ASSESSMENT OF APPLICATION FROM MAKERERE UNIVERSITY
CONTINUED BILATERAL RESEARCH COLLABORATION WITH UGANDA 1 JANUARY 2010 TO 30 JUNE 2014
2010-02-18
Contents
BUDGET 2 ASSESSMENT SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES, COORDINATING OFFICE 5 Assessment Demographic Surveillance Site (DSS) 20 Assessment Makerere University Administrative reform 26 Assessment Innovation Systems and Innovative Clusters Program 30 ASSESSMENT DIRECTORATE FOR ICT SUPPORT (DICTS) 35 ASSESSMENT MAKERERE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 41 ASSESSMENT QUALITY ASSURANCE DIRECTORATE 48 ASSESSMENT GENDER MAINSTREAMING DIVISION, ACADEMIC REGISTRAR‟S DEPARTMENT 53 ASSESSMENT FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE 57 ASSESSMENT MAKERERE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES (MUCHS) 63 ASSESSMENT FACULTY OF SCIENCE 92 ASSESSMENT FACULTY OF TECHNOLOGY 111 ASSESSMENT FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE 143 ASSESSMENT FACULTY OF ARTS 156 ASSESSMENT FACULTY OF VETERINARY MEDICINE 168 BUDGET Jan-June Unit/Faculty Sub-program 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 TOTAL SGS coordination & SGS administration 555 000 555 000 555 000 555 000 280 000 2 500 000 Monitoring & Evaluation 0 50 000 50 000 0 0 100 000 Cross-cutting courses 800 000 800 000 800 000 800 000 400 000 3 600 000 Improving research management capacity in the four other public universities in Uganda 200 000 300 000 200 000 300 000 100 000 1 100 000 University Research Fund (PhD) 1 500 000 2 200 000 2 200 000 2 100 000 1 000 000 9 000 000 Competitive Postdoc Research Fund 1 250 000 1 250 000 1 250 000 1 250 000 0 5 000 000 Demographic Sureveilance Site (DSS) 2 200 000 2 200 000 2 200 000 2 300 000 1 100 000 10 000 000 Equipment and maintenance - GIS lab 0 250 000 250 000 250 000 250 000 1 000 000 Equipment and maintenance - Biomed lab 0 250 000 200 000 250 000 200 000 900 000 Resource Center for Humanities 0 100 000 100 000 100 000 0 300 000 Research communication & dissemination 325 000 350 000 325 000 350 000 150 000 1 500 000 Total 6 830 000 8 305 000 8 130 000 8 255 000 3 480 000 35 000 000 Adminstrative reform Total 3 000 000 0 0 0 0 3 000 000 Innovation systems & clusters program Total 1 400 000 1 350 000 1 350 000 1 200 000 700 000 6 000 000 DICTS Total 1 300 000 1 300 000 1 400 000 1 300 000 700 000 6 000 000 Library Total 3 000 000 1 500 000 1 500 000 1 300 000 700 000 8 000 000 Quality Assurance Total 1 000 000 1 000 000 800 000 800 000 400 000 4 000 000 Gender Mainstreaming Total 1 000 000 800 000 1 000 000 800 000 400 000 4 000 000 Agricultural Waste Faculty of Agriculture Utilization and Management 550 000 450 000 400 000 200 000 150 000 1 750 000 Production Systems for Increased Crop/Livestock Productivity 700000 700000 700000 700000 350000 3150000 Value Chain Systems for Sustainable Agricultural Productivity 550 000 450 000 500 000 500 000 300 000 2 300 000 Faculty Research Funds 200 000 200 000 200 000 200 000 0 800 000 Total 2 000 000 1 800 000 1 800 000 1 600 000 800 000 8 000 000 Malaria around Lake MUCHS Victoria in Uganda 2 700 000 2 400 000 1 400 000 800 000 500 000 7 800 000 Mental Health Problems 1 200 000 700 000 0 0 0 1 900 000 Reproductive Health and Child Survival 1 400 000 1 100 000 600 000 700 000 400 000 4 200 000 Cancer and Degenerative Diseases 800 000 0 0 0 0 800 000 Tuberculosis and Microbiology 1 600 000 1 700 000 900 000 1 000 000 500 000 5 700 000 3 Clinical Pharmacology & Drug Development 1 100 000 1 100 000 700 000 400 000 400 000 3 700 000 Public Health 2 600 000 1 900 000 900 000 1 100 000 400 000 6 900 000 MUCHS Research Funds 1 100 000 1 000 000 700 000 700 000 0 3 500 000 Total 12 500 000 9 900 000 5 200 000 4 700 000 2 200 000 34 500 000 Faculty of Science Ethnobotany 550 000 500 000 450 000 100 000 100 000 1 700 000 Environmental monitoring & restoration 600 000 350 000 400 000 100 000 50 000 1 500 000 Mathematical modeling 500 000 450 000 450 000 50 000 50 000 1 500 000 Pesticides 750 000 500 000 150 000 50 000 50 000 1 500 000 Green chemistry 500 000 250 000 200 000 25 000 25 000 1 000 000 Total 2 900 000 2 050 000 1 650 000 325 000 275 000 7 200 000 Faculty of Infrastructure and land Technology management 2 000 000 2 500 000 1 000 000 500 000 500 000 6 500 000 Architecture, planning and urbanism 1 500 000 900 000 1 100 000 1 000 000 500 000 5 000 000 Water resources & environmental engineering 2 500 000 1 500 000 1 100 000 1 000 000 500 000 6 600 000 Engineering material 1 400 000 1 200 000 900 000 1 400 000 300 000 5 200 000 Renewable energy 1 200 000 1 000 000 1 200 000 550 000 350 000 4 300 000 GIS and ICT 2 000 000 1 400 000 1 000 000 1 000 000 400 000 5 800 000 CREEC 300 000 300 000 300 000 300 000 200 000 1 400 000 Regional Collaboration 900 000 900 000 900 000 900 000 500 000 4 100 000 Faculty Research Funds 200 000 200 000 200 000 200 000 0 800 000 Total 12 000 000 9 900 000 7 700 000 6 850 000 3 250 000 39 700 000 Faculty of Social Good Governance and Science Conflict 540 000 500 000 500 000 500 000 270 000 2 310 000 Livelihoods Improvement & Services Provisioning 420 000 500 000 500 000 500 000 260 000 2 180 000 Health and Emergent Diseases Intervention 540 000 500 000 500 000 500 000 270 000 2 310 000 Faculty Research Fund 800 000 1 200 000 800 000 1 200 000 0 4 000 000 Total 2 300 000 2 700 000 2 300 000 2 700 000 800 000 10 800 000 Faculty of Arts Media and Communication 500 000 500 000 600 000 500 000 200 000 2 300 000 Ethics and Integrity 300 000 350 000 350 000 350 000 150 000 1 500 000 Geographical Sciences 500 000 350 000 350 000 350 000 150 000 1 700 000 Total 1 300 000 1 200 000 1 300 000 1 200 000 500 000 5 500 000 Improving health and Faculty of Veterinary productivity of dairy and Medicine beef cattle economic cluster 550 000 550 000 550 000 550 000 250 000 2 450 000 Improving health and productivity of pig economic cluster 700 000 650 000 700 000 650 000 300 000 3 000 000 Improving health and producvity of goat economic cluster 400 000 400 000 400 000 400 000 200 000 1 800 000 Total 1 650 000 1 600 000 1 650 000 1 600 000 750 000 7 250 000 External evaluation & unforeseen Total 0 0 400 000 250 000 400 000 1 050 000
GRAND TOTAL 52 180 000 43 405 000 36 180 000 32 880 000 15 355 000 180 000 000 4
ASSESSMENT
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES
COORDINATING OFFICE
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY
Includes:
1. School of Graduate Studies Coordination and Administration 2. Cross-cutting Courses 3. University Research Fund and Competitive Postdoc Research Fund 4. Cross-cutting laboratory Bio-medical 5. Cross-cutting laboratory Geographic Information Systems (GIS) 6. Demographic Surveillance Site (DSS) 7. Makerere University Administrative reform 8. Innovation Systems and Innovative Clusters Program 6
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY/Sida BILATERAL RESEARCH COLLABORATION Enhancement of Research Capacity in Higher Educational Institutions in Uganda towards Poverty Alleviation and Sustainable Development
THE OFFICE OF THE COORDINATOR Applying Institution: Makerere University P. O. Box 7062 Kampala, Uganda
Co-ordinator, Uganda: The Director Prof. Eli Katunguka-Rwakishaya School of Graduate Studies (SGS) P. O. Box 7062 Kampala, Uganda Tel: +256 41 530983 Mobile: +256 772 754 685 Fax: +256 41 533809 E-mail: [email protected]
PROPOSAL FROM MAKERERE UNIVERSITY
Abstract The School of Graduate Studies (SGS), through the Boards of Graduate Studies, and Research and Publications, co-ordinates and oversees graduate training and research. All Faculties/Institutes/Schools are eligible to run Graduate programs from graduate diplomas to PhD degree awards. The conduct of the program is based upon staffing status; space and infrastructure and funding for postgraduate and research studies. The study programs are also demand driven by the public market need for the degree holders, academic and research needs of certain manpower under staff development schemes.
The Sida supported research program will be administered at the SGS as in the previous phases. The overall policy guideline will be provided by a Program Steering Committee chaired by the Vice Chancellor and an alternate chair. Unlike in previous phases and to ensure more efficiency and effectiveness, the membership on the Steering Committee will be drawn from the NCHE, UNCST, MoFPED, the participating public universities and from MU. At unit/faculty level, a Program Committee will be put in place chaired by the faculty/unit program coordinator with sub-program coordinators and senior researchers as members. A set of standard operating procedures have been developed and operationalised to streamline the management of the program. The SGS spearheaded the development of a number of databases to provide information related to research activities, and to increase the visibility of the university. These include the human resource research capacity that provides information on profile of researchers in Makerere University regarding their areas of specialization and research competencies. This will create a pool of scientists from which peer reviewers can be drawn to handle competitive research grants. The students record information system will help track students progress as well as work load of supervisors. The SGS developed the Research Management and Coordination System (RMACS) that provides information on the profiles of academic staff regarding scholarly outputs. The Research Africa Database to the university subscribes annually provides current funding opportunities for research. To further improve the research environment, the University council approved the Research and Innovations Policy and the Intellectual Property Management Policy. The main goal of the Research and Innovations Policy is to strengthen research capacity and output, and increase the contribution of Makerere to the world of knowledge and innovation. The policy obligates staff to commit 20% of their time to research as well as a provision for a 15% overhead to cover administrative costs and a contribution to the maintenance of university infrastructure.
Quality in training at doctoral level and in research at MU and other institutions of higher learning in Uganda and elsewhere is critical for human capacity enhancement for Africa‟s development. The SGS program aims to 7 strengthen the quality of research and PhD training at MU and other public universities through the following strategies: Conduct cross-cutting courses and seminar series Support Institutional and academic mentorship through facilitation of post-doctoral research training opportunities. PhD supervision, Grants Making and scholarly writing skills seminar series. In order to sustain the research culture and commitments, quality research outputs and innovations shall be rewarded with post doctoral research grants Mechanisms for ensuring quality training at Makerere involving doctoral committees to oversee each PhD, joint supervision with colleagues from partner universities, external examination of theses, publications of research findings before final submissions of dissertations/theses, public defence of PhD are all in place and effectively managed.
Overall Goal The overall goal of the program is to enhance capacity of public higher education institutions to conduct and sustain strategic and quality research that will contribute to the development needs of Uganda and beyond. This goal will be met by focusing on training to Masters and PhD levels, as well as postdoctoral research. This in line with Makerere University Strategic Plan 2008/09-2018/19, Makerere Research and Innovations Policy 2008, National Research Priorities and the draft National Development Plan 2010/11-2014/15.
Overall Capacity objectives To Strengthen MU research capacity through new and existing –multi-disciplinary research teams in science, technology and innovations. To promote basic1 and applied research to generate, and utilize new knowledge that contributes toward policy development and improvement of peoples livelihoods. To increase the number of PhDs and Masters degree holders in four other public Universities. To develop and implement strategies for deepening local and international partnerships including national research systems to attract and manage research grants, undertake joint academic and research programs, supervision, mentorship and publications. To provide specialized ICT, library, field and laboratory facilities for centres of excellence earmarked to spearhead research, innovation and technology development. To strengthen capacity for program administration, research management and coordination at the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) and other units at Makerere University.
Capacity Objectives for Co-ordinating Office 1. Strengthen capacity for program administration, research management and coordination at the SGS, and other units at MU. 2. Improving research management capacity in public universities. 3. Enhance MU research culture as a contribution towards transformation into a research-led university. 4. Improve infrastructure for graduate training and research. 5. Enhance research communication, networks & partnerships nationally and internationally. 6. Improve the national research system and research management capacity of collaborating institutions through national and international partnerships. 7. Improve monitoring and evaluation to assure program effectiveness and efficiency.
Expected outcomes Increased capacity to carry out quality and relevant research at MU. Enhanced capacity for supervisors to supervise Maters and PhD studies. Increased research productivity contributing to enhanced visibility of the university among her peers. Evidence-based policy making in the areas of health, agriculture, good governance, human rights, conflict resolution, environmental safety among others. Increased capacity to teach and potential to conduct research in other public universities.
1 Research that is directed towards a more complete knowledge and understanding of particular subject without regard to practical applications 8
Increased generation and uptake of new technologies. Centres of excellence developed to incubate available technologies. Improved research management and coordination in MU. The environment for research further improved (through provision of quality library and ICT resources, laboratory infrastructure, DSS). Increased collaboration with other research institutions and universities nationally thereby strengthening of the national research system.
