One of the most significant challenges facing Nigeria today is its inability to provide quality of life, comparable to developed societies, to its citizenry. Over the years, the government has been looking towards foreign investors and aid to fill the gap in its public good. Even with funds from these sources, it has still fallen short of the significant investment needed for sustainable development in key sectors like agriculture, infrastructure, education, health, housing and many other sectors. Entrepreneurship, a fulcrum and a driving force for each of these sectors, is a key principle underlying the Public Private Partnership (PPP) cluster.

Public private partnership (PPP) acts as a vehicle for the government to meet its funding gap, broaden the use of its resources, access international finance and employ technology from private investors to achieve desired results and enhance standards. The benefits of PPP include accountability, which is a step in the right direction in curbing corruption, efficient use of resources resulting in cataclysmic development in all sectors, and better quality of life for all.

The mission of the PPP cluster is to contribute to Covenant University’s vision of one of 10 in 10 by 2022 by collaborating with key local and international industry sectors, government and international and national non-governmental organizations. The PPP cluster intents to position Covenant University for collaboration with industries on research and development in order to provide practical solutions to current development issues facing Nigeria and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa in general.

The PPP cluster is rooted into 12 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with special focus on Nigeria and other parts of sub-Saharan Africa. The 12 SDGs that the cluster will contribute to are listed below.

1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and adequate nutrition for all, and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Attain healthy life for all at all ages
4. Provide equitable and inclusive quality education and life-long learning opportunities for all
5. Attain gender equality, empower women and girls everywhere
6. Secure water and sanitation for all for a sustainable world
7. Ensure access to affordable, sustainable, and reliable modern energy services for all
8. Promote strong, inclusive and sustainable economic growth and decent work for all
9. Promote sustainable industrialization
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Build inclusive, safe and sustainable cities and human settlements
12. Promote sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Strengthen and enhance the means of implementation and global partnership for sustainable development

The aim of the PPP cluster is to contribute to Covenant University’s vision of 10 in 10 by 2022 by partnering with key local and international industry sectors, government and international and national non-governmental organization. PPP cluster intents to position Covenant University for collaboration with industries on research and development in order to provide practical solutions to current development issues facing Nigeria and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa in general. This cluster will also act as a vehicle to source international and local development funding for country wide research and products development.

• To strengthen the capacity and performance of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) working in the health, energy, and education sectors in the implementation of development projects in Nigeria.
• To improve on quality services in the health, energy, and education sectors of the Nigerian economy with a view to enhancing the quality of life of the citizenry.
• To improve on commercialization of university-based innovations especially in health, energy, and education thus, forging greater collaboration and synergy between the academics, the private sector, and the government.
• To create nexus of behavior, change with respect to health, energy, and education areas of human endeavor with a view to contributing to economic, and social development, and quality of life.
• To serve as critical mass platform, and information powerhouse on health, energy, and education that will strengthen tripartite relationships between the academia, government and the private sector.

• Write grant proposal and get funding to conduct evidence-based study on health, energy, and education based Civil Society Organizations’ (CSOs) strengthening and project implementation and sustainability in Nigeria
• Write research proposal and get funding to conduct evidence-based study on renewable energy supply and consumption in Nigeria.
• Write research proposal and get funding to conduct a study on nexus of behavior change with respect to specific areas of health, energy, and education sectors in Nigeria.
• Write research proposal and get funding for a study on revitalizing and commercializing university-based inventions and innovations.

The tripartite relationship between the academia, private sector, and the government sectors is illustrated in Figure 1 above. The key development focus of the PPP cluster is agriculture, infrastructure, education, health, housing, and digital economy. While the strengths from the academia is research and development and policy recommendation, and advice, private sector strengths are mainly in products, services, and corporate social responsibilities, and that of the government in mainly on services, policy provisions, and regulations. Collaborations of the three key sectors will culminate into a critical mass for sustainable development in Nigeria as illustrated in Figure 1.

1.1 Sub-Cluster One: Civil Society Organisation (CSOs) Strengthening.

Statement of Problem: Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) are mostly grassroots organisations serving at all levels as change agents helping governments in Nation building. Key CSOs roles in community grassroots development efforts among others include: (1) provide basic services on health, agriculture, education, housing, entrepreneurship, and income generation activities; (2) find and leverage sources of human and finance resources for grassroots projects; and (3) support and facilitate local development and self-help projects. Others are, (4) serve as local social architecture of development; and (5) educate communities and influence policy on key sectors of development, including democracy and accountability (World Resources Institute, 2008).

