Research Proposal by Omod Othow

UNIVERSITY OF GREENWICH

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Student Name: OMOD OTHOW OMAN

Student ID number: 000683764

Course Code: RESE 1078

Title of Course: Conflict Resolution in Leadership

Title of Assessment:Research Proposal (Methods II):- On

HIV/AIDS Fund Effectiveness: The

Case of Gambella Regional State

Type of Assessment Essay ־

Reflective Report

Group work report

Other (Please specify __________________)

Tutor’s Name: Dr. Girma Gezahgn

Date Assessment Due:

16 Sept, 2011

I. Introduction

HIV/AIDS is the second killing disease, next to Malaria, in Ethiopia. There are about 3 million HIV

patients in the country. Some years back city people were believed to be the only victims to the

disease but now it has spread throughout the country. Similarly Gambela region was believed to

be free from HIV threat however now the disease has spread all over the region. Because of this

many NGOs in the region are working on HIV/AIDS. Many of the organizations have

headquartesrs in Addis Ababa and have opened their branches in the region.

Gambella region is located 777 km from Addis. According to official reports it is home for more

than 360,000 people. Anywaa, Nuer, Mejenger, Opo and Komo are the five ethnic groups that

live in the region. Gambella town is the seat for the regional government. Member of the five

ethnic groups and many other nationalities also reside in the city. Many NGOs also operate in

Gambela town. The NGOs operate in various activities. While some of them involve on food

safety programs, others have engaged themselves in expanding infrastructures like digging

water wells, constructing health institutions, schools and others.

According to single point estimate of the 2007, the HIV/AIDS prevalence for Gambella Regional

State is 2.4%. There are about 8,640 people living with the disease in the region. From this

figure, 5,300 of them are women. Total number of children orphaned by AIDS mortality reach

1,570 in the period under the study. According to annual report of the Regional HIV/AIDS

Prevention and Control Office, the number of people in need of ART is about 7,230.

In response to the above problem, the regional government, in collaboration with some NGO,

has taken some preventive, care and support initiatives in the Region. There are about 25 NGOs

working on HIV/AIDS in the region. In spite of the effort done, the problem of HIV/AIDS

pandemic imposing adverse impact on the lives of people and the development of the region.

Care and support program for people living with HIV/AIDS is not delivering satisfactory services

of medication, food, clothing, shelter and others.

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II. STATEMENTS OF THE PROBLEM

The NGOs are contributing a lot on the fight against HIV/AIDS but still there are a number of

complains on their activities. One of the complain focuses on the utilization of their funds. There

are people who are unhappy about the way the NGOs spend their money. According to these

people the organizations are not utilizing their fund wisely. The accusers point their fingers on

the organizations by explaining the amount of huge funds the organizations allocate to various

purposes which have little significance to the beneficiaries.

Compared to the high magnitude of the problem the NGOs are doing very small. The

organizations blame on the shortage of funds to the very limited activity. According to the

organizations they get small amount of funds so they are unable to satisfy the public need. They

believe the only option they have rests on increased amount of money. Because of this we see

their management spending large proportion of their time on searching extra or additional

money. As much emphasis they give to the day to day activities of the organization they think

(worry) about how to get new donors to their projects.

The organizations should focus on the effectiveness of their budget utilization. The mere

increase of fund can’t guarantee better benefits to the HIV patients or the general public. As we

know there are organizations that have more than enough budget but give very little benefits to

the people. On the other hand some organizations which have limited fund are seen when they

show great achievements. Therefore the concerned bodies need to give emphasis to the

efficiency of their activities.

Naturally scarcity exists in every aspect of economic resources. It is almost impossible to get

individual organization that has fulfilled its need. Effective organizations differ from noneffective

organizations based on the amount of resources (funds) they have, but how they efficiently they

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use their resource. These organizations which allocate their funds appropriately can satisfy their

beneficiaries better than the others.

Effective utilization of funds enables organizations to accomplish their objectives. When they

properly manage their fund they increase their capacity to satisfy the demand of their

beneficiaries which in return enables them to achieve their objectives by achieving their

objectives the organization get the public’s trust. The public value different organizations by

looking at what they have done and what they have promised to do.

The researcher is initiated to conduct the research based on his personal experience and what

others told him. Personally he experienced unwise expenditure of NGOs which are involved on

HIV/AIDS. Many organizations are seen when they declare the millions of Birr they allocate for a

project but very little tangible works. According to the researcher this clearly shows inefficient

utilization of funds. Because of this some of the organizations loose the public’s credibility.

