ENHANCING RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION IN LOW- AND MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES (LMICs): RESEARCH ADMINISTRATORS HUB IN EASTERN, AFRICA
Creators: name: Muiruri, Charles
Publisher: name: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University Libraries
Year: 2009

description: In recent years Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) have witnessed tremendous growth in research activities. This growth has been driven by various factors including but not limited to: the number of trained researchers; increased interest in global health in developed countries; increased funding; elevation of research as a core component of the mission in institutions of higher learning; economic factors, for example sources of employment in LMICs; and also the high disease burden in LMICs, which provide a research subject base for developed countries‟ research institutions. Institutions in wealthier countries contribute most of the financial support since most LMICs governments do not dedicate substantial national budgets to research and development with the exception of Cuba. At the core of the research activities is a Research Administrator (RA). RAs facilitate research through administration and management of the following major areas of the research enterprise; contracts and grants negotiation, intellectual property and technology transfer agreements, training and educational programming, procurement services, human resources management, undertaking financial management, regulatory compliance in ethics and Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) documentation as well as information technology services. Focus on human capacity building efforts in research in LMICs has been centered on scientific and clinical personnel. Very little attention has been given to the development of Research Administrators. However, according to Nchinda: success of research capacity strengthening (RCS) was found to be associated with capable and committed scientific leadership, continuity of funding of research, ability to attract a core of dedicated young scientists, adequate and appropriate infrastructure for research (building and premises), adequate equipment and supplies including modern communication facilities and scientific literature, scientific linkage to another institution, and stable conditions of service with adequate remuneration. Most of these “success factors” refer to the institutional environment of individual researchers and illustrate the critical importance of LMICs being able to support the pool of researchers being trained. Some of the factors like continuity of funding for research is directly associated with sustainable research administration capacity. Due to competing priorities in the LMICs research enterprise, development of RAs to support research will require strong leadership. These challenges include health care worker shortage and lack of priority dedicated to research for example Uganda does not provide funding for health research, and 100% of health research project funds in Tanzania came from foreign sources between 1991 and 2000. To achieve a sustainable research enterprise in LMICs I propose a pathway to support research administration by the development of a framework of support to the RAs in LMICs. With funding from Glaxo Smith Kline and National Institutes of Health, John E. Fogarty International Center (NIH/FIC) I have been working on the development of a Research Administration hub in East Africa. By utilizing public health leadership skills, we have proposed the creation of an Association of Research Administrators in Africa (ARAA). Within this framework we aim to harmonize operations of Research Administration in LMICs beginning in East Africa and expanding across the continent. This initiative is based on a ground up model that involves collaborative leadership allowing for the inclusion of all stakeholders. This paper will provide background information on the program conception, initiation, strategic planning and implementation of the ARAA. ARAA aspires to create a “hub of excellence” for research administrators in Africa by linking research institutions and individual research efforts to facilitate the effective sharing of best practices thereby enriching and sustaining the research administration capacity within institutions, countries and regions.