In Nigeria, CSOs have been challenged by inadequate funding, lack of long-term continuous funding and dearth of technical assistance to ensure sustainability, which is vital for the transformation of Nigeria communities. Aside, CSOs serve as the next best alternative to weak and inefficient government structures at the grassroots. Despite the importance of CSOs in community development in Nigeria, most international donor agencies do not have long-term strategy for CSOs to sustain direct impact on their respective communities. Thus, a lack of sustained streams of funding for CSOs programming, lack of skilled capacity building, and management, have led to “development hiccups” in communities where the same CSOs once commanded impact and goodwill.

CSOs Strategy of Engagement: This sub-cluster will assist in strengthening CSOs capacity over a long-term i.e. 10 years or more. It will conduct extensive review of the literature on the roles, impact, and challenges of CSOs in Nigeria. The literature review will lead to initial study on CSOs status assessments to determine gaps in information that needs to be examined. A concept note will follow serving as a launching pad for eliciting interests of funding and donor agencies in a broad based detailed national study. Detailed proposals will be drafted for long-term funding and technical assistance to establish and sustain tripartite long-term relationships between Covenant University, CSOs, and the Government through the PPP cluster.

1.2 Renewable Energy & Electrification Project (REEP), Nigeria

Statement of Problem: Inadequate supply of electricity, a viable resource, is a major challenge hampering developmental goals and industrialisation in Nigeria. In 2014, the World Bank estimates that only 48 million out of 168 million Nigerians have access to electricity from the national grid, thus an estimated 120 million population rely heavily on firewood and generators for their energy needs. Also, over 60 million Nigerians own generators mainly for energy generation (Energy Commission of Nigeria, 2012). The current energy situation in the country has serious adverse consequences on environmental pollution and degradation.

REEP Strategy of Engagement: Through extensive literature review, PPP intends to develop concept papers, competitive proposals, for clean energy solutions collaborating with suitable private sector providers and the government. The PPP strategy will be evidence-based each step of the way right from concept paper, to proposals, funding and implementation.

1.3 Nexus of Behaviour Change for Development

1.3.1 Nexus of Behaviour Change on Planned Family & Parenthood

Statement of Problem: In 2006 Nigeria’s population was 140 million, but this increased by 21% an additional 34 million in less than 10 years. Nigeria is one of the 10 most populous among the comity of nations, characterized by poverty and has one of the lowest per capita. Population growth rate has constantly hovered around 3.0% for a long time, with current estimate of 2.8%. Some newly industrialized nations like Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand have largely benefitted from demographic dividends borne out of a productive and healthy population. The dividends may be elusive to Nigeria for a long time due to a barely uneducated, youthful, dependent population. What could explain this population scenario of Nigeria? According to the Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys (NDHS) since 1999, average number of children per women has been above 5 (1999, 5.15; 2003, 5.7; 2008, 5.7; and 2013, 5.5). While modern contraceptive use among women aged 5-49 is persistently low (1999, 8.5%; 2003, 8.9%; 2008, 10.5%, and 2013, 11.1%). This scenario suggests a gap or failure in programming to change people’s perceptions, attitudes, and behaviour towards family planning. This sub-cluster intends to close the gaps thus, bringing about substantial reduction in fertility and population growth in Nigeria. Also, this cluster will tackle other g

Nexus for Behaviour Change Strategy of Engagement: The main strategy for this engagement will follow similar steps of other sub-clusters i.e. initial study of each of the key grey areas starting from contraceptive behaviour, and then followed by detailed proposals to have more nationally representative understanding of nexus of behaviour militating against development in Nigeria.

1.4 Commercialisation of University Research Based Inventions

Statement of Problem: Many inventions are increasingly championed by Nigeria Universities but only a few actually translate to commercial products for the end-users. A notable university invention in the 1980s which made headline news i.e. a two-way driven automobile designed for the military called Autonov I by Professor Ayodele Awojobi of blessed memory did not get off the shelf for commercialization despite the important and strategic value it represents for this great nation. Of recent are inventions by new generation universities including those by Covenant University (CU). For example, the batch distillers unit, door access control systems, mobile room ventilator, dual powered spice milling machine, multi-grain separator, and livestock water digester to list a few are some of CU’s recent inventions. The problem is not that of dearth of inventions by Nigerian universities, but taking intervention to commercialization stage. This sub-cluster therefore intends to bridge the gaps between the academia and the industry with a different perspective by focussing on research that will enable university inventions translate to products for commercial production. This will in the long-run contribute to Nigeria’s social and economic development. University Invention Commercialization (UIC) Strategy of Engagement: The main strategy for this engagement will be in-depth review of the literature to catalogue and detail past inventions from Nigeria universities since independence. This will lead to initial visit of selected universities to get initial information about academics and their inventions. This initial information will be analysed and will inform a more detailed proposal that will cover all universities in Nigeria.