There are different reasons for the inefficiency of the organization. Many of the organizations

give little attention to the efficiency while others deliberately abuse the fund they get in the

name of the poor.

In Ethiopia NGOs have poor relationship with government? The NGOs complain that the

government put high pressure on them. According to the organizations the government has

wrong attitude towards them but government points its finger on the organizations for the bad

relationship that exists between the two bodies. The government argues that organizations

collect huge amount of fund in the name of the poor but have done very few to the public. It

accuses the organizations for their poor performance or efficiency. Therefore it believes that the

organizations should utilize their fund properly otherwise it is the government’s responsibility to

redirect or control the activity of the organization. Therefore the researcher tries to find out

how NGOs utilize their fund. To conduct the research the researcher raises the following

research questions.

i. Are the NGOs utilizing their resources effectively?

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ii. How do the NGOs interpret the concept “effective utilization of resources?”

iii. Is there any relationship between the annual planning of the NGOs and effective

utilization of resources?

iv. What is the role of external bodies on the trend of NGO expenditure?

v. Do NGOs properly prioritize their activities to maximize their effectiveness?

vi. How much do the NGOs consider the beneficiaries’ interest in providing their

service?

III. OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH

General objectives

The research aims to identify how NGOs manage their resources to fight HIV/AIDS in Gambela

regional state. On this research the researcher will try to find out what emphasis is given to the

effective utilization of resources. It is common to hear NGO managements complaining about

the shortage of funds but they are less worried about the proper allocation of funds. Therefore

this research is dedicated to find out what NGOs are doing in Gambela region on this issue.

Specific objectives

i. Identifying how they prioritize their tasks?

ii. Which activities take the lion share of the NGO fund?

iii. Find out how they monitor (control) their financial flow?

iv. To find out the attitude of the beneficiaries about the financial activity of the NGOs?

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IV. Methodology of the research

This research has a title called the efficiency of utilization of fund by NGOs which are involved in

fighting HIV AIDS the case of Gambella city. It will be conducted to find out how the

management in these NGOs tries to handle the limited funds they obtain.

They researcher will raise questions like _

1. How the organizations design their annual plan compared to what they have?

2. How they prioritize their who get benefits from the organizations?

3.What are responses of the people tasks based on the resources they have?

4. What is the attitude of the government toward the practices of these organizations etc?

To get proper answers for the above questions the researcher has to choose between

qualitative and quantitative research approaches based on the questions qualitative research

approach is believed to be the appropriate approach .

It is selected because qualitative dates are the predominant data that are expected in the course

of the research.

There are a number of research techniques one uses in conducting a research. Research

techniques are instruments which are used to collect relevant data. The research plans to use in-

depth interview focus group discussion, questionnaire and observation as research techniques.

In-depth interview will conducted with leaders of the NGOs and Government officials. These

bodies are found on the front line so they have a lot to share. In-depth interviewee will be

enabling the researcher to dig out at most information they have. Questionnaire will be

distributed to the beneficiaries to find out what they are thinking about the subject area. The

focus (FGD) will be conducted among staff members who are working in these organizations. An

independent observation will be employed to see what is actually under taking in the

organizations.

Scholar divided data in to two called primary and secondary. The researcher free dominant

depend on primary data. In this case the primary data will be obtained from the leaders of the

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organizations and staff. On the other hands the secondary data will be obtained from the

beneficiaries. The collected data will be presented by using narration and discussion.

Quantitative data also will present using table or chart.

Gambella city is selected as a case because of various reasons. The researcher resides in

Gambella city therefore it will be easy for the researcher to collect a data in the given limited

research period. In addition to this the reason is not well study (researched) in terms of the

practice of NGOs especially on HIV AIDS.

V. SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH

There are a number of NGOs operating in the Gambela region which are working on various

activities or sectors. Among these diversified NGOs the researcher focuses on only those which

are involved in fighting HIV/AIDS. Therefore the research revolves around the effective

utilization of funds by these specific segments of the NGOs operating on HIV/AIDS in Gambella

Region. While conducting the research the researcher will see how the management plan,

executive the planned activities and monitor the effectiveness (efficiency)

VI. Significance of the research

The research is believed to contribute a lot to the concerned bodies who are working to control

the effect of HIV/AIDS. The research will help the NGOs to find out what is their strength and

weakness in terms of utilizing their resources. Based on the research results their management

can improve their future activities. National and regional governments and donors are also the

beneficiaries. Both government and donors can use the research to redirect the angoas for the

sake of the general public. The beneficiaries will be benefited from the research as well. They

are the first target group the NGOs serve. Therefore any improvement that would come on the

organizations will directly improve the benefits of the poor. Finally the research can serve as a

reference for future researchers who will conduct further research in the area.

