Strengthening Research Administration and Management for Critical HIV Research in Kenya (STRAM-CHR) - ABSTRACT
Kenya remains one of the countries in the world with high HIV disease burden with approximately 1.6 million
Kenyans living with HIV, and 46,000 new infections annually. Though appreciable progress has been made
towards epidemic control, impact is patchy: the incidence of new HIV infections, HIV-related mortality, and
severe illness remain unacceptably high. More than 75% of financing for HIV prevention and treatment
activities is through external donor funds. From the earliest onset of the HIV epidemic, the University of
Nairobi has played an important role in the prevention and control of the HIV epidemic through basic,
translational, clinical, and implementation research. However, most of the research projects have been led
by international collaborators with fewer local faculty and scientists originating high impact HIV-related
research. A major barrier has been insufficient human resources with requisite knowledge and skills to
support in the application, management and administration of funded research projects and this has
contributed significantly to the paucity of locally initiated high impact HIV research. Over the years, the UoN
has made efforts to enhance research administration and management leading to the establishment of the
Center for Research, Innovation and Grants Advancement (CERIGA). This Center is an outcome of
investments by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) through the International Extramural Associates
Development Award (IEARDA) and the Medical education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) is mandated to
support researchers at the University of Nairobi throughout the grant management cycle by identifying funding
opportunities, supporting researchers through the application process, management during implementation
and closeout in compliance with donor requirements. In partnership with the University of Washington (UW),
we propose to implement a project entitled “Strengthening Research Administration and Management
for Critical HIV Research in Kenya (STRAM-CHR)” aimed at enhancing local capacity for administrative
and financial management required for the research infrastructure support functions at the University of
Nairobi (UoN) and local partner institutions. Through this project, first, we aim to provide additional and
updated knowledge and skills to research administration personnel working at CERIGA, other funded projects
within the UoN, the UoN Finance Department and other institutions collaboratively implementing research
projects to build their capacity to support investigators and researchers who are conducting critical HIV
research. Secondly, we plan to develop key policies and guidelines for Research Administration and
Management at the UoN and develop new ones where they do not exist. Thirdly, we aim to review, update
and convert existing relevant training programs to e-format with specific focus on: Research administration
and management; Research integrity oversight; Ethical review of research; Information and communications
technology systems (ICT) for research and Monitoring and Evaluation. These courses will be accessed by
the larger team of research administrators within UoN and all its partners. By the end of the three years of
this project, we believe that the UoN will have increased capacity to support application and implementation
of donor funded projects and CERIGA will emerge as a Center of Excellence in Research Administration and
Management supporting several institutions in Kenya and beyond.
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