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by Sida Gender Helpdesk It is concluded that continued support to MU will strengthen the work for gender equality. Although weaknesses in large parts of the application the university has ambitious goals, and a dialogue with donors are likely to strengthen those forces within the university that want a successful implementation, given that donors have gender equality among its priorities. The cooperation with Swedish researchers could be of benefit, given that gender competence is represented among the Swedish researchers in many sub-programmes. On policies MU has presented very advanced plans and programmes for work with gender equality. Gender equality is not only, as in many Swedish institutions treated as a question of equal opportunities and a balance in numbers of women and men; there is an awareness of the benefits gained by drawing from both women‟s and men‟s experiences. Therefore the policy is to mainstream gender in research activities. A Gender Mainstreaming Program has been at work since 2002 with seemingly good results in spite of understaffing. A policy against sexual harassment has been adopted. A Gender Policy is available in draft. Few universities provide a better or more radical and ambitious policy for gender equality. This is in line with national policies, but it can also be assumed that, at least to a part, is a result of international support to gender mainstreaming. With continued external support MU could allocate sufficient resources to implement the new policy. On staffing In the overall proposal no objectives regarding women‟s participation are formulated. Gender disparity amongst applicants appears as a risk in the Activity Plan indicating that affirmative action is not to be taken. The presentation of staffing and gender distribution is uneven in the submitted documents. The Faculties of Medicine and Agriculture do not provide figures about the sex of participants. The Faculty of Technology makes efforts to address the gender balance, and projects an increase of female staff from 17 to 27 % over the period 2008 to 2015, and of female students from 33 to 39 % during the same period. The Faculty of Social Science has not been able to identify a single new female student for the PhD program. The Gender Mainstream Division has an ambitious programme for reaching gender balance and for supporting female staff; they certainly need support in this work. With the extremely strong signals from national and central university level on gender equality one could have expected a better outcome regarding number of women participants in this application. On research Gender issues or women‟s needs are in several of the sub-programs used as justification for studies about, for example, kitchens or fuel. The studies in the area of reproductive health, as well as one on participatory planning and one on livelihoods, focus directly on women. All the other studies seem to be conducted in a more or less gender-less world. Most serious is that the quality of some studies is jeopardised by gender-blind methodology. The gender awareness in the Faculty of Medicine appears to be rather low, with exception of the programmes on reproductive health and public health, where the relevance of gender power is acknowledged in a research programme. The situation is even worth at the Faculty of Agriculture, possibly with exception of the sub- programme of socio-economic enhancement. The Faculty of Technology puts more attention to gender and presents several interesting studies with focus on women, unfortunately also a study on land rights where gender is ignored. At the Faculty of Social Sciences it is only the theme on livelihoods that seems to have a consequent gender perspective. The Gender Mainstreaming Division is supposed to be supportive to researchers in the work of applying a gender perspective in research, but quite obviously, this is an overwhelming task. If MU supervisors do not have the gender competence needed for a proper mainstreaming, the more important to put demands on their Swedish counterparts.
9
Assessment by Sida It is a drawback that MU was unable to present Sida with a prioritisation of the cross-cutting and faculty/unit proposals thus presenting an inflated budget request far above the level indicated in the letter of invitation. The goal of the Sida research support is to finance through core support arrangement the operationalisation of research strategies of universities or research councils or ultimately research sectors that have transparent procedures for prioritisation and selection of projects and programs for support. This level of organisation is not immediately apparent within the process of MU at the present time. On the other hand the lack of prioritisation and selection reflects some of the weaknesses in the processes where the Sida research support is anticipated to help address with time. MU has many policies and guidelines for conducting research. However, there remain issues related to putting these policies into operation.
Research administration The program requires coordination, training of researchers and administrative personnel at SGS and the units/faculties supported to improve upon research and financial management. This training was initiated during Phase II and will continue during Phase III. Areas in research and financial management where further training would improve the quality of follow-up should be investigated and training provided. Sida will provide support for improving the financial management of external funds in the context of the University structure through interim audits, which aim to support those dealing with financial management in the program and follow-up of the implementation of the program.
The University Administration strives to have the financial management of the university research funds at a centralised level while research activities are at the Faculty and Departmental level. Discussions will continue to find ways to allow the improved expertise gained in research management within SGS to be transferred to the administrative staff in the Faculties. It is suggested that in such a scenario the SGS will have more of a controller function. In this context it is suggested that the SGS takes up the controller position and organises a network of accountants/financial managers at the Faculty level, starting with the faculties/units involved in the current Sida program. Such a network could share experiences in handling of external funds. The improvements in financial management gained through the new electronic NAVISION system will be reviewed continuously in this context. The results of these administrative activities should be reported in annual reports.
The Research and Innovations Policy outlines the MU rules for contribution to the research administrative infrastructure and requires that research projects contribute at least 15% of the total project research costs as institutional overheads. This is to be shared amongst the research administrative units at the various administrative levels. As Sida is currently providing funds for core university functions such as Library, ICT, Quality Assurance, Gender Mainstreaming, as well as for central coordination at the SGS and at supported units/faculties exceeding 15% of the overall program budget, it is not envisioned that additional overheads will be paid during this agreement period. Furthermore, Sida is and will continue to support the MU administrative reform (see separate assessment). It is suggested that Sida support research administration and coordination at MU with up to a maximum of 6% of the total allocation to the respective unit/faculties (i.e. Uga/Uga). This sum should be specified in each unit/faculty program budget. Coordination costs for Swedish collaborating institutions should be specified in each unit/faculty program budget under the Swe/Swe budget. The proposed recruitment of a program administrator should be catered for within the budget for General administration. The contribution from MU should be clear.
Improving research capacity in public universities Collaboration with other public universities in Uganda in various areas for improving their research capacity and management skills is commendable. It is important that these collaborations are based on clear and transparent MoU‟s, that state exactly in what areas collaboration is planned and what training and capacity building that MU is going to provide and who will be eligible to participate from the part of the collaborating university. As the applications from the SGS, Directorate for Quality Assurance, Gender Mainstreaming Division, DICTS and the MU Library all include components with collaborative activities with Mbarara, Gulu, Busitema and Kyambogo universities, SGS will have an important coordinating role when developing and signing these MoU‟s. These MoU‟s should be signed before any of these activities are started, but latest by June 2010. These activities should be reported under a specific heading in the Annual reports.
10
Infrastructure for graduate training and research See separate sections for Biomedical Laboratory, GIS Laboratory and DSS. Sida will support the establishment of a resource centre for humanities studies at the Faculty of Arts. However, MU should fund the meetings within the Faculty of Arts, and before any equipment can be funded a list of proposed equipment and justification for procuring it should be submitted to Sida. Sida will not fund the establishment of a cross-cutting laboratory in basic sciences, as there are a number of laboratories on campus that have been established through e.g. the BioEarn program. MU is advised to conduct an inventory of equipment around campus, that could be assembled into a basic science laboratory. When MU has the complete picture, and certain equipment are identified as missing, Sida could consider funding such equipment through a reallocation within the approved final program budget. Such a reallocation should be approved by Sida. Sida will not fund the development of guidelines for identification of centers of excellence in research.
Research communication and dissemination The realisation that Phase II lacked a comprehensive strategy for research communication and dissemination is reflected in the proposal for Phase III. That is good. The proposal of developing a research communication and dissemination strategy for the university is acknowledged, but Sida would question if MU needs to hire competence from outside the university to develop this important document. Does MU not have the competence in-house? Sida will support the development of this strategy, as well as research dissemination events and publishing of research outputs.
Follow-up and Evaluation The Sida supported university program will be monitored through a number of means: The program shall together with Sida develop Results Assessment Framework for the program, from the level of PhD student/researcher project, sub-program, faculty/unit program, up to university program level. This will be done in February-March 2010. Project Activity Plans and Annual Procurement Plans. Annual Progress Reports and Annual Financial Reports. Annual Review Meetings and Annual Planning Meetings, where the above mentioned reports will be discussed and on which the disbursement of funds will be based. A mid-term Self Assessment 2012 is to be conducted by the participants in the program. The exact methods to be used will be defined during the preceding Annual Review Meeting 2011. An external In-depth review/evaluation of the program 2014. A limited amount of funding will be provided for training in Monitoring and Evaluation and for the mid-term Self Assessment to be conducted 2012.
It is the responsibility of the SGS to provide all those involved in the program with the General Agreement signed between Sweden and the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and the Specific Agreement signed between Sida and Makerere University. This is essential for each individual involved to understand their contribution and obligation towards the smooth running of the cooperation.
Sida will not fund the following proposed activities: Bench-marking good/best practices through visits to centres of excellence, web search, documentation, Rewarding best performing scientists and student research, Visiting professors/guest lecturers under Objective 1. Activities proposed under Objective 6, “Improve the national research system and research management capacity of collaborating institutions through national and international partnerships”. Although they may be relevant, it is assessed that they are not directly related to the objectives of this research program, and MU should be able to cover the costs for these activities if they are prioritised.
Subsistence grants will be disbursed directly through the Swedish Institute. The level for this post should be calculated per student in a separate column named “Swedish Institute”. Cost per month per student is to be calculated as 13 000 SEK (includes subsistence allowance, insurance, activities and administration). The School of Graduates Studies and all sub-programs must revise their budgets according to the approved support and it should be submitted to Sida before disbursement can be made for the agreement period January 2010 - June 2014. 11
Approved Annual Budget Breakdown Jan - Jun Objective 1 SGS Administration 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Total Audits 110 000 110 000 110 000 110 000 60 000 500 000 Training within the Administrative network (researchers, coordinators and accountants) in research management, finance, accounting and procurement 100 000 100 000 100 000 100 000 50 000 450 000 Annual meetings (Review and Planning) and Steering Committee meetings 45 000 45 000 45 000 45 000 20 000 200 000 Bench-marking 0 0 0 0 0 0 Awards to best research project 0 0 0 0 0 0 Visiting professors/guest lecturers 0 0 0 0 0 0 General administration (program administration, car maintenance, office equipment and consumables), 300 000 300 000 300 000 300 000 150 000 1 350 000 Total co-ordination and administration SGS 555 000 555 000 555 000 555 000 280 000 2 500 000
Jan-Jun School of Graduate Studies 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Total Objective 1 SGS co-ordination and administration 555 000 555 000 555 000 555 000 280 000 2 500 000 Cross-cutting courses 800 000 800 000 800 000 800 000 400 000 3 600 000 Objective 2 Improving research management capacity in the four other public universities in Uganda • Training in research management • Mentoring in supervision and the PhD process • Development of policies to support research 200 000 300 000 200 000 300 000 100 000 1 100 000 Objective 3 University Research Funds (PhD) 1 500 000 2 200 000 2 200 000 2 100 000 1 000 000 9 000 000 Competitive Postdoc Research Fund 1 250 000 1 250 000 1 250 000 1 250 000 0 5 000 000 Objective 4 Demographic Surveillance Site (DSS) 2 200 000 2 200 000 2 200 000 2 300 000 1 100 0000 10 000 000 Equipment and maintenance for GIS lab 0 250 000 250 000 250 000 250 000 1 000 000 Equipment and maintenance for Biomed lab 0 250 000 200 000 250 000 200 000 900 000 Resource centre for humanities studies 0 100 000 100 000 100 000 0 300 000 Objective 5 Research communication and dissemination • Research communication strategy • Research dissemination events • Publishing research outputs 325 000 350 000 325 000 350 000 150 000 1 500 000 Objective 6 National and international partnerships 0 0 0 0 0 0 Objective 7 Monitoring and Evaluation • Training in M&E • Self-assessment 2012 0 50 000 50 000 0 0 100 000 Total SGS 6 830 000 8 305 000 8 130 000 8 255 000 3 480 000 35 000 000 Makerere University Administrative reform 3 000 000 0 0 0 0 3 000 000 Innovation Systems and Clusters program 1 400 000 1 350 000 1 350 000 1 200 000 700 000 6 000 000 GRAND TOTAL 11 230 000 9 655 000 9 480 000 9 455 000 4 180 000 44 000 000 12
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY/Sida BILATERAL RESEARCH COLLABORATION Cross-cutting courses
THE OFFICE OF THE COORDINATOR Applying Institution: Makerere University P. O. Box 7062 Kampala, Uganda
Coordinator, Uganda: The Director School of Graduate Studies Tel: +256 41 530983 Fax: +256 41 533809 E-mail: [email protected]
PROPOSAL FROM MAKERERE UNIVERSITY Abstract The objective of cross-cutting courses for PhD students at MU is to introduce coursework into the PhD degree program at the university. As of now PhD degrees are awarded in the majority of units/faculties following completion of research work only. However, there are a few units/faculties that have introduced course work in their graduate training curricula even though this is not mandatory. The courses will be presented through lectures, seminars, hands on experiences and assessment through oral and written examination. The courses are tailored to equip the individual doctoral student and upcoming supervisor with, professional, technical, conceptual/theoretical and analytical skills and competencies.
Courses will be advertised in the university for all PhD students. The aim is that the draft curriculum for cross- cutting courses be approved by MU Senate by the end of 2009.
Capacity Objectives Cross-cutting Courses are essential in research training for the following reasons: The extent of explosion of knowledge and the degree of relatedness to several different subject matter such as economics, mathematical modelling, social value, environmental protection and social equity necessitates presenting knowledge in didactic form within a short time to stimulate the thought process and enhance investigative capacity by a PhD student To attempt to bring all PhD students to the same level of investigative capacity knowledge base before they embark on their research To acquaint students with the Philosophy of research and quest for new knowledge in a systematic way and build up an attitude to investigate issues, hence building a research culture To provide skills and methods of investigation using both qualitative and quantitative techniques To provide skills of design of investigative projects, data generation, analysis and representation To provide the philosophical basis to justify research undertakings in view of community benefits, social and economic value, technological development and gender equity appreciation and inclusion in the development process
Expected results The curriculum for at least two new courses will be developed (in addition to the eight already developed during Phase II) The MU senate will assess all eight + two courses and determine the courses to approve All the proposed courses will take place at least three times in the 4.5-year period Announcement for the programmes will become even more transparent
Ongoing and proposed cross-cutting courses: Advanced Research Methods Advanced Quantitative Data Analysis 13
Advanced Qualitative Research Methodology and Data Analysis Genes and Genomes Philosophy of Method Advanced Gender Research Methods Statistics and Computer Applications in Research Information Competence and Management Scholarly Writing & Communication skills Ethics in research
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by Sida Cross-cutting Courses have been initiated and appreciated and there is an increased interest in these courses. The financial support from Sida has from the start been to assist MU to test the usefulness of such courses, with the intention that these courses being taken over by the university if deemed necessary. These courses could also provide an added opportunity for interaction between Swedish researchers not directly involved in research activities within the program. The understanding was however, that once developed, the course would be run by Ugandan researchers with occasional/less intensive input from Swedish collaborators. The remuneration of lecturers and other people contributing to the course should be maintained at a level that is sustainable if these courses are taken up fully using the University‟s own resources in the future. The courses to be supported by these funds are those with clear “CROSS-CUTTING” features and not faculty specific courses.
A cross-cutting course focusing on pedagogic training and supervision is recommended for senior scientists within the program and those outside the program. Such a course would be particularly important for recently qualified PhD who proceeds to supervise PhD students. The cross-cutting course developed by the MU Library in Information Competence and Management should be included in the cross-cutting course curriculum.
It is essential that the courses are planned and advertised well in advance to allow more postgraduate research students to take advantage of it. A time schedule for the courses should be developed spanning an academic year and this information should be made available to all faculties and posted on the Makerere University Intranet. The student assessment of each course should be accumulated and analysed and the results presented in summary in every Annual progress report. Sida foresee that MU will take over the financial responsibility for these courses over time, and therefore the level of Sida contribution to the courses should be set at a maximum of 100 000 SEK per course. The financial contribution of MU to the running of these courses and development of new ones should be evident.
14
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY/Sida BILATERAL RESEARCH COLLABORATION University Research Fund and Competitive Postdoc Research Fund
THE OFFICE OF THE COORDINATOR Applying Institution: Makerere University P. O. Box 7062 Kampala, Uganda
Coordinator, Uganda: The Director School of Graduate Studies (SGS) P. O. Box 7062 Kampala, Uganda Tel: +256 41 530983 Fax: +256 41 533809 E-mail: [email protected]
PROPOSAL FROM MAKERERE UNIVERSITY
Abstract The implementation of support for research by Graduate Students (Masters and PhD) shall follow the normal procedures used by MU. Using existing protocol of application, evaluation and awarding of research funds, the funds from Carnegie Corporation of New York and Embassy of Norway are similarly handled. Graduate students develop PhD and Master‟s Degree research proposals with the assistance of academic members of staff. They are externally vetted (external to the supervision; department; faculty or even the university). The Faculty Higher Degrees and Research Committee, on the advice of the Department, recommend the proposals to the Board of Research and Publications which scrutinizes the proposal and approves the funding2. The funds are awarded using official forms at the SGS, which outline various items and time frame for use of these funds. The Board of Research and Publications is an approving body for all research in the University on behalf of the University Senate and National Council of Science and Technology (when research passes through the Board). Reports on the progress of research are received every six months from the student and supervisor through the Faculty Higher Degrees and Research Committee. The Board of Research and Publications meets quarterly.
The selection of graduate students for University wide Research Funds will be based on recommendations from the Faculty Higher Degrees and Research Committees, discipline (humanities/science based), and take into consideration gender. The selection of teams for the competitive Postdoc Research Grants will follow the established guidelines including teaching/supervision load, gender and peer review of the proposals.
Expected results At least 20 PhD degrees awarded to staff from other public universities in Uganda as a result of successfully accomplished funded projects. At least 10 PhD degrees awarded to MU staff from units/faculties not directly supported through the Sida funded research program. At least 10 Master‟s degrees awarded MU and other public universities staff as a result of successfully accomplished funded projects of which at least 30% shall be female graduates.
2 Research funds from Sida will be received by the SGS and the School will disburse the funds only through its approved processes through the Board of Research and Publications. An applicant for a research grant gets forms from the SGS applying for Makerere University Research funds. The application is sent to the Faculty Higher Degrees and Research Committee, which scrutinizes the application and the budget as well. The Director of SGS then convenes a Board meeting , chaired by the Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of academic affairs, where each respective Dean presents the application to the Board for reviews. The Board of Research and Publications is responsible for approving grant awards and recommending financial releases. Release of funds is contingent on the research being registered through the SGS by the Uganda National Council of Science and Technology. Subsequent releases are based on progress reports, financial accountability and acceptability of these two to the Board. 15
At least 20 competitive Postdoc Research Grants awarded, research carried out and results disseminated.
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by Sida Sida funds allocated for University Research Funds should continue to be for PhD studies and to a lesser extent for Masters studies. Staff from other public universities that will be selected for PhD training at MU, should be trained in one of the four main faculties/colleges previously supported through the Sida supported research program, i.e. Technology, Agriculture, Social Science and MUCHS. It is crucial that these PhD candidates are incorporated into already viable research groups, and Sandwich mode training should be the main mode of training. It is important that the PhD degree research proposal is approved by the host institution/department at MU, the home institution of the candidate and the Swedish collaborating institution before it is presented to the MU Board of Research and Publications for scrutiny. The grants for staff from other public universities should be advertised before June 2010, and the selected candidates should be provisionally registered at MU by Dec 2010. Competitive Postdoc Research Grants should target Postdoc applicants as primary investigators (PIs). PIs should be MU staff that recently graduated from PhD studies (e.g. last 5 years). These grants could include travel funds, for collaboration with and/or short attachments at international research institutions. Finally, this program should liaise with the Gender Mainstreaming Division for the funds that are earmarked for supporting female staff.
16
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY/Sida BILATERAL RESEARCH COLLABORATION General Biomedical Laboratory
THE OFFICE OF THE COORDINATOR Applying Institution: Makerere University P. O. Box 7062 Kampala, Uganda
Coordinator, Uganda: The Director School of Graduate Studies P. O. Box 7062 Kampala, Uganda Tel: +256 41 530983 Fax: +256 41 533809 E-mail: [email protected]
Implementing units at Makerere University Faculty of Science, Department of Biochemistry & Faculty of Medicine Contact persons: Dr. Fred Kironde and Dr. Jasper Ogwal-Okeng
PROPOSAL FROM MAKERERE UNIVERSITY
Abstract During Phase I and II of Sida support a well equipped basic Biomedical laboratory has been built in the Department of Biochemistry at Faculty of Medicine. The cross-cutting laboratory was designated to be a centre of advanced laboratory research and training at MU. A wide variety of equipment has been installed and are available for use by MU researchers. Members from various Departments at MUCHS have carried out different research tasks of their work in the laboratory and more are expected to do so. The procedure for using the equipment in the laboratory has been informed to all university Departments. Interested users can contact the laboratory managers (Dr. Fred Kironde or Dr. Jasper Ogwal Okeng) or their representatives at the lab to indicate which equipment and lab application they require to use. The chief technician or research assistants accordingly books or logs suitable time slot when the interested user may operate the equipment. A login register is available in the lab. With these procedures in place, frequent users are finding it very easy to access equipment and have their work done in the lab.
As there was a serious campus-wide shortage of well-trained personnel who could carry out the elaborate laboratory procedures satisfactorily and with proper handling of the equipment personnel have been trained, to Masters level, in the use of the equipment as well as instrument technicians who cater for maintenance of the equipment, repairs and training.
Expected result Equipment identified and procured Better running of the cross-cutting lab
ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by Sida For Phase III MU is applying for funds to procure additional equipment for the cross-cutting Biomedical laboratory. No specific equipment has been requested. Instead MU will identify equipment to procure. No justification is presented. A more detailed operational framework for the laboratory is needed presenting the 17 status and usage of the laboratory to date and its future plans. The following topics would provide a better understanding of the cross-cutting laboratory potential contribution to support research and training: Objectives and main use Coverage Internal management Technologies in place or potential Initial portfolio of projects Plan for staff development and training Development or revision of SOPs Quality control/assurance Maintenance plan Plan for access, sustainability, contribution from research projects
A clear written proposal should be written taking into consideration the above points. MU should propose what equipment they intend to procure, within the frame of the approved budget. The proposal with equipment list should be submitted to and approved by Sida before any funds for this component can be disbursed.
18
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY/Sida BILATERAL RESEARCH COLLABORATION General Geographic Information System (GIS) laboratory
THE OFFICE OF THE COORDINATOR Applying Institution: Makerere University. O. Box 7062 Kampala, Uganda
Coordinator, Uganda: Swedish collaborators: The Director Ass Prof. Gerhard Bax School of Graduate Studies Blekinge Institute of Technology, School of Makerere University Techno culture, Humanities and Planning, Division Tel: +256 41 530983 of Techno science Studies Fax: +256 41 533809 PO BOX 214 E-mail: [email protected] 374 24 Karlshamn, Sweden E:mail: [email protected] Implementing unit at Makerere University: Faculty of Technology, Dept. Surveying: Prof Hans Mattsson Dr Anthony Gidudu, Lecturer School of Architecture and the Built Environment E-mail: [email protected] KTH E-mail: [email protected] Dr Moses Musinguzi, Lecturer E-mail: [email protected] Prof Lars Sjöberg Division of Geodesy, KTH MU Institute of Environment and Natural Teknikringen 72 Resources 100 44 Stockholm Prof. Frank Kansime, Director E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: fkansime@muienr@makacug
Geography Dept., Faculty of Arts Dr Shuaib Lwasa, E-mail: [email protected]
Proposed PhD students Ms Lillian Mono Wabineno Mr Ronald Ssengendo (see Assessment of Faculty of Technology proposal)
PROPOSAL FROM MAKERERE UNIVERSITY
Abstract Geographical Information Systems (GIS) is a system for the collection, manipulation and analysis of spatially referenced data. GIS involves integration of spatial data from various sources to aid in solving complex environmental and socio - economic problems. Many government departments and the private sector are currently utilizing GIS tools to solve different problems including land management, utility planning, population studies, environmental assessment and urban planning. In Uganda, GIS application has been prioritized and plans have been finalized to introduce it for planning in all government departments. The GIS/Remote Sensing (RS) laboratory was established in the Faculty of Technology with a range of hardware, servers, software and data. It is a vital tool for research in areas like technology, agriculture, arts, social science, science, medicine and others. In order to have organized data for effective planning there was a need to develop a centre where geographical data/information can be obtained. It is hard for any one to get geographical information available, if it is not put or organized to fit in this changing technology.
This project focuses on developing the capacity of MU to offer quality GIS training locally so as to meet the increasing demand for GIS professionals in Uganda and the entire region. This is to be done through 19 strengthening the existing state of the art GIS laboratory in the School of Graduate Studies (located in the Faculty of Technology). The centre will be upgraded into an Institute – Institute of Geo-Information and Earth Observation, focussing mainly on graduate training and research. Results from Phase II: 1 PhD graduated, now head of Department Operational University GIS Central Laboratory Processed documentation of upgrade of lab to Institute of Geoinformation and Earth Observation. 5 publications GIS outreach – GIS awareness work and Support of GIS activities at Iganga/Mayuge DSS On going supervision of 3 MU registered PhD students in GIS outside Sida funding
Overall Capacity Objectives To develop the capacity of MU to offer quality GIS training locally, MSc training and professional courses. Procure and upgrade state of the art equipment for the GIS laboratory in the Faculty of Technology that will be used to coordinate all GIS and backstop all other GIS units at the university. Undertake research in the following areas • Spatial data infrastructure for environmental assessment. • Multipurpose land information system as a tool for improved planning, management and control of land resources in Uganda. • Determination of a geoid model for Uganda using a combination of satellites, airborne and terrestrial gravimetric data. To train two members of staff to PhD level (Faculty of Technology sub-program 6).
Expected outcome Teaching and research in GIS and RS will be improved through the utilisation of state of the art GIS software, hardware and data in the GIS laboratory. By sharing GIS software, data and hardware, costs that would be incurred by individual GIS units will be reduced which is a benefit to the university. There will be improved cooperation between all the GIS units at the university hence fostering better teaching and research in GIS and RS.
Assessment by Sida It is important that the GIS laboratory continues to play a coordinating role for all GIS resources at MU. The upgrading of the laboratory into an institute could be a way forward. However, if an institute is formed MU should develop a sustainability plan identifying other sources of funding for to secure the long-term sustainability of the unit.
Before any equipment is procured, MU should submit a list of indentified equipment and justification for procurement to Sida.
A mechanism for contribution to upkeep of the equipment should be developed. Contribution from users of the laboratory from their research funds should be explored, defined and implemented. Continued mechanisms for maintenance of the many expensive pieces of equipment should be priority.
The approved budget for the GIS laboratory does only include equipment, as the budget for PhD training is catered for within the support to the Faculty of Technology, sub-program 6. 20
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY/Sida BILATERAL RESEARCH COLLABORATION Consolidating the operational capacity of a multi-disciplinary field research station: From systems development to society benefits using the Iganga/Mayuge demographic Surveillance System (DSS)
THE OFFICE OF THE COORDINATOR Applying Institution: Makerere University P. O. Box 7062 Kampala, Uganda
Coordinator Uganda: Collaborating Institution: The Director Prof. Vinod Diwan School of Graduate Studies KIRT Makerere University IHCAR, Karolinska Institutet Tel: +256 414 530 983 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden Fax: +256 414 533 809 Tel: +46 8 517 767 21 E-mail: [email protected] Fax: +46 8 31 15 90 E-mail: [email protected] Dr George Pariyo Iganga/Mayuge HDSS Site Leader Assoc. Prof. Stefan Peterson P. O. Box 7072 Kampala IHCAR, Karolinska Institutet Tel: +256-414-530291 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden Fax +256-414-540633/533957 Tel: + 46 070 446 07 87 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]
Prof. Fred Wabwire-Mangen Dr Karin Källander Chair, HDSS Steering Committee IHCAR, Karolinska Institutet Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden Phone : 256-414-530291 Tel: +46 8 517 767 21 Fax: 256-414-540633 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]
Mr Edward Galiwango Site Operations Coordinator Tel: +256-772-458233 E-Mail: [email protected]
PROPOSAL FROM MAKERERE UNIVERSITY
Abstract The dearth of comprehensive and reliable data about the population is still a major challenge in the development process of most of the developing countries. Their limitations notwithstanding, national censuses and surveys remain the common sources of information used in planning and guiding decision making. Uganda, like most other developing nations, has no systems in place for routine registration of vital demographic events such as births, deaths and migrations. Without the availability of reliable population based data, policies that get developed by government rarely address comprehensively the needs of the population that is at greater risk. The community based health and demographic surveillance sites (HDSS) have proved to be an essential tool, particularly in resource limited settings, to generate and provide valid population data and create a platform to test and or measure the impact of interventions in a population.
In Phase II Iganga/Mayuge HDSS got established and became fully operational and an active member of INDEPTH Network (www.indepth-network.org). Aligned with the MU Research and Innovations Policy for livelihoods, the site provides a multi-disciplinary platform for faculty, students and other researchers based at MU 21 and its collaborating international partners from Sweden and elsewhere, to conduct research under fairly representative population conditions in a largely rural area. Its mission is to promote the wellbeing of the Ugandan population through generation and provision of high quality population based demographic, health, and social information to decision makers and researchers. The Ministry of Health, Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), the Population Secretariat, UNICEF, WHO, the districts of Iganga and Mayuge and MU (SGS) form the advisory committee. Close to 67,000 people resident in 65 villages are under DSS surveillance since the site‟s inception. An additional 112 villages are being mapped to expand the site this year for demographic surveillance and TB vaccine studies.
