Laikipia University is committed to enhancing its financial sustainability by generating additional resources to support its core mandate of quality education through academic programmes, research and innovations as well as consultancy, outreach and collaboration. To ensure the successful implementation of these efforts, the University Council, University Management Board, and the Resource Mobilisation Committee undertook capacity-building through training in resource mobilization and investment. The training, which took place from 15th October to 17th October 2024 at Lemaiyan Suites in Naivasha, was facilitated by the National Environment Trust Fund (NETFUND).
Resource mobilization is the process of identifying, acquiring, and managing the financial, human, and material resources necessary to achieve an organization’s goals. In order to attain financial sustainability, resource mobilization is particularly important for universities in Kenya. With increasing competition and limited government funding, universities need to diversify their sources of income. Effective resource mobilization will therefore help in securing funds from donors and grants as well as strategic collaborations and partnerships. Additional resources enable universities to support academic programmes, research and innovations, invest in infrastructure development, and enhance teaching and learning materials, thereby investing in quality education.
Training on resource mobilization is important since it helps universities diversify their funding sources beyond traditional government funding thereby allowing for greater financial stability and independence. Further, effective resource mobilization strategies contribute to long-term sustainability, enabling universities to be globally competitive and attract foreign investment, collaborative research funding, and student exchange programmes.
While bringing out the principles of resource mobilization and investments, training was done in the following areas: importance of resource mobilization; the resource mobilization process; developing a resource mobilisation strategy; strategies for identifying potential funding sources; grant writing and proposal development; networking and partnership building as well as donor relations and donor engagement.
The three days training ended on a high note with the University making a commitment to strengthen its Directorate of Resource Mobilisation and Investment in order to make it more vibrant for better results. On its part, NETFUND promised to partner with Laikipia University in various areas of possible synergies; particularly in its endeavours to develop bankable proposals and also identify key partners and funders.
The National Environment Trust Fund Team was led by Dr. James Njagu who is the Director of NETFUND and Lead Trainer. University Council was led by the Chairman of Council, Dr. Lemein Korei; University Management Board led by Vice Chancellor, Prof. Kibett Rotich; and members of the Resource Mobilisation and Investment Committee.
