Strengthening Research Administration and Management for Critical HIV Research in Kenya (STRAM-CHR)

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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. Page 1 of 77