Several milestones were achieved in terms of i) Setting up initial administrative structures and system for registering vital events, ii) Maintaining community cooperation and participation iii) Research and scientific output, iv) Attraction of new research projects and partnerships, and v) Attraction of supplemental funding for core DSS operations from research projects. More than 10 undergraduate students, 7 Master‟s degree and 5 PhD students from Uganda and abroad, as well as academic staff have used the site for research. Several technical meetings with policy makers to share DSS scientific research output, 10 scientific publications made in international journals, and presentations at international scientific conferences are some of the notable achievements of the previous phase. Apart from the Swedish based institutions included in the original collaboration such as Karolinska Institutet, new research partnerships have been established with the Swedish Institute for infectious Diseases Control (SMI), the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp (Belgium), the University of Heidelberg (Germany), Tropical Diseases Training and Research Unit (UN agency), and Johns Hopkins University (USA) among some of the main ones.
Several challenges have hindered the site from effectively responding to the rapid demand for HDSS to conduct high quality research as well as to the increasing number of research projects and personnel. Specifically, (i) Inappropriate organisational and management systems, (ii) Inadequate quality control/assurance mechanisms and (iii) Lack of clear human resource capacity development plan affect the future of the site within an environment where competition for scarce professional and scientific staff is getting increasingly stiff. Also, (iv) indications of research fatigue have started to manifest in the community. A significant number of community respondents have started demanding for tangible benefits from research. While the field site is not designed to offer services to the community, research that involves interventions that can benefit the communities needs to be conducted to meet some of the community needs and expectations.
The Iganga/Mayuge HDSS and specifically the School of Public Health has attracted grants from development partners to conduct research within the Iganga/Mayuge HDSS. Unfortunately, the site is not a legal entity; hence, a lot of money that would support the site is paid out in form of “over-head” to institutions where principal researchers are affiliated. A modest contribution is still made to the site and about 50% of it will support phase III activities and rest for study specific work.
Project Funding Agency Project Funding Agency Information for Development Rockefeller TB Vaccine (IDI/FoM/MUSPH) EDCTP/AERAS (MUSPH) ARVMAC (MUSPH) EDCTP Social Autopsy (MUSPH) INDEPTH SNL (MUSPH) Save the Malaria Indicators (MUSPH) PMI/CDC Children/BMGF Pneumonia/Malaria (MUSPH) WHO/TDR Epilepsy Prevalence Welcome Trust (MUSPH/FoM) Malaria Vaccine (FoM/MUSPH) AMANET
Overall Capacity Objectives Establishing more appropriate management and organisational systems that provide a conducive environment for research, decision making and financial growth for the organisation. Continue to manage and strengthen a system that registers and monitors health and demographic events in a population (births, deaths, migrations) to increase the use of research findings in policy and decision making. 22
Integrate use of modern technologies in HDSS operations such as handheld computers and Geographic Information System (GIS) to expedite output and improve quality of research information. To provide appropriate logistical and infrastructure support for the collection of quality scientific data. Dissemination and communication of research results.
Expected results Effective organization and management of site in place. Guidelines and SOPs developed and DSS management board formed. Conduct 7th to 15th household update rounds and verbal autopsy to increase knowledge base and awareness about the population. Data analysed and disseminated and community cooperation maintained and strengthened. Increased participation in INDEPTH activities. Staff trained in use of PDAs and use of GIS in research. Evaluation study of PDA vs. paper conducted. Reliable internet, more office space rented, staff recruited, project car procured and supervision and coordination improved. The financial base of the DSS will be expanded. The area encompassing the DSS will be a hub of research activities.
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by External Reviewer 1 Relevance The proposed project seeks to build on initial work that was started in 2004/2005 to build a research infrastructure that is anchored on the backbone of an intensive continuous recording of population events at the district level, aimed at providing empirical data that will help inform policy at the district level. The importance of the continuous demographic recording of health and population events is evident from the fact that in many of the areas where these activities are conducted, there is often lack of vital registration systems to provide the needed information for planning purposes. Uganda, like many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, requires such information to direct its planning processes, particularly given the fact that governments are now calling for planning at the district level. I believe that information that will continue to be generated by the Iganga/Mayuge project will greatly help in this process.
Competence of the applying institution/unit Makerere University is one of the leading universities in Africa where as Karolinska Institutet is one of the leading research institutions in Europe. A partnership between the two institutions can only be described as optimal as the two sides bring together credibility and research quality. I am pleased to say that both the institutions and the applicants have the competence to carry out the proposed research and research training program.
Research infrastructure The equipment requested for is appropriate for the volume and type of work the researchers have proposed to do.
Research management I am aware of some of the challenges research initiatives face when placed at Universities in Africa. However, some have been able to find a solution that enables the researchers conduct their work with relative ease. Agincourt HDSS site in South Africa is attached to Wits University. Dikgale HDSS site is attached to University of Limpopo. The researchers in Iganga/Mayuge may need to consult with some of their colleagues to see what dialogue they‟ve had with the university authorities.
Sustainability of research capacity of the institution It is evident from the achievements from the previous phases of the project that not only will the proposed work contribute to the generation of knowledge for planning, but it also offers a breeding ground for academic and professional training purposes. The previous phases have led to the training of several PhDs and MSc and undergraduates. What is particularly lacking in many PhD training in Africa is the research base for such training. 23
Iganga/Mayuge provides this to Makerere University. The University is making strides to ensure that higher level training is anchored in original research and should be supported in that direction.
Budget The budget is appropriate and seems modest to me, given the budgets of similar research initiatives that I have reviewed before. Generally, a lot of projects have evolved out of the two phases of the project and some of these are still ongoing. Continued support will therefore ensure that the projects do not run out of breadth before their conclusion. What is good to note is that the researchers have used Sida funding to attract other funding to the research site.
Assessment by External Reviewer 2 Relevance The thematic composition is well motivated in the introduction to the proposal in terms of the characteristics of the global health transition. This calls for research addressing both tails of the welfare distribution. A HDSS such as the Iganga/Mayuge site is well placed to serve as an infrastructure enabling such research. It may also serve as a platform for research training and capacity building. The first phases of the collaboration have shown that the potentials are there, that the researchers know what it takes, not the least for long-term sustainability. They have also verified that, like most other HDSSs, they have experienced problems of long-term commitment, fatigue from the community and demands for supplying immediate health care needs. But, first and foremost they need urgently to make policy makers aware of this resource and make them start asking health policy questions to it. The researchers do plan to give priority to this by inventing presentation tools and communication devices that can narrow the space between what they “know” and what they “do”.
What I am really lacking is a thorough analysis of the epidemiological situation of the study population in terms of trends, disease burden, risk factor prevalence and preventability, mortality pattern and prematurity of deaths, functional ability, cognition etc, i.e. an analysis of the very basis for setting priorities. This is what the HDSS is for apart from being an arena for interventions and their evaluation.
Competence of the applying institution There is a very good competence both on the Ugandan and Swedish side of this collaboration. One of the Swedish coordinators has spent long periods of time in Uganda during the building up of the infrastructure and there seems to be well cared for supervisory functions on both sides.
Methodology and feasibility The researchers are well aware of the methodological problems of doing population-based field work in developing countries and they have long experiences of what it takes in terms of commitment and patience. As mentioned above I would like to have seen a proper analysis of the basic demography of the study setting based on the first years of surveillance. This would pave the way for where to go from here. One methodological issue that I have not seen that they have coped with is the frequency with which home-visiting is made, which in its turn is directly related to the disease burden of the society – where mortality is high you may need a different design strategy compared to a healthier society. This is of course also related to the problem of community fatigue, another issue identified but not really dealt with.
Research infrastructure There are no doubt great potentials in longitudinal surveillance systems like the ones built up here. It is characteristic that its value increases by time which is the challenge also for the research group and the funders. This “olive tree” nature of HDSSs implying that you invest for others to harvest puts demands on the commitment, maintenance and perseverance that single one-off projects are not facing. The major potential of the infrastructure is that of cross-site studies and for that purpose the Ugandan sites are members of INDEPTH. This potential is only to a limited extent exploited and there should be more emphasis put on this kind of partnerships especially within sub-Saharan Africa.
Four specific recommendations regarding improvements 1. Address seriously the issue of community fatigue by identifying and trying out appropriate means of communicating with the community on results and their implications. 24
2. Similarly, make policy makers curious and ask questions to the data base that will be wealthier over time. 3. Undertake proper epidemiological analysis of the demographic and epidemiological situation of the study setting and publish sooner rather than later a design article combining the study design with the background data, an article to serve as a basic reference for the emerging more specific papers to be. 4. Upgrade the rather limited focus on chronic and non-communicable disease and risk factor patterns of the research agenda.
Budget This is both too detailed and at the same time difficult for an outsider to critically assess – 13 MSEK is huge to say the least at first sight and it is characteristic that 2/3 of this is salaries. I would have liked to see a strategy how and when this will be taken over by local authorities such as the Ministry of Health.
Assessment by Sida From Sida assessment for the July 2005-Dec 2009 agreement period “Following a request from Makerere University for the development of a DSS in the Lake Victoria area, where as many projects as possible in this program may be focused, Sida commissioned SGS to investigate the modalities for such a site. A proposal was submitted to Sida that outlined the modalities for setting up and sustaining a DSS. The idea of a demographic surveillance field site for doing studies not only related to medical issues but to research involving agriculture, social science and technology has been met with great enthusiasm from many researchers but also present challenges. Sida agreed to support the DSS but stressed that it is necessary to continue to explore alternative possibilities for commitment for supporting and sustaining the site. It is evident that prior to obtaining commitment of government organisations, the project must demonstrate what it is able to achieve and produce. However it is also essential to continue to pursue the goal to obtain financial contributions from organisations that will use the product of the DSS. A mechanism should be established immediately for charging an overhead fee from each research project that takes place within the DSS. The funds generated from such projects should be accounted for as income in financial reports.”
As seen above (assessment for Phase II) financial sustainability of the DSS was and remains a key issue. The DSS has not been able until now to establish itself as a “legal entity” enabling it to sign its own agreements and charge overheads from research projects in a systematic fashion. This issue must be addressed during the first years of Phase III. In addition, MU must realise that the DSS is a cross-cutting site that was aimed for research studies not only within health. The DSS should consider opening up for research studies in other areas as well. This process could be structured around the development of a Research agenda, where the DSS articulate the research subjects that the site should focus on during the coming years. This agenda could also define what research training potential that the DSS foresee. This could open for a broader “customer base” from MU. MU should start to allocate internally generated funds for the running of the DSS, as it is a MU cross-cutting institution that will not be funded by Sida indefinitely. During this phase, MU should scale up its financial contribution for the running of the DSS over time. A plan for this should be presented to Sida. The DSS should clarify the number off staff in each category and what their current salaries are.
The DSS should also approach the Ministry of Health to present their findings and solicit for funding in the long- term perspective. It is essential that the information generated from the continuous household surveillance from the Iganga/Mayuge DSS is made available to UBOS to complement their data collection.
Sida will not fund the proposed vehicle, inverter and inverter batteries that have already been catered for during the extension period of Phase II. Sida funds are not to be used for sitting allowances and honoraria for meetings taking place at Makerere University. Such funds, if deemed necessary, would need to be sourced elsewhere.
Each of the queries raised by the reviewers and by Sida should be addressed and presented in writing to Sida together with a revised budget according to the approved support and submit them to Sida before disbursement can be made for the agreement period January 2010-June 2014.
25
Budget Demographic Surveillance Jan-June Site 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Total Requested SEK 3 322 187 2 965 751 3 333 152 3 465 527 13 086 617 Approved SEK 2 200 000 2 200 000 2 200 000 2 300 000 1 100 000 10 000 000
Sida research officer Sector: - Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson
26
ASSESSMENT
RESEARCH, ADMINSRATIVE AND FINACIAL REFORMS AT
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY 27
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY/Sida BILATERAL RESEARCH COLLABORATION Research, administrative and financial reforms at Makerere University
THE OFFICE OF THE COORDINATOR Applying Institution: Makerere University P. O. Box 7062 Kampala, Uganda
Coordinator, Uganda: The Director School of Graduate Studies Makerere University Tel: +256 414 530 983 Fax: +256 414 533 809 E-mail: [email protected]
Prof Barnabas Nawangwe Chair of the University Research, Administrative and Financial Reform Committee (URAFRC) Makerere University Tel: +256 414 545 029 Fax: +256 414 532 780 E-mail: [email protected]
PROPOSAL FROM MAKERERE UNIVERSITY
Abstract In delivery of her core and support functions, Makerere University (MU) is currently guided by a robust Strategic Plan 2008/09-2018/19. Over the next 10 years, the University has re-defined her overarching enterprise strategy to be the leading institution for academic excellence and innovations in Africa. The vision is being achieved through providing innovative learning & teaching, research and outreach/services responsive to national and global needs. This therefore, calls for leveraging the university‟s competencies to boost governance, research & innovations, financial and human resources development to support her mission in line with national, regional and international trends. Strategically, the University is now being steered in the direction of a learner-centred problem-based instruction, a research driven university where research and learning/teaching are mutually re- enforcing, and knowledge transfer partnerships and networking between the University on one hand, the public and private sectors on the other. The University has made progress in governance through contributing to or development of a number of supporting policies. These include: Quality Assurance Policy (2007), Research and Innovations Policy (2008), Human Resources Development Policy (2009) and Policy on Appointment and Promotion of Academic Staff (2006). Despite these notable achievements, the university still faces challenges in the areas of governance, financial and research management, and having effective and efficient academic structures to provide innovative teaching and learning. MU has therefore embarked on a reformation process of her research, administrative and financial processes in 2009. This in response to the Ministry of Education and Sports White paper3 and the recommendations of the Visitation Committee to public universities4 which recommended the university to “undergo an overhaul of its administrative structure and style”. This undertaking is a fundamental rethink of the University‟s business processes in the domains of programs, teaching and learning; research and innovations; and administrative and financial management with a view to making them more efficient and effective.
3 Government white paper on report of the Visitation Committee to public universities in Uganda, Nov 2008, Ministry of Education and Sports 4 Report of the visitation committee to public universities, Feb 2007 28
In order to execute the task efficiently and effectively a University Research, Administrative and Financial Reform Committee (URAFRC) has been set up by the Vice-Chancellor comprising of persons from within and without the University to provide an outsiders view to enrich the process. The URAFRC will work through three thematic sub- committees with delineated areas of focus, Research, Finance & Administration and Teaching & Learning. The URAFRC will serve as the key coordinating vehicle while the thematic sub-committees will shoulder the burden of data collection, collation, analysis and synthesis. The analyses and synthesis by the thematic sub-committees will then be discussed by the main taskforce at monthly retreats. In addition, consultative workshops, commissioned studies, study tours and document review will be used as methods of work. A secretariat has been set up and support from an external consultant is envisioned.
