewhat of a mystery,” but “with this in-depth practical training and transparency it’s as though a light has been shone to reveal the way forward.” According to GRASP trainee Beatriz Chongo, “When I started working at the Office of Project Support I had no idea of what Research Management was and when asked to find institutional grant funding we were just using Google to search for it, feeling so frustrated. Attending GRASP helped me to understand the full spectrum of research administration and grants office infrastructure. This was truly an amazing experience, and now I know exactly what is supposed to be done when I return home.” GRASP Course Director Ann Green shared that “in addition to achieving the practicum goal of jointly creating concrete deliverables for grant administration, witnessing the network strengthen among partners and the sharing of resources and best practices has been so rewarding.”
GRASP Participating Organizations:
- The Aurum Institute NPC, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Kano, Nigeria
- University Eduardo Mondlane (UEM), Maputo, Mozambique
- University of Liberia College of Health Sciences ULCHS, Monrovia, Liberia
- University of Sierra Leone College of Medicine & Allied Health Sciences COMAHS, Freetown, Sierra Leone
The GRASP program is supported by the following grants:
- APER (Fogarty International Center, G11TW011529)
- BRIDGE-U (USAID, 7200AA21CA00010)
- Molemolemo (NIH/NIAID, G11AI169624)
- PREVSL (Fogarty International Center, 5U2RTW011248)
- VRAMP (Fogarty International Center, G11TW011819)