The 'indirect costs' of underfunding foreign partners in global health research: A case study
The 'indirect costs' of underfunding foreign partners in global health research: A case study
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DOI：
10.1080/17441692.2017.1372504
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发表时间：
2018-01-01
影响因子：
3.3
通讯作者：
Bangsberg, David R.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Crane, Johanna T.;Biraro, Irene Andia;Bangsberg, David R.
这项全球卫生研究伙伴关系的研究评估了美国财政行政政策如何影响外国合作机构的能力建设。我们进行了姆巴拉拉科技大学（MUST）在姆巴拉拉，乌干达，最初的加州大学旧金山弗朗西斯科（UCSF），但现在马萨诸塞州总医院（MGH）之间的研究合作的案例研究。我们的案例研究是基于三位作者从2003年到2015年指导和合作这一伙伴关系的经验。这一合作建立了一个独立的乌干达非营利组织，作为当地的财政代理人和赠款管理人，并确保遵守乌干达的劳工和税法。这种结构，加上美国联邦赠款的低间接费用偿还，未能加强MUST的机构能力。为了应对这种模式的问题，合作在MUST建立了一个合同和赠款办公室。该办公室在MUST建立了行政能力，但也为MGH产生了新的风险和费用。我们认为，美国的财政管理做法可能会通过资助全球卫生研究的行政成本不足，绕过东道国机构，并将与国际工作相关的法律的和金融风险外部化，从而耗尽而不是建设非洲大学的能力。缩写：MGH：马萨诸塞州综合医院; MUST：姆巴拉拉科技大学; NIH：国立卫生研究院; UCSF：加州大学弗朗西斯科分校; URI：乌干达研究所
This study of a global health research partnership assesses how U.S. fiscal administrative policies impact capacity building at foreign partner institutions. We conducted a case study of a research collaboration between Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) in Mbarara, Uganda, and originally the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), but now Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Our case study is based on three of the authors' experiences directing and working with this partnership from its inception in 2003 through 2015. The collaboration established an independent Ugandan non-profit to act as a local fiscal agent and grants administrator and to assure compliance with the Ugandan labour and tax law. This structure, combined with low indirect cost reimbursements from U.S. federal grants, failed to strengthen institutional capacity at MUST. In response to problems with this model, the collaboration established a contracts and grants office at MUST. This office has built administrative capacity at MUST but has also generated new risks and expenses for MGH. We argue that U.S. fiscal administrative practices may drain rather than build capacity at African universities by underfunding the administrative costs of global health research, circumventing host country institutions, and externalising legal and financial risks associated with international work.Abbreviations: MGH: Massachusetts General Hospital; MUST: Mbarara University of Science and Technology; NIH: National Institutes of Health; UCSF: University of California San Francisco; URI: Uganda Research Institute