Overall Objectives To critically examine the current business processes relating to research and innovations; administrative and financial management; Programs, teaching and learning and college formation. To make recommendations on how to improve the business processes and organizational structure with a view to making them more efficient and effective.
Proposed Activities Examining the current research and innovations management system with a view of making it more effective and efficient. Examining the current administrative structure with a view to identifying areas of structural improvement/gaps. Examining the college system with a view to proposing an appropriate college system. Examining the current financial management system with a view to making it more efficient. Examining the University programmes with a view to rationalizing them and harmonizing them and recommending appropriate discipline homes. Examining the current teaching and learning system with a view of making it more effective in tandem with current international trends.
Expected outputs Organisational Handbook Management Information System Research Manual
Assessment by Sida Sida has together with the EDCTP5 provided funds for consultancy support from KPMG6,7 to the reform during 2009. MU has also committed internally generated funds for the reform. The work of the sub-committees has started to deliver and the next step will be to develop selected “as is” process descriptions and thereafter “to be” processes with identified risks and mitigations to the same. MU has made progress regarding work plans and process descriptions, while many question marks still remains regarding the information systems, FINIS, ARIS and HURIS. MU must take the recommendations from KPMG as presented in their reports from their visits June, August and October 2009 seriously. Plans for the piloting and implementation of new processes and systems remain to be developed. It is important that MU takes advantage of the external consultant support during 2010 to cater for these plans. Sida funds are not to be used for sitting allowances and honoraria for MU staff for internal or external meetings. Such funds, if deemed necessary, would need to be sourced elsewhere. Each of the queries raised by Sida should be addressed and presented in writing to Sida together with a revised budget according to the approved support. These should be submitted to Sida before disbursement can be made for the agreement period January 2010-June 2014.
5 European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership, EDCTP 6 Capacity assessment and advisory support to Makerere university in Uganda, Phase 1: September-November 2008, Larry Ribbeklint, KPMG 7 Capacity assessment and advisory support to Makerere university in Uganda, Phase 2, part 1: June 2009, Larry Ribbeklint, KPMG 29
Budget Makerere University Jan-June administrative reform 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Total Requested SEK 3 000 000 0 0 0 3 000 000 Approved SEK 3 000 000 0 0 0 0 3 000 000
Sida research officer Sector: - Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson 30
ASSESSMENT
INNOVATION SYSTEMS AND INNOVATIVE CLUSTERS IN UGANDA
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY
31
INNOVATION SYSTEMS AND INNOVATIVE CLUSTERS IN UGANDA Strengthening University Staff Capacity to Support the Development of Innovation Capacity and Innovative Clusters in Uganda
Applying Institution: Makerere University P. O. Box 7062 Kampala, Uganda
Coordinator Uganda: Collaborating Institution: The Director Prof. Lena Trojer School of Graduate Studies School of Techno culture, humanities and Makerere University Planning, Division of Techno science Studies Tel: +256 414 530 983 Blekinge Institute of technology Fax: +256 414 533 809 374 24 Karlshamn, Sweden E-mail: [email protected] Tel: +46 045 419104 Fax: +46 Implementing unit at Makerere University E-mail: [email protected] Faculty of Technology Prof Barnabas Nawangwe Dean, Faculty of Technology Makerere University Tel: +256 414 545 029 Fax: +256 414 532 780 E-mail: [email protected]
Senior Researchers Assoc. Prof J. Byaruhanga Prof. Ddumba Ssentamu Dr Peter Lating
Proposed PhD Students Joshua Mutambi (Makerere University) one, not identified
PROPOSAL FROM MAKERERE UNIVERSITY
Abstract Development of innovation capacity is one of the key objectives of MU Strategic Plan for 2008/09-2018/19. The Innovation Systems and Cluster Programme for Uganda is part of the Innovation Systems and Cluster Programme for Eastern Africa (ISCP-EA), a regional programme which started in 2004 and is being implemented collaboratively by the Faculties of Engineering/Technology at the Universities of Eduardo Mondlane, Dar es Salaam and Makerere. The main objective is to stimulate, catalyze and promote the development of capacity for innovation through innovation systems and innovative clusters in Eastern Africa, and thereby facilitate speedy socio-economic development and poverty reduction. The program assists the universities to fulfil their third mandate of reaching out and generating solutions to solve problems that confront their respective societies through applied research and innovations instead of remaining „ivory towers‟. Since its inception, the program has seen the launching of 22 cluster initiatives in Uganda. Another 25 cluster initiatives were proposed at the training of cluster facilitators in March 2009. These cluster initiatives, representing various sectors of the economy including agriculture, food processing, manufacturing, service sector, ICT and others have enabled relatively weak small and medium enterprises increase their competitiveness through application of the triple helix concept. The cluster initiatives have given an opportunity to the academia to utilise them as a platform for enhancement of research capacity and activity. Currently, the academia participating on the program are drawn from at least seven faculties at MU as well as representatives 32 of MU Business School, Kyambogo and Mbarara Universities. Additionally, the cluster initiatives have given the academia and Government the rare opportunity to work closely together to support the development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which are the backbone of Uganda‟s manufacturing industry, through policy advice and education. Sida has supported the Innovation Systems and clusters Program since its inception. The program, initiated in 2005 was planned to be implemented in three phases, namely; Initiation of the Program and Piloting (2005- 2009), Full Scale Operationalisation and Implementation, and Program Consolidation. Phase Two will cover four years, from 2010 to 2013 during which the program will be mainstreamed into the Institutional Research Development Programme for MU Phase III, supported by Sida.
The objectives of the program are to use the expertise and knowledge of university staff: 1. To stimulate, catalyze and promote innovativeness among small scale firms and rural farms and within university staff; 2. To stimulate, catalyze and promote enhanced competition and cooperation among small scale firms and rural farms within clusters and sectors; 3. To stimulate, catalyze and promote quality and productivity consciousness and pursuit among individuals, firms and farms; 4. To stimulate, catalyze and promote the development of a competitive mindset amongst businesses and small scale firms producing similar products or services in Eastern Africa generally.
Pilot initiatives were set up in Uganda 2005 11. Vegetable seeds cluster, Kampala 1. Management Consultancy Cluster in Kampala 12. Goat Rearing Cluster, Soroti 2. Salt Processning Cluster in Katwe- Western 13. Education Cluster, Kampala Uganda 3. Metal Fabrication Cluster in Kampala 14. Diary Cluster, South Western Uganda 4. Pineapple Processing Cluster in Kayunga 15. Mushroom Cluster in Kampala 5. Basketry Cluster in Luwero 16. Coffee Cluster, Western Uganda 6. Fashion and Textile Cluster in Kampala 17. Building Material Cluster, Kampala 7. Bio Fuel – Ethanol Cluster in Kakira 18. Furniture Cluster, Kampala Pilot initiatives were set up in Uganda 2007 19. ICT Software Cluster, Kampala 8. Fruit and Vegetable Processing Cluster, Luwero 20. Leather Processing Cluster, Jinja 9. Bee Keeping Cluster, Lira 21. Maize Millers‟ Cluster, Masaka 10. Fish Farming Cluster, Kaliro 22. Tree Planting Cluster, Masaka
Overall Capacity Objectives Preparatory research and innovation systems policy review to establish the extent to which extent clustering firms exist in Uganda and establish a database on innovation systems and clusters in Uganda. Implementation of pilot innovation systems and/or cluster initiatives (form teams representing the triple helix sphere and identify factors and actors to enable innovations systems). Awareness creation and publications (workshops, exhibitions, journal, website). Competence building and research (establish MSc and PhD training on innovations at MU) Coordination and follow-up (mobilize funds, monitor and evaluate, organise meetings, spearhead the formulation of national innovations policies).
Expected results A network of capable individuals interested in innovation systems and clusters formed; Innovation systems and clusters in three Eastern African countries identified and characterized for possible in-depth study (mapping of clusters and innovation systems); In-depth study of selected clusters and innovation systems carried out, including: Assessment of extent to which they are innovative and bottlenecks for growth; Determination of mechanisms that will make innovation systems in the various sectors stronger and sustainable, and clusters innovative and sustainable. Consolidation of potentially innovative clusters stimulated; Innovativeness of firms and farms within pilot existing and new clusters and innovation systems stimulated; National and Regional Workshops organized; 33
Various advocacy initiatives implemented; Cluster mapping accomplished; Short and long-term training programmes developed; Short and long-term training in innovations, and innovation systems and clusters established; Exchange of staff involved in innovation programs, and experiences among and between clusters and support institutions realised; An independent competitiveness institution established.
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by Sida The pilot phase of the Innovation Systems and Innovative Clusters Program has been supported by Sida from 2006-2009. Now MU solicit support for a second phase of four years for consolidation and full scale operationalisation and implementation of the program. Many results have been achieved, but results are not directly tangible and difficult to quantify. It is important that the second batch of clusters be evaluated before any new clusters are launched. A set of baseline data to enable long-term monitoring and evaluation of clusters will be crucial. The proposed establishment of a database on innovation systems and clusters in Uganda will be important.
As Sida will not fund the full implementation of clusters it is essential that plans for the long-term sustainability of clusters are developed and funds solicit funds from other sources. The communication and dissemination of results will be important for the process of widening the financial base of the program. MU should together with the other research institutions involved in the program show specifically how research results have helped the clusters develop in different aspects.
The development of MSc and PhD programs in Innovation systems at MU is commendable, and will complement the ISCP in a productive way. However, as one of the PhD candidates are from outside MU, it is important that the program justifies why the current candidates have been selected. It is not clear why this PhD position is not included among the 20 PhD positions that will be open to candidates from other public universities in Uganda. This must be explained. CVs of PhD candidates and revised PhD training plans and budgets should be submitted to Sida. As MU together with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology have received a grant of SEK 4.5 million from NOMA for developing a “Master of science in innovation and industrial development” during the period 2010-2014, Sida will not fund any MSc training at this stage.
It is important that the ISCP continues to play a leading role in innovation initiatives in Uganda. A description and membership of the National Steering Committee should be submitted to Sida. Time and cost for coordination should be specified as well as the staff of the Secretariat.
Subsistence grants for PhD students while in Sweden will be disbursed directly through the Swedish Institute. The level for this post should be calculated per student in a separate column named “Swedish Institute”. Cost per month per student is to be calculated as 13 000 SEK (includes subsistence allowance, insurance, activities and administration). A number of restrictions are to be noted: PhD training in total should not cost more than 250 000 SEK per year for the Swedish side including travel and supervision (refer to page 29-30 of Sida Guidelines Edition 2008). Travel should be kept to economy class tickets. Sida will not pay for sitting allowances and per diems for internal meeting within MU.
Each of the queries raised by Sida should be addressed and presented in writing to Sida together with a revised budget according to the approved support. These documents should be submitted to Sida before disbursement can be made for the agreement period January 2010-June 2014.
34
Budget Innovation systems and innovative clusters Jan-June program (ISCP) 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Total Requested SEK 2 720 000 2 274 000 2 194 000 1 730 000 0 8 918 000 Approved SEK 1 400 000 1 350 000 1 350 000 1 200 000 700 000 6 000 000
Sida research officer Sector: - Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson 35
ASSESSMENT
DIRECTOTARE FOR ICT SUPPORT (DICTS)
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY
36
DIRECTOTARE FOR ICT SUPPORT (DICTS) “Leveraging Makerere ICT services for research enhancement“
Applying Institution: Collaborating Institution: Directorate for ICT support, DICTS Uppsala University Makerere University Department of Scientific Computing P O Box 7062 P. O. Box 120 Kampala, Uganda 75104 Uppsala Tel: +46 18 4712757 Project Leader: Fax: +46 18 523049 Dr Nora Mulira, Director DICTS Tel: +256 41 531 343 Project Leader: Hans Frimmel Fax: +256 41 542377 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Other Collaborating Institutions: Busitema University Website: www.busitema.ac.ug
Gulu University PhD Students Website: www.guluuniversity.ac.ug Continuing Moses Niiwe Kyambogo University Florence Kivunike Website: www.kyambogo.ac.ug David Kiwana Evelyn Kahiigi Mbarara University of Science and Technology Ali Ndiwalana Website: www.must.ac.ug/
PROPOSAL FROM MAKERERE UNIVERSITY
Abstract Makerere University (MU) with the assistance of Sida, NORAD, USAID, NUFFIC, Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Government of Uganda embarked on an ambitious plan to integrate ICT into its functions 2000. An ICT Policy and Master Plan was developed that provide a co-ordinated framework for the development of ICT skills, infrastructure and systems. The first phase of the plan was for MU to be transformed into an ICT user. In the second phase the University was to become an ICT knowledge and application driver that would form a nucleus of skills and knowledge that can contribute to development in Uganda. It is difficult to quantify the impact of the ICT investment on research without specific presentation of data. It is however clear among those conducting and supervising research that the completion of postgraduate research is taking a shorter time and with more up to date references, the quality and quantity of published papers has increased, and there is more efficient interaction with external colleagues. While considerable funding for most of the implemented ICT systems and services has been sourced from development partners, MU has noted and addressed the critical need of sustaining and maintaining the ICT investment, and becoming self-reliant by 2009. For ICT, MU budgeted explicitly for recurring costs, including human resources to carry out the tasks and continues to pay recurring costs for operating the system. For revenue MU has instituted a technology fee, at $30 per undergraduates and $50 for postgraduates per year. This will provides about $605 000 USD per year (2009) and is estimated to grow to $845 000 USD by 2011 and stabilize at approximately $1 million USD by 2012, sufficient to maintain all services, support maintenance of equipment, and allow for growth and replacement. The cost for bandwidth is approximately $500 000 USD per year (2009), but is projected to go down as the unit rate falls (currently at $2200 USD to hopefully less than $300 USD within a year) as the result of negotiations with suppliers by the Ugandan Research and Education Network for Uganda (RENU) hosted by DICTS. MU has as of September 2009 been able to negotiate expanded bandwidth from 20 Mbps to 40 Mbps at the same prise thanks to the SEACOM cable. It is envisaged that this will be expanded further in the near future. RENU has a membership of eight research institutions and universities in Uganda. RENU is one of ten members of the UbuntuNet Alliance for Research and Education which was established in 2006 as a response to the need to ensure that African national research and education networks (NRENs) have sufficient and affordable 37 bandwidth for their member research and education institutions in Eastern and Southern belts of Africa. The strategic objectives of the UbuntuNet Alliance 2009-2013 are e.g. capacity building of NRENs, improved speed and affordability of connectivity for Africa, strengthened institutional sustainability and improved policy and regulatory environments. MU has implemented measures to conserve bandwidth which has been needed up until now, e.g.: a) Blocking access to external online email during peak hours. b) Full time blocking of entertainment and pornographic sites. c) Instituting virus filtering for incoming mail and implementing network based anti-virus solutions. Furthermore, MU has developed an excellent local e-mail and webmail service using open source solutions, and all staff and students are entitled to addresses at no cost beyond the ICT budget The only challenge is has is the limited space allocated to users (80 MB), which is a problem to staff who travel and their mail boxes fill up within 2 weeks only. MU is therefore planning for increased storage capacity to ensure effective e-mail services. Availability of the requisite number of PCs is 10:1 average computer student ration and 3:1 for access within staff offices.
Key Indicators during from the start of Sida support to ICT at Makerere University. Indicator Year 2000 Year 2003 Year 2008 1 ICT Literate staff 300 3 000 3 500 2 Networked computers 300 2 700 6 500 3 LANs 15 40 7 300 4 Campus Backbone None 16km of Single mode 16km of Single mode optical fibre optical fibre cable cable at the four university campuses 5 Bandwidth 128kbps 2.5Mbps 20 Mbps (40 Mbps from Sept 2009 thanks to the SEACOM cable) 6 Email Users 300 5 300 18 000
DICTS Staff Capacity building: The biggest challenge MU faces is staff retention. MU has over the years addressed this challenge using the capacity building incentive. While salaries of staff cannot be competitive with what industry is offering, MU aspires to provide a conducive environment for those wishing to grow their careers. Training of DICTS staff has been ongoing since October 2001. This has included training at undergraduate and postgraduate level. The first training phase aimed at imparting skills to staff to effectively implement and manage the basic ICT Support function to the University. This therefore mainly focused on short-term training/attachments, undergraduate and postgraduate training (Masters level). The second phase of the training, focused on PhD research. As of 2009 one PhD student has finalised her studies, and she is now the Director of DICTS. Four staff members are currently enrolled for PhD studies. DICTS now proposes to broaden the capacity building strategy to include the technical staff in the various units throughout MU. The current qualification of these staff is at bachelor‟s level, and they need practical and managerial skills to effectively carry out their work.
Overall Objective The overall goal of the Project is to ensure that students, researchers and staff of the five public Universities in Uganda leverage the potentials of an ICT enabling environment to realize their knowledge pursuits, with particular focus on the needs of researchers in these institutions.
Objectives 1. Upgrade the infrastructure at the Network Operations Centre (NOC) and Disaster Recovery Centre (DRC) to allow provision of enhanced network services. 2. Leveraging the data backbone to provide a University-wide voice network. This component will aim at optimising the existing data network backbone for the additional service of voice. 3. Equipping of ICT technical staff at MU with skills to effectively manage and operate the network. 4. Support the four other public Universities with ICT policy/master plan review, and development of operational and sustainable ICT strategies. 5. Establishment of the basic minimum infrastructure (a Network Operations Centre, data backbone and LANs) and services at the four public Universities.
Capacity objectives 38
Training of 4 continuing PhD students. Training of 20 ICT staff from various units throughout the university to Masters level. Short-term training of 20 ICT staff from various units throughout the university to professional certificate level. Short-term best practice attachments to universities in Sweden and Africa.
Expected Outputs 1a. Increased capacity of network services at MU through scale-up of infrastructure at the NOC and DRC. 1b. Increased storage system of 30 Terabytes, allowing for 800-1000 MB storage space for users for e-mail, documents, home pages, blogs etc. (from the 80 MB they have today for use only in the e-mail system). 2. A campus-wide Voice over IP network for intra-university calls based on a Linux solution (asterix). 3. 4 PhDs completed 4. ICT policies and strategies in place for of the four other public universities 5. Basic network infrastructure at each campus site of the four other public universities established. 6. Improved teaching, learning and research at MU and the four other public universities.
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by External Reviewer A draft version of the present application dated February 2009, was reviewed. The revised application dated June 2009 was almost identical to the earlier version and had not taken into account any of the comments of the assessment. Only minor adjustments were made including a description of the proposed activities in a little more detail in text form which were earlier presented in a table. The project application is still brief and important components are missing. These include: Details of tangible results and outcomes from the previous past phase of Sida support in quantifiable terms. These achievements have been summarized in 11 points (a-k) on page 5 of the application, however, they need to be quantified and made more specific. Details of how this application fits in with the overall development of ICT in Uganda, commitment and policy of the Gov. of Uganda (Min. of Education & Sports, Min. of ICT) and other donors‟ support to ICT at MU. Details of what is being planned for the next 4-year period. A detailed breakdown of the budget (for instance, one of the budget post for SEK 13 million gives very little detail on how one arrived at this). Due to the lack of details about equipment to be purchased, it is difficult to assess whether the amounts requested are reasonable. The application does not show the commitment of any other university where NOCs are proposed to be installed. Has the application been developed in collaboration with them? Is there commitment to this proposal at all stakeholder institutions? Despite these drawbacks, it is clear from other sources such as the evaluation by Alan Greenberg for Sida8 and the booklet “Transforming Institutions through Information and Communication Technology”9 that the project has performed well during the first three phases. It is therefore recommend that the following components described in the application be supported: Growing the capacity of the network services at MU, however with the view that the growth is intended for serving Makerere students and staff and not other universities. This would mean a lower budget for this component which needs to be re-calculated and itemized so that it is clear what the funds will be used for. Each major item should be cost estimated. Establishment of a campus-wide VoIP network. Staff training.
Assessment by Sida The progress of the ongoing programme and the new proposal is in line with the revised ICT Policy and Master Plan of the University. Support is approved for upgrading the infrastructure of the NOC and DRC, but detailed
8 Sida Evaluation 05/17, Alan Greenberg et al. Sida Supported ICT Project at Makerere University in Uganda. 9 F F Tusubira, Nora K Mulira, E K Kahiigi and F N Kivunike, "Transforming institutions through Informaton and Communication Technology:" The Makerere University Experience (2008).
39 procurement plans should be developed and supplied to Sida together with the revised budget.. However, before Sida can consider approving funds for a campus-wide Voice over IP network (VoIP), MU must respond to the comments taken up by the external reviewer in the Sida Evaluation 05/17. In case Sida approves support for VoIP, this should be catered for within the approved budget.
It is unusual for a support unit like DICTS to have PhD students. However, this has been justified in the context of MU regulations that PhD students are required to aspire to be employed as a lecturer. DICTS is a support unit within an academic milieu. DICTS is, while being a support unit, also a unit that pursues a research orientation in order to enhance on observations made to strengthen the pursuit of MU to become an institution that integrates ICT in a creative and currently unexplored way. The continued capacity building of the personnel at DICTS is part of the MU strategy for retaining personnel. The continued training of DICTS staff to graduation at PhD level is supported. However, DICTS must supply Sida with detailed study plans indicating when these four students are planning to finalise their studies. In, addition the allocated budget for this component seems low considering that the PhD students are all registered in Sweden and will need supervision from there. The budget must include supervision cost and be agreed with the Swedish institutions. The proposal to support capacity building of ICT technical staff from other units than DICTS at MU is commendable to assure staff competence development university wide. However, it should be indicated where these studies are planed to be conducted and how the proposed candidates are selected. The Faculty of Computer Science should play a major role here. The capacity building component of the proposal should be prioritised over infrastructure development.
Support is approved for upgrading the infrastructure of the NOC and DRC, but detailed procurement plans should be developed and supplied to Sida together with the revised budget. Before Sida can consider approving funds for a campus-wide Voice over IP network (VoIP), MU must respond to the comments taken up by the external reviewer in the Sida Evaluation 05/17. In case Sida approves support for VoIP, this should be catered for within the approved budget.
The needs of the four other public universities in Uganda are huge pertaining to ICT. The present proposal does not provide any information regarding the long-term plans of the MoES to establish ICT infrastructure in these institutions and it does not refer to any other initiative regarding the expansion of ICT infrastructure among research and education institutions in Uganda. There are a number of initiatives addressing this in Uganda and Africa presently, and Sida is therefore not willing to support infrastructure development outside MU at this stage. However, Sida will support the collaboration among these public institutions by providing funds for workshops to review and develop ICT policies and master plans for future operationalisation with the possible support from the Government of Uganda or other external funders.
As of now MU has generated a computer park that will continuously need replacement. MU needs to have a strategy for how to take care of all this electronic waste, as waste originating from ICT contains lead, bromide antimony, silver and beryllium (in printed circuit cards) as well as PCB, mercury and cadmium. Plastic bodies of computers holds large amount of flame-retardant, which contains bromine (caustic and very toxic). Further the plastics in computers consist mainly of organic chains of molecules and are made of oil which is a non-renewable resource. To take care of the proper disposal of this waste MU needs to develop an Environmental management plan for disposal of PCs and other equipment and related material. If Uppsala University or any other of the Swedish collaborating institutions has experience of environmental management they could contribute with their knowledge as part of the project. Issues as the ones discussed above should be covered in that plan. DICTS should contribute to the establishment of such a plan.
Subsistence grants for PhD students while in Sweden will be disbursed directly through the Swedish Institute. The level for this post should be calculated per student in a separate column named “Swedish Institute”. Cost per month per student is to be calculated as 13 000 SEK (includes subsistence allowance, insurance, activities and administration).
DICTS should consider the recommendations by the external reviewer and submit to Sida a revised budget according to the approved support with the additional information requested by Sida as outlined above before disbursement can be made for the agreement period January 2010-June 2014. 40
Requested Budget 2010 2011 2012 2013 Total NOC and DRC 15 application Servers 40 TB storage capacity Data and power cabling for DRC 3 equipment racks at the DRC 3 rack mount UPSes (5kVA) at the DRC 1 600 000 2 400 000 168 000 0 4 168 000 Voice network 20 firewall/ VoIP servers 700 SIP phones 0 0 1 040 000 0 1 040 000 Basic minimum infrastructure at four public univ. NOC design for each of the 4 public univ. Data backbone and LAN design for each campus (20 km optical fibre cable, 1500 data points) A NOC and data backbone established and fully operational with basic network services at the four universities 0 7 000 000 6 112 000 0 13 112 000 Capacity building of DICTS staff Tuition and research costs for 4 PhD students in DICTS Tuition and research costs for 20 MScs at MU Tuition and travel costs for short training courses Study reports on best practices indicating recommendation for improvement 400 000 400 000 400 000 400 000 1 600 000 Review of ICT policies and strategies for 4 public univ. Ten ICT strategy development workshops run (2 per University) during the first two years Two technical workshops conducted annually 80 000 0 0 0 80 000 Total 2 080 000 9 800 000 7 720 000 400 000 20 000 000
Approved Budget 2010 2011 2012 2013 Jan-June 2014 Total - NOC, DRC, Voice network - Capacity building of DICTS staff - Review of ICT policies and strategies for 4 public univ. 1 300 000 1 300 000 1 400 000 1 300 000 700 000 6 000 000 Basic minimum infrastructure at four public univ. 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 1 300 000 1 300 000 1 400 000 1 300 000 700 000 6 000 000
Sida research officer Sector: - Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson 41
ASSESSMENT
BIBLIOGRAPHIC LIBRARY SUPPORT
MAKERERE UNIVERISTY
42
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY “Further integration of ICTs in Makerere University Library functions to enhance research”
Applying Institution: Collaborating Institution: Ugandan Coordinator Swedish Coordinator Dr Maria G. N. Musoke Dr Hans Frimmel University Librarian Information Technology Makerere University Library Dept of Scientific Computing P.O. Box 16002 Box 120 Kampala, Uganda 751 04 Uppsala, Sweden Tel: +256-414-533735/531041 Tel: +46 18 471 2757 Mobile: +256-772-654960 Email: [email protected] Fax: +256-414-540374 Email: [email protected] Uppsala University [email protected] Ms. Gunhild Back Systems Librarian University of Uppsala Library, Sweden E-mail: [email protected] Tel: +46 18 4712916 Mobile: +46 704 250318
DSV, Stockholm University/KHT Ms Asa Bergengren Head of the Adm, Section, ISP Box 549 751 21 Uppsala, Sweden Tel: 018-471 35 78; +46 18 471 35 78 Fax: 018-471 34 95; +46 18 471 34 95 Email: [email protected]
Prof. I.M.N.Kigongo-Bukenya East African School of Library and Information Science (EASLIS) Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062 Kampala, Uganda Tel: +256 –752-699266 E-mail: [email protected]
Ms Tag (Mary) McEntegart Director, INASP 58 St. Aldates P.O.Box 516, Oxford OX1 1WG, UK PhD students Tel: +44(0) 20 8997 3274 Continuing Fax: +44 (0) 20 8810 9795 Mr. Elly Gamukama E-mail: [email protected] Ms Alison Kinengyere Ms Liz State Dr Birgitta Olander Biblioteks-och Informationsvetenskap New Lund University One, not identified [email protected] (ELIN coordinator)
43
PROPOSAL FROM MAKERERE UNIVERSITY
Abstract The Library is a pillar on which research in Makerere University revolves. Over the years, Makerere University Library (MakLib) has been providing access to research output mainly in form of print theses and dissertations and authors‟ print-outs. Access to these research outputs has been limited only to those who physically visit the Library; hence putting pressure on the library physical space and facilities. Digitisation of the research output would go a long way to increase access to the resources without physically visiting the library, as well as enabling more than one user to access the document at the same time. (i) The major new activity in this phase, therefore, is the digitisation of MU research output into an institutional repository, known as the Uganda Scholarly Digital Library (USDL). The increased content in USDL will make the research output visible and known internationally, thereby increasing the presence of MU on the web. Digitisation will require equipment and software. (ii) The second component is e-resources subscription to support research and this is proposed to continue at a country level. In this new phase, the e-resources will have a strong Document Delivery Service (DDS) to support the CUUL (Consortium of Uganda University Libraries) and PERii members with poorer ICT infrastructure. Through DDS, they will be able to access the e-resources. Since 2000, the Library has been providing DDS to both MU community and other institutions. However, this service was not satisfactory, because of the delays in ordering and delivering of the requested documents to the intended recipients, among other things. (iii) The third component is Integration of ICTs in Library functions, which is proposed to continue with a focus on: (a) full implementation of the Virtua Integrated Library system Circulation module, specifically the patron database; the acquisitions module and the new archival management module. (b) The need to procure new equipment and subscribe to software to support the full integration of ICTs in library functions. (iv) The forth component is Capacity building of library staff, which is key to the sustainability of library automated activities. The current PhD students (3: one in Sweden and two in Makerere) will be supported to complete their studies, while one new PhD student is proposed. As the Library has recruited 25 new Bachelor‟s degree holders, the main emphasis of this phase will be to train a minimum of 7 librarians at Masters degree level. There will also be need for short attachments of 2-3 weeks to academic libraries in the developed world for both librarians and support staff to observe best practice and to update their knowledge and skills. Librarians with Masters and PhDs need to attend conferences, short courses and workshops to update knowledge, skills and share experiences through paper presentations/publications. (v) End-user training is the fifth component. This will continue as new students and staff need training; and new resources acquired by the Library need to be introduced to library users. (vi) The sixth component is the demand-driven cross-cutting course on „Information competence and Management‟ that has been running since 2005 to address the needs of graduate students and researchers. This phase of the library project is, therefore, expected to further promote access to and utilization of quality research information by all stakeholders.
Capacity Objectives 1. Digitisation 2. Enrichment of Information resources in the Library 3. Integration of ICTs in Library function 4. Capacity building of Library staff 5. End User Training 6. The Information Competence and Management Cross-cutting course
Proposed activities: 1. Digitisation Procurement of digitisation equipment and software Content collection and digitisation Sensitisation of library users and marketing the digital collections 2. Enrichment of Information resources in the Library Subscription to E-resources and document delivery Services End users trained on accessing E-resources at MU CUUL institutions 44
Statistics software subscribed to through SWETS in South Africa 3. Integration of ICTs in Library function Student Library cards with barcode procured Development of a comprehensive Patron database with online self registration form Launch of a fully functional circulation module Procurement of equipment for full implementation of the Virtua Integrated Library System (projectors, computers for branch libraries, UPS(5KVA) rack mount, 42V rack cabinet, laptops for PhD students, Virtua ILS maintenance and licence fees) 4. Capacity building of Library staff Finalisation of PhD studies for 3 continuing students Upgrade staff skills and competencies in ICT through training of 1 new PhD student and 7 Masters students Short courses, attachments, workshops and conference attendance 5. End User Training (covered by funds from Carnegie Corporation) 6. The Information Competence and Management Cross-cutting course run once a year (budgeted for under the SGS) Training of 150 researchers in information management and retrieval Training of 20 facilitators to run the course
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by External Reviewer Overall, we support the composition of the proposed project. We are satisfied that the elements included in this proposal are necessary to the satisfactory completion of a project (underway since 2001) to integrate e- resources and e-services into Makerere University Library (MAKLib) functions and that they are additional or complementary to those concurrently being funded by other partners.
Component 1: Digitisation The development of an institutional repository for dissertations and other MU publications is absolutely necessary for the support of research. MAKLib‟s institutional repository, the Uganda Scholarly Digital Library (USDL), was launched in June 2006 and set up with the help of University of Bergen and NORAD funding 2004- 2006. It has had limited success so far. According to the database accessible via the Internet http://dspace.mak.ac.ug/ 300 items are presently available. Information dissemination on the repository appears to be poor – the USDL entry in the Directory of Open Access Repositories www.opendoar.org gives only 55 items. The proposal indicates that it is lack of scanning equipment that has held back the project for the last four years and therefore the proposal to procure scanning equipment seems reasonable. Many university libraries in Africa have now set up successful institutional repositories (e.g. Dar es Salaam and Malawi, not to mention several in South Africa) and it would be useful for MAKLib to visit these and gain from their experiences. Another programme from which they might learn is the Greenstone for Africa project www.eifl.net/cps/sections/services/eifl-foss/greenstone.
Component 2: Enrichment of information resources in the library The acquisition of a wide range of journals and other databases are absolutely necessary to support research both at Mu and in Uganda as a whole. Increased support for the document delivery service offered to researchers outside of Kampala and attached to institutions which are able to access e-resources directly because of poor infrastructures should also develop research capacity. It would have been useful if the proposal could have provided a breakdown in the contribution to e-subscription costs by respective members of the Consortium of Uganda University Libraries (CUUL) in order to be able to better judge if a start has been made towards long-term sustainability. The CUUL website http://www.cuul.or.ug/index.html needs updating. Perhaps the example of the Kenya Library and Information Services Consortium (KLISC) could provide a useful comparison/mentor for the future?
45
At 15 July 2009, KLISC membership stood at 52 institutions. The whole e-resources budget is met collectively by members based on an agreed formula. Their last year's budget for e- resources was $273,000. The formula is rather complicated, but it works: i. Universities share 90% of the total budget - Public Universities share 80% of the 90% - Private Universities share 20% of the 90% ii. Non- University Institutions share 10% of the total budget iii. Apart from e-resources each member institution pays an annual administrative fee of about $150 to cater for postage, secretariat, workshops, consortia meetings etc. Contributions are paid into the University of Nairobi, who in turn pay the publishers through INASP. The arrangements work efficiently and effectively and the consortia is now planning to extend services into procurement of books.
We were pleased to note in the proposal the increased assistance to providing document delivery to libraries where infrastructure is poor, although a figure of 480 documents (being 120 per year appears modest). In the future it might be beneficial to research in Uganda if MakLib could actively assist other university libraries, through Sida and/or other funding sources, to improve their ICT infrastructure, so that researchers could directly access the various e-databases. This might also encourage them to contribute more towards the cost of the databases.
Section 2.2.2. of the proposal mentions statistics of use (which would indeed be helpful for MakLib to establish more effective M&E processes). We understand that aggregated statistics continue to be sent by INASP. However, PERii Country Coordinators are also encouraged to access publishers sites directly themselves so they can better identify institutional usage. That said, many libraries and library systems worldwide find the measurement of usage to be a complex and unwieldy task. If users access e-resources through the library site it is less difficult to measure number of log-ins, but this does not enable measurement of actual downloads. It is even more difficult to monitor usage from outside the library system. It is not indicated whether the proposed purchase of „scholarystats‟ software will actually solve these problems.
Component 3: Integration of ICTs in Library Functions MakLib cannot operate fully without the circulation, acquisition and archival management modules of its library system being fully operational. The proposed expenditure on equipment is justified as is the cost of maintaining the system software. The branch libraries of MU serve very important research communities (e.g. medicine) and it is important that each has the same infrastructure and equipment as the Main Library, so as to make full use of the e-resources available. We were pleased to note the inclusion of the request for Sida funds to contribute to this area.
Component 4: Capacity Building of Library Staff The capacity of staff to maintain and develop e-services and of users to make full use of what is on offer is crucial. As explained in the proposal, capacity building is also key to the sustainability of the library. The allocation of almost half of the funds requested in this proposal to continued capacity building is justified, although we do have some reservations and suggestions. We were pleased to see that the proposal includes 7 Master degrees, rather than focussing solely on more expensive PhD degrees. However, recent research has revealed that teaching at many African library schools is lagging behind the developments that have taken place in the academic library field. Curricula need to be reviewed and teaching staff given the opportunity to update themselves. The support for staff to participate in the biennial meetings of the Standing Conference of Eastern, Central and Southern African Librarians (SCECSAL), the Standing Conference of National and University Libraries in East, Central and Southern Africa (SCANUL_ECS) and the Association of Health Information and Libraries in Africa (AHILA) is noted. These are important and relevant meetings for continued professional development, information sharing and networking. University libraries in other African countries, not to mention Asia, have faced similar challenges as MakLib and have made significant strides in developing and maintaining e-resources and e-services. Study visits and attachments to these libraries in addition to visits to libraries in developed countries are likely to be very beneficial and we recommend that some are included in the proposal. 46
Component 6: Information Competence and Management (ICM) cross-cutting course The Information Competence and Management (ICM) cross-cutting course for graduate students was set up by MakLib in 2005. It has proved to be very successful and its continuation and expansion will continue to enhance research capacity at MU. However, we would have thought that, as the 3-year trial period is over, this activity was something that could have been internalized into the normal information literacy training activities of MakLib. Most of the expenses as given in the budget are for staff time and activities (e.g. setting and marking examinations, co-ordination, etc.) and surely the staff are already paid within their salaries? Additionally, the main library now has fully equipped rooms with Internet access, which can be used for the course. We recommend that Sida asks MakLib to consider that ICM should no longer be supported by external funds. Additionally, the target of 150 researchers to be trained over the 3-year period i.e. 50 trainees per year seems low in output, most especially if 20 facilitators are trained to run the course – this gives an average of only 7.5 trainees per facilitator.
The section on Monitoring and Evaluation (Section 1.11) provides limited information and is weak in thought. As it stands the M&E is restricted to implementation of the project components. We would have liked to see some thought given to ways of evaluating the impact of the various e-services to the quality and quantity of research. Some usage figures are given and the proposal states that better software to monitor e-use is being sought. However, it would also be possible to monitor research results, e.g. number of articles published in peer reviewed journals or to investigate whether research has resulted in action. Use of journal articles is not a sufficient indicator of research impact.
The sustainability of MakLib‟s ICT infrastructure and services, after the end of this project and similar funding from other partners, is not sufficiently addressed. In section 1.9, the proposal states that MakLib has a number of sources of funds such as library development and user fees for the sustainability of activities when the project funds come to an end. However, as soon as the library saw there was a gap in Sida funding for the purchase of e-journals, MakLib sought help from the Carnegie Corporation to pay for one year of subscriptions. It is not enough to state that sustainability should not be limited to financial aspects only and that the training of staff will remain the key input to sustainability. We would like to see some indication of the likely income from development and user fees and also expectations from government funds. It would also have been inspiring if MakLib had been able to indicate that some of the costs of maintaining the ICT infrastructure and e-services had already been successfully passed to internally-generated funds. Since 2001, MakLib has been in receipt of over US$3 million in donor funds and is requesting another US$2.5 million for the next three/four years. Such continuing donor-dependence will not make MakLib a sustainable „model‟ for other university libraries.
The proposal could have been improved by brief descriptions of how the activities suggested build on work already launched e.g. digitization, supported by NORAD 2004-2006; and also with inclusion of specific details of the complementary support being provided from the Carnegie Corporation US$1 million (2008-2011) for automation and digitisation and US$1.5 million approved June 2009 for collection development (incl. acquisition of e-resources) and staff training (2009 - 2011). We would have liked to have received a copy of MAKLib‟s 5-year strategic or library development plan, with an indication of what has already been spent on which activities, most especially for those where further funding (through Sida and/or other external funders) is being sought. With the except of the budget line for Monitoring & Evaluation, for which there is no clear context or justification, the total and balance of the elements of the proposed budget appear to be appropriate.
Assessment by Sida The Library should in collaboration with SGS implement regulations that makes it mandatory for PhD and Masters students to deposit their theses and publication in the USDL before they can graduate. The same could be applied for academic staff, if they want to refer to certain publications for their promotion, these publications must be deposited in the USDL, or otherwise they can not be utilized for promotion. The cost of library subscription to electronic journal on line through the Sida supported PERI programme is established and well received. The library is to present to Sida a MU cost-recovery plan for cost-sharing within CUUL and for when Sida support ceases. In addition the Library should endeavour to publicise and increase the current list of participating organisations receiving these resources. 47
Training needs (short and long term) in the Library continue to be recognised. The training of one new PhD is planned, however no student has been identified and project plan and budget for the PhD studies are not included. The proposal does not indicate in what faculty at MU the PhD student should be registered, neither what Swedish institution should supply co-supervision. Before this item is funded all these issues should be sorted out, to avoid the confusion that has appeared during Phase II. The candidates for the 7 proposed Masters should also be identified and a plan presented for their studies. The selection criteria of PhD and Masters students should be described and submitted to Sida as well. The cross-cutting course in Information Competence and Management should be included in the cross-cutting course curriculum and as suggested by the reviewers it should be possible for MU to finance it by now. Procurement of ICT equipment for the full implementation of the Virtua Integrated Library should be done in collaboration with DICTS. The Library should provide a more elaborate plan for monitoring and evaluation taking into consideration the context of significant multi-donor funding at the MakLib.
Subsistence grants for PhD students while in Sweden will be disbursed directly through the Swedish Institute. The level for this post should be calculated per student in a separate column named “Swedish Institute”. Cost per month per student is to be calculated as 13 000 SEK (includes subsistence allowance, insurance, activities and administration). A number of restrictions are to be noted: PhD training in total should not cost more than 250 000 SEK per year for the Swedish side including travel and supervision (refer to page 29-30 of Sida Guidelines Edition 2008). Travel should be kept to economy class tickets. Sida will not pay for sitting allowances and per diems for internal meeting within MU.
Each of the queries/recommendation raised by the external reviewer and by Sida should be addressed and presented in writing to Sida together with a revised budget according to the approved support. These documents should be submitted to Sida before disbursement can be made for the agreement period January 2010-June 2014.
Budget Further integration of ICTs in Makerere University Library functions to enhance Jan-June research” 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Total Requested SEK 3 290 028 1 619 960 1 620 527 1 469 485 0 8 000 000 Approved SEK 3 000 000 1 500 000 1 500 000 1 300 000 700 000 8 000 000
Sida research officer Sector: - Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson
48
ASSESSMENT
QUALITY ASSURANCE DIRECTORATE
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY 49
QUALITY ASSURANCE DIRECTORATE “Developing institutional capacity for quality assurance in graduate training and research for sustainable development”
Applying Institution: Collaborating Institutions: Quality Assurance Directorate Mr Godfrey Engau Makerere University Quality Assurance Coordinator P.O. Box 7062 Busitema University (Eastern Region) Kampala, Uganda Email: [email protected] Tel: +256 414 533 009 Website: www.busitema.ac.ug
Fax: +256 414 533 009 Dr Anthony Ocaya Mob: +256 782 570594 Quality Assurance Coordinator Email: [email protected] Gulu University (Northern Region) Email: [email protected] Website: www.guluuniversity.ac.ug
Contact person, Uganda: Sr Dr Marie-Gorreti Kaahwa Project Coordinator: Quality Assurance Coordinator Rev. Prof. Sam Luboga Kyambogo University (Central Region) Acting Director Email: [email protected] Quality Assurance Directorate Web site: www.kyambogo.ac.ug
Ms Annabella Habinka Quality Assurance Coordinator Mbarara University of Science and Technology (Western Region) Email: [email protected] Website: www.must.ac.ug/
PROPOSAL FROM MAKERERE UNIVERSITY
Abstract Makerere University (MU) has a long standing commitment to quality. But baseline studies which were carried out in 2005 revealed the limitations of the quality control methods in MU, where in many cases, the emphasis has been mainly on controlling inputs, with comparatively little attention given to the processes and outputs. At institutional level, there has been little capacity to monitor educational performance in a systematic manner. In the MU Strategic Plan 2008/9-2018/19 the University has articulated it‟s vision of being a “leading institution of academic excellence and innovation in Africa” and Quality Assurance (QA) is one of three crosscutting themes of the Strategic Plan. Through the MU Quality Assurance Policy (April 2008), MU is committed to promoting the internal and external confidence in the academic services provision. The Quality Assurance Directorate, which was established in May 2007, has committed itself in its 2008/9-2013/12 Strategic Plan to develop and implement quality assurance mechanisms in all university functions. To-date most of the quality assurance efforts have been directed at undergraduate teaching and learning. In order to become a research driven University mechanisms needs to be established to assure quality and therefore value for money in graduate training and research. However, the Quality Assurance Directorate lacks capacity to undertake sustained awareness campaigns and training that are necessary to mobilise adequate financial and human resources in conducting self evaluation of graduate training and research.
Capacity Objectives To strengthen capacity of the MU Directorate for QA in graduate education and research. To develop, benchmark, and disseminate new and innovative analytical tools for monitoring and evaluation of graduate training and research. 50
To improve performance of researchers, supervisors and research students by enhancing their quality assurance skills. To create awareness and capacity for QA in collaborating public Universities in Uganda.
Proposed activities Training of trainers into QA technical skills in order to build local capacity in quality assurance in graduate training and research. Engage consultants to assist the University to design self assessment/evaluation instruments for graduate training and research. Thereafter, the tools will be used to evaluate performance of staff and students. The results from the evaluation will be used to improve performance of staff and students. Project funds will used to create QA awareness among staff and graduate students. Training will also be provided to enhance skills of supervisors of graduate students. Curriculum Review of selected academic programs will be carried out to address issues identified in the evaluation reports. Since MU is the leading University in Uganda it is proposed that project funds are used to create awareness and capacity for QA in four public Universities in Uganda. MU will share its experience in implementing the QA Policy and will participate in training of trainers in research supervision and graduate training for Busitema University, Gulu University, Kyambogo University and Mbarara University of Science and Technology.
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by External Reviewer The MU QA Policy clearly defines the need for building up a QA system including self-evaluations, external assessments on a regular basis etc. The policy also clearly points out a commitment to involve staff, students and stakeholders in the QA-process. The policy reflects the situation very well and it clearly states the management‟s awareness of the need for a QA system. Although the present programme proposal is focussing on a QA system for graduate training and research it should be stressed that the undergraduate training and the graduate training/research should not be seen as separate activities at the University. These activities should be linked together. Professors active in research should also be involved in the undergraduate training etc. Consequently a QA system should involve QA of all parts at the University from the enrolment of undergraduate students to research. The proposal given for graduate training and research is in fact better designed for undergraduate training up to the Master level. Programmes on these levels are teaching intensive with several courses. To quality assure these activities there is a need for a systematic QA with assigned responsible persons/units to follow up the system.
On the other hand, research is to a high extent dependent on individual performance. Internationally, the major system for QA of research lies in the built in system of peer review of scientific articles. Students in research programmes, who are publishing papers together with their supervisors will also benefit from the quality assurance of the peer review system. If MU is aiming for high international standards of graduate training and research, scientific papers and thesis work should be published in international peer review papers. This does not exclude the need for a quality system for graduate training especially if a significant part of the scientific production is not internationally published. However, the only sustainable strategy for reaching and keeping a high standard at a research university, is to have a system that builds on inherent academic values such as critical thinking, continuous academic discussions among teachers active in research, international scientific cooperation, the use of literature based on recent findings in research etc.
51
The QA system should be simple and well known among employees, students and other stake holders. Such a system can be build up as follows: Object Evaluation Undergraduate teaching Course evaluations & programme evaluation (running) Graduate teaching Master level Course evaluations & programme evaluation (running) PhD level Course evaluations & programme evaluation (running) Research International peer review of papers Departments Self-evaluations of QA system (regular) Faculties Self-evaluations (regular) & external evaluations QA (when applicable) Institution External audit of QA system (regular)
To be able to reach the setup goals, i.e. to reach international level in research, the University should start by identifying a restricted number of research areas in which the University already has good competence in or will give priority to in the future. To be able to identify these research areas, MU should invite an international panel to evaluate in what research fields priorities should be given. The evaluation should identify the research methodology applied at MU as well as include a survey of the competence among all researchers and PhD students as well as of the infrastructure at MU. Finally, the research management should be described and evaluated including the possible ways of receiving research funds. Priority should be given to publications in international peer review journals. PhD programmes and courses should be continuously evaluated. Supervisors should be encouraged to meet regularly for discussions on the progress of their students. Teachers in Master and PhD programmes should have the possibility to make own research within their employment. The researchers/teachers and PhD students should get the possibility to perform research at other international institutions. High quality in graduate training and research is a continuous process and a part of the daily work and should be based on an inherent academic quality culture at a university. Even the best quality system can not replace the lack of an academic quality culture! To set up a QA system at MU, the University can very well get benefit from a consultant that initially aids the institution to build up the frame of the system. However, the major work to fill the frame with its content has to be done by the employees at the institution, such as creating course and programme evaluation forms, collecting and analysing data from surveys and finally to act according to the information given from the surveys. This should be a part of the daily work at MU. Unfortunately there are no short cuts in creating innovative analytical tools to quantify high quality! Approximately three years after the implementation of the QA system, the complete system should be externally audited by an experienced international panel.
Budget: Equipment, Training/Conferences/Seminars, Consumables & Administrative Costs are given a too high budget while Review of academic programmes is given a too low budget. The external audit of the QA system should be included in the budget, approx. USD 20 000.
Assessment by Sida The project “Developing institutional capacity for quality assurance in graduate training and research for sustainable development” aims to build capacity in QA among MU staff and to develop a QA system for postgraduate training and research at MU. The proposal is very timely from the perspective of the strategic direction of becoming a “research driven university” that MU is taking. However, the proposal states that the capacity of the QA Directorate is very limited to implement the MU QA Policy, and therefore it is important to describe what the current resources are, both human and infrastructural, and what resources that can be expected over time. What are the plans for investing in QA at MU? Has the university secured or solicited other external funding for QA.
The proposal does not describe what kind of consultants for developing a QA training programme that the university is intending to procure. Is there local capacity in place at MU, in Kampala, in Uganda or does the QA Directorate foresee international consultants? The proposal does not mention the possibility of institutional 52 collaboration with Swedish institutions already part of the overall research collaboration, which is a resource that should be considered. Furthermore, MU should consider involving the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) as a collaborating partner and resource.
To develop and implement a QA system there is need to be strategic in choosing faculties/institutes/units where the system is going to be piloted. A general roll out of this kind of programme is a major challenge and the QA Directorate should try to start small to evaluate the instruments and consider the view and experiences from the group of researchers, supervisors and research students, which will be the ones that finally implement the system at the university.
It is commendable that gender will be integrated into the QA tools to be developed, and Sida advices the QA Directorate to have close contact and collaboration with the Gender Mainstreaming Division when the tools are developed and later validated.
It is important that the collaboration among the public universities in Uganda is based on institutional collaborations, and preferably based on MoU‟s between the institutions. This to secure the commitment of the other universities, and the investment by the MU QA Directorate. It is important that the proposed base survey at the four public universities is conducted in collaboration with these institutions, and preferably with some contribution from the same. Sida will not fund equipment (computers, lap tops, projectors) for other institutions than MU at this first stage, but depending on the progress the project may request for a reallocation to accommodate for this. The comments from the external reviewer should be seriously considered, and Sida may be of assistance in the identification of international collaborating resource persons and/or institutions if MU so requests.
MU should develop more concrete mitigation strategies to cater for the identified risks, especially the one concerning the “Capacity of the Quality Assurance Directorate to manage the sub-program”. If the capacity is too low, MU must secure so that the Directorate has the staff required to implement the program, otherwise Sida will not agree to fund it.
Budget: Sida will not fund the proposed vehicle and Sida does not pay for any allowances connected to meetings or workshops.
The Quality Assurance Directorate must revise the budget according to the approved support and take the recommendations from the external reviewer regarding the budget into consideration. The revised budget it should be submitted to Sida before disbursement can be made for the agreement period January 2010-June 2014.
Budget Developing institutional capacity for quality assurance in graduate training and research for Jan-June sustainable development 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Total Requested SEK 1 919 000 2 082 400 893 000 805 600 5 700 000 Approved SEK 1 000 000 1 000 000 800 000 800 000 400 000 4 000 000
Sida Research Officer Sector: - Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson
53
ASSESSMENT
GENDER MAINSTREAMING DIVISION, DEPARTMENT OF THE ACADEMIC REGISTRAR
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY
54
GENDER MAINSTREAMING DIVISION, DEPARTMENT OF THE ACADEMIC REGISTRAR Makerere University Gender Mainstreaming Program (GMP) “Enhancement of Academic and Professional Competences of Female Staff in Public Universities and the generation of Gender Focused Research for National Development”
Applying Institution: Collaborating Institutions: Gender Mainstreaming Division Busitema University (Eastern Region) Department of the Academic Registrar P. O. Box 1234, Kampala-Uganda Makerere University Tel: +256 4140 123456 P.O. Box 7062 Email: [email protected] Kampala, Uganda Website: www.busitema.ac.ug Tel: +256 41 454 17 70/454 01 84 Mob: +256 712 422 485 Gulu University (Northern Region) Fax: +256 41 454 17 71 P.O. Box 166 Gulu, Uganda E-mail: [email protected] Tel: +256 471 32921 Website: htpp://gender.mak.ac.ug Email: [email protected] Website: www.guluuniversity.ac.ug
Contact person, Uganda: Kyambogo University (Central Region) Project Coordinator: P.O. Box 1 Kyambogo-Uganda Ms Catherine Kanabahita Guma Tel: +256 414 285001 Deputy Registrar and Head Email: [email protected] Gender Mainstreaming Division Web site: www.kyambogo.ac.ug
Assistant Coordinator: Mbarara University (Western Region) Ms Frances Nyachwo P.O Box 1410, Mbarara, Uganda Senior Assistant Registrar Tel: +256 485 20785/ 20394 / 21373 e-mail: [email protected] Website: www.must.ac.ug/ Kampala Liaison Office Tel: +256 41 533162
PROPOSAL FROM MAKERERE UNIVERSITY
Abstract Since its inception, there have been gender imbalances at Makerere University (MU), not only in staffing, but also in student enrolment. The first six female students were admitted in 1945 after considerable struggle. In 1991, the affirmative action policy to add 1.5 extra points to the score of every female on direct entry was approved by Senate. This has witnessed an increase in female enrolment from 22% before affirmative action to 46% by 2007/2008. In 2000, the establishment of the Gender Mainstreaming programme (GMP) was approved by Senate and Council and the Gender Mainstreaming Division was established 2001 to implement the GMP with the mandate to mainstream gender in all the functions of the University namely: Teaching and Learning, Research and Innovations, Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and Support Services. From the staffing point of view, achievement of this objective requires bringing male and female staff to same levels with respect to decision making, academic performance and management and administrative skills. Women are grossly under represented in management of academic and administrative organs of the university. While there are a number of initiatives to address the gender imbalance among undergraduate students there are no initiatives targeting staff.
The Makerere University Strategic Plan 2008/09-2018/19 has identified gender mainstreaming as one of three crosscutting themes. The University, through the GMP has achieved notable milestones in addressing gender equality such as equal access to university education for both males and females, gender awareness to staff and students, enactment of gender responsive policies and support to females to aspire for leadership positions. A process has also be started with 16 teaching units to engender the University Curricula and promoting gender analysis, planning and budgeting in Sentinel Sites. Although a late comer, the GMD benefited from the Phase II 55
Sida research support and intends to consolidate the significant achievements made during that phase to address the following objectives and activities:
Capacity Objectives To offer a gender perspective to research and ensure female staff participation in the multi-disciplinary research teams on good governance and human rights. To increase visibility and participation of at least 20 female staff in decision making in academic and administrative management of Makerere University. To increase the number of female staff from academia and administration acquiring graduate qualifications in Makerere University by at least 10 Masters and 5 PhD in each category and their gender focused research to contribute to development. To support four public universities in Uganda through a Forum, workshop to interest them in gender mainstreaming, establishment of Gender Mainstreaming Units in their respective institutions, and development of gender responsive policies in their respective universities
Proposed activities: Undertake gender focused research on the thematic research area of “Governance and Human Rights: Women and Leadership in Higher Education in Uganda”. Print and publish research reports and gender related publications and disseminate them to the public in an effort to influence decision making and policy formulation at institutional and national level. Procurement of stationery, computers and communications equipment. Award 10 Masters 5 PhD scholarships for Makerere University female staff and of these 30% from Academia and 70% from Administration, from the units that will not have benefited from the Sida support. Build capacity of the Makerere University Women and Leadership Forum in Gender and Leadership; Research and Publications; Communications, Lobbying and Advocacy. Facilitate Makerere University Female staff to participate in gender related short courses, and conferences/seminars to present research papers. Develop and implement a mentoring strategy for Makerere University female staff that will be institutionalised, formalized and is authentic, to support women‟s career aspirations. Offer support to four public universities to institutionalize gender through a forum to interest them in gender mainstreaming, a study on the situation analysis of the gender terrain, establishment of gender mainstreaming units and development of gender responsive policies.
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by Sida Gender Helpdesk Makerere University has presented very advanced plans and programmes for work with gender equality. Gender equality is not only, as in many Swedish institutions treated as a question of equal opportunities and a balance in numbers of women and men; there is an awareness of the benefits gained by drawing from both women‟s and men‟s experiences. Therefore the policy is to mainstream gender in research activities. Few universities provide a better or more radical and ambitious policy for gender equality. This is in line with national policies, but it can also be assumed that, at least to a part, is a result of international support to gender mainstreaming. With continued external support MU could allocate sufficient resources to implement the new policy. In the MU Strategic Plan 2008/09-2018/19 gender mainstreaming is centrally placed as a crosscutting issue. However, gender is mentioned neither in the vision statement, in the mission statement, the strategic focus statement, nor among the core values. Reference is given to the GMP of the University which has gender equality and women‟s empowerment as goals. However, what is not explicitly formulated as a goal is seldom monitored or evaluated, and gender