THE Nigeria Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER) yesterday advocated media support to the activities of research institutes to enable citizens derive maximum benefits from the statutory duty of the institutes.

This was the kernel discussion at a two-day Training of Media Practitioners on Reporting of Research Findings, which ended at the Conference Room of the institute in the state capital.

While welcoming participants to the workshop in which members of academia from outside the institute alongside some of its top members of management presented papers, the Director-General of the institute, Olufemi Taiwo maintained, “the mass media play crucial roles in national development through the dissemination of accurate and relevant information to members of the public.”

Taiwo, who was represented by one of the Directors in the Institute, Femi Olokesusi said, “national development involves changes or advancement in a nation aimed at improving the political, social and economic lives of the people.

“The real influence of the mass media in national development process depends on proper dissemination of reliable information. Such information can only be obtained through the conduct of well designed research and the findings made available to the media houses,” the DG posited.

Highlighting the importance of media to the core mandate of the institute, Taiwo noted, “one of the key mandatess of NISER is to conduct research into the country’s social and economic challenges and provide evidence based information germane to policy making for national development.

“It is also mandated to disseminate such research findings to relevant stake holders at the national and sub-national levels. In this respect, NISER and the media should be seen as partners in the process of nation building.

“It is with a view to strengthening this partnership that the management of NISER decided to provide a platform for mutual interaction towards proper understanding of how research findings should be reported to the public,” the DG stressed.