During the last two decades, the volume of research registered by the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology has more than tripled. And while Makerere University College of Health Sciences and her affiliate Research Institutions have carried out ground breaking research trials, Makerere University does not yet have sufficient numbers of locally trained personnel to independently conduct these researches. Because of this, the University significantly relies on expertise from partner Institutions from the developed Countries especially The United States and Europe. These extremely helpful collaborative partnerships have enabled successful research trials without necessarily accelerating proportional and sustainable growth in the cadres of local Ugandan staff available to conduct, manage and evaluate these research trials. Over the recent past, there has been wide realization of the need to develop research administrators but this wave has ignored the need to develop Research ethicists as part of the Research Administration teams. One of the major concerns is the limited numbers of in-country Bioethicists that can sustainably support researchers in Uganda to independently carry out research trials. This local manpower gap is coupled with the urgent need to develop innovative yet sustainable models of training programs that can produce the quality personnel required in the conduct of ethical research that can meet International standards. This curriculum development Planning Grant is aimed at preparing for development of a high quality training curriculum for an International Masters Degree in Research Ethics based on a model that is well suited for students from Uganda, Eastern Africa, other regions in Africa and other low - resource Countries across the World.
The proposed planning grant will provide a unique and timely opportunity for Uganda, the East African region and other parts of Africa to develop a sustainable team of locally trained personnel in Research ethics at a more advanced level. The staff trained through this opportunity will go a long way in meeting the challenges in managing the Research activities that have greatly increased over the years. Moreover, the Research ethics training curriculum will be embodied in the main training programs at the Makerere University College of Health Sciences which will make this a more sustainable model and channel of producing Research ethicists in low - resource settings at a relatively low cost.