VII. Organization of the research

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The research will have five chapters. The first chapter will serve as an introductory part. It

includes background, statement of the problem, objectives, scope, research methhdology,

significance, limitationa and delimitation of the research. The backgroung deals about the

general picture of Gambela region, the topic under discussion and extent of HIV/AIDS in the

region. The statemenet of the problem on its part deals about the reseon behind why the

researcher wants to study the research topic. While the objectives of the research states what

the resaearcher wants to find out in the rrsearch, the scope, limitation and delimitation

discusses about the geographical or thematical baundary of the research and the factors that

create constraints on the research respectively.

Chapter two of the research will contain the review of related literatures. On this chapter the

work of various scholars will be viewed. The researcher will use the chapter as a parameter to

review and analyse the activities of NGOs under study.

Chapter three will contain the research methods and methdologies the researcher uses in

conducting the research. On the chapter the researcher will explain in detail about how ssample

and sample size are determined, what the data collection techniques are and why they are

choosen. In addition to this the chapter will explain how the collected data will be presented.

Chapter four is used to present the datas the researcher collected through the different data

collection methods(techniques). In addition to presenting the data the data the researcher will

analyse or review them as per the internationally recognized principles and experiences which

are discussed on chapter two.

Chapter five will be the final chapter of the research. The researcher will use this chapter to

summarize his findings. Based on the findings the researcher will explain his conclusions and

recommendations on the final chapter.

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III. Cost Breakdown of the research Proposal

NO. Item Unit of

measurement

Quantity Cost per

Unit (in Birr)

Total cost (in

Birr)

Remark

1 Secreterial service # of typist 1 1,500 1,500

2 Internet fee # of hrs used 60 hr 15br/min 900

3 Photo copy # of pages 200 1br 200

4 Transport Kms of drive 240 10 2,400 Travelling to the areas

where HIV programs are

running.

5 Tape recorder # of tape recorder 1 900 900 For focus group discussion

6 Tape cassete # of tape cassette 10 15 150

7 Per dime for data collectors

(91*5*15)

# of data collector

hired

5 91Birr X 15day 6,825 5persons X 91Birr X 15 Days

8 Per dime and refreshment for FGD # of people 45 60 2,700

NO. Item Unit of

measurement

Quantity Cost per

Unit (in Birr)

Total cost (in

Birr)

Remark

participants # of soft drinks

served

48 6 288

9 Printing the full research

( 3 * 110)

# of pages 330 3br 990

10 Daily subsistence researcher # of day spent 45 91 4,095

11 Binding # of copies 3 15 45

Total Cost 20,993.00

Contingency (10 %) 2,099.30

Grand Total cost 23,092.30

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IX. Time table (Procedure)

No. Description of

the Activity Time Frame Remark

Sept 15-

20/11

Sept

21-

25/11

Sept

25-

31/11

Oct 01-

10/11

Oct 11-

20/11

Oct 21-

25/11

Oct 25-

30/11

Nov 01-

10/11

Nov 11-

20/11

Nov

20-

30/11

Dec

01-

10/11

Dec

11-

20/11

Dec

21-

25/11

1 Proposal

preparation

2 Chapter one

preparation and

submission

3 Reference

material

collection

4 Chapter two

prepapration

5 Completing 1st &

2nd Chapters and

submission for

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No. Description of


Sept 15-

20/11

Sept

21-

25/11

Sept

25-

31/11

Oct 01-

10/11

Oct 11-

20/11

Oct 21-

25/11

Oct 25-

30/11

Nov 01-

10/11

Nov 11-

20/11

Nov

20-

30/11

Dec

01-

10/11

Dec

11-

20/11

Dec

21-

25/11

comment

6 Correcting

chapter one &

two as per the

adviser’s

comment

7 Hiring and giving

an orientation

for data

collectors

8 Field Data

collection

8 Data organizing

and analyzing

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No. Description of


Sept 15-

20/11

Sept

21-

25/11

Sept

25-

31/11

Oct 01-

10/11

Oct 11-

20/11

Oct 21-

25/11

Oct 25-

30/11

Nov 01-

10/11

Nov 11-

20/11

Nov

20-

30/11

Dec

01-

10/11

Dec

11-

20/11

Dec

21-

25/11

9 Submitting 3rd

and 4th chap. For

comment and

incorporating

the comment

14 Submission of

first draft of the

whole paper

15 Correcting and

submitting the

final paper

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Research Proposal by Omod Othow

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