Michigan-Unijos Mentored Program for Enhanced Research Administration (MUMPERA) - Project Summary The US government is the world’s largest bilateral funder of health sector interventions in dollar terms. The USA’s funding for HPSR was provided through its various agencies with a remit on global health, like the National Institutes of Health, the Centres for Disease Control and the US Agency for International Development. To further support this position, the University of Jos/Jos University Teaching Hospital has received 80% of its funding from the US Government, from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Center for Disease Control (CDC), Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Carnegie Foundation of New York, Families and Foundations that have sponsored Cancer Researches. It is therefore, imperative, to constantly, understand the funding requirements, guidelines for applications and grants management systems for these US agencies, with particular attention to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), as an agency. The University of Jos/Jos University Teaching Hospital, grant application has increased with 30% over the last 2 years, and the funding from the NIAID, has also increased, though as sub-contracts. Quite a number of policies for Systems of Award Management (SAM.Gov), eRA Commons, Payment Management Systems (PMS), Grants.gov, login.gov, NCAGE and dynamic institutes changes in funding guidelines, has occurred in the last 2 years and are still changing. If Research Administrators and Finance Managers of NIH projects do not keep abreast of these changes, it will affect their respective institutions’ chances of seeking and managing funded projects. Through this project, the University of Jos/Jos University Teaching Hospital will build on the successes of trainings and business tools instituted in the phase 1 of the project, to develop train new/junior administrators for the NIAID supported West Africa Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases (WACEID) and other partner institutions with NIAID/NIH projects in Nigeria and West Africa; other administrators in the departments, faculties (schools and colleges), centers and institutes in UniJos/JUTH to manage NIH and other funded projects. The MUMPERA project will also work with the University of Michigan Office of Research and Sponsored Programs Staff, to conduct training for two administrators, and other administrators in Nigeria/West Africa. The partnership will also support the development of an electronic system for grant submission and management as well as develop online and web resources, to support grants administration and grantsmanship in the UniJos/JUTH during the project sustainability period.
