Strengthening Research Administration and Grant Management Systems in Zambia.

Centre For Infectious Disease Research, Lusaka

Investigators

Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY Founded in 2001 as collaboration between University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Zambian Ministry of Health & University of Zambia, CIDRZ was initially set up as a field office to undertake clinical trials research in the prevention of Mother-to-child transmission of HIV. As a field office, it relied heavily on the administrative and governance structures from UAB. As the scope of its work grew exponentially in the years that followed, and having successfully worked as a sub-recipient to UAB?s President?s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR) Track 1 funds to support HIV services across 4 provinces in Zambia from 2004, CIRDZ transitioned from a field office into a vibrant successful and independent Zambian organization in 2011, with majority Zambian Leadership and a Board of Directors. With the growth in research and programmatic activities came administrative challenges as it became clear that the reliance on UAB for administrative and back office support during the field office days has resulted in inadequate institutional capacity from a financial and administrative point of view. Since the transition, CIDRZ has undertaken very serious, deliberate and concerted efforts to strengthen its institutional systems on governance, finance, administration and operations. Notwithstanding these advances, capacity challenges still exist, not only due to the movement of people but also changes in funders? rules, regulations and requirements which requires that recipients of grants stay abreast continuously to ensure full compliance with funder requirements all the time. The challenges that exist include, amongst others, (1) the need to have a deeper knowledge and understanding of grant requirements, (2) the need to understand the various funding mechanisms available out there and their suitability or otherwise for an institution at a given point in time and (3) the need to improve the accumulation of costs and their allocation processes that goes with it including effort tracking and reporting. We believe, if successful, that this grant will enable CIDRZ to: (1) Build capacity in research grant administration among CIDRZ senior officials, grants management specialists and investigators at all levels by developing a grant management toolkit and grant tracking systems; (2) Diffuse the CIDRZ expertise in research grant management to the Zambian scientific community by tailoring a training program for identified stakeholders; and (3) To create a CIDRZ grants management mentorship network and internship programme to sustain a pipeline of local grants management expertise in Zambia.