Project Development and Administration
The Project Development and Administration Unit (PDAU) serves as a critical liaison between IITA and its donors, partners, researchers, financial teams, and other stakeholders. The PDAU facilitates the coordination and administration of projects, streamlining processes, optimizing resource mobilization, enhancing compliance with donor requirements, and improving overall project efficiency and effectiveness. This unit supports researchers by reducing administrative burdens, allowing them to focus on scientific innovation and fieldwork, ultimately contributing to IITA’s mission of providing leading research partnerships that offer agricultural solutions to hunger, poverty, and natural resource degradation throughout sub-Saharan Africa. The unit’s role is essential for a center like IITA, as it ensures efficient, effective, and user-friendly coordination and management of projects, which is essential for driving research and development initiatives and ensuring the smooth operation and success of IITA’s projects.
Key Functions / Services
- Resource mobilization support: Identify funding opportunities, facilitate internal decision-making on responses, and support donor engagement efforts.
- Proposal development support: Provide administrative support for proposal development, including idea registration, document preparation, compliance checks, budget development, and donor submission tracking.
- Technical and financial reporting support: Coordinate the preparation and submission of technical and financial reports, ensuring timely delivery and effective response to donor queries.
Project data management: Maintain accurate project records in ProMIS, a centralized repository of agreements and related documents, support project initiation and status updates, and ensure access and traceability for project teams. - Project closeout: Oversee the formal closure of projects in collaboration with finance and legal teams, ensuring all obligations are met and project closeout conditions are completed effectively.
- Training and capacity building: Deliver training and technical support to IITA staff and partners on project administration, proposal development, donor compliance, and related system usage.
Research Support & Collaborations
The Project Development and Administration Unit (PDAU) collaborates closely with internal and external stakeholders to enhance project efficiency and impact. It supports proposal development, resource mobilization, and donor engagement while ensuring compliance with institutional and funding requirements. The unit streamlines project administration, facilitates data management, and promotes knowledge sharing across projects. PDAU also strengthens institutional capacity by training staff and partners on project management and donor compliance, providing the operational backbone that enables researchers to focus on delivering high-quality and impactful agricultural innovations.
Impact & Achievements
- PDAU made significant progress in improving the institute’s proposal success rate by identifying and communicating funding opportunities aligned with the institute’s strategy, better coordinating proposal development, and ensuring high-quality internal compliance.
- PDAU played a key role in increasing the volume of project proposals in the donor pipeline.
- PDAU enhanced reporting efficiency by coordinating the timely submission of technical and financial reports, ensuring compliance with donor standards, and fostering donor confidence.
- Proven expertise in strengthening institutional capacity across IITA and partner institutions, with a focus on grants management and project administration.
- Enhanced partner and staff capabilities through integrated training, mentoring, and systems development, ensuring effective management of donor-funded projects and compliance with international standards.
- Established and operationalized Grants Management Unit (GMU) within national institutions and delivered tailored capacity-building programmes in project management, financial reporting, and resource mobilization across Africa.
- Successfully led a flagship GMU strengthening initiative at the National Institute for Horticultural Research (NIHORT), demonstrating capacity for sustainable institutional transformation.
- Strengthened internal capacity at IITA through institute-wide refresher webinars and FAQ sessions, improving system understanding, user compliance, and process efficiency.
- Promoted consistent use of the PDAU Call Automation System and improved alignment between proposal development workflows and donor submission requirements.
- Positioned PDAU as a key enabler of institutional effectiveness, driving improved performance, compliance, and value for money across IITA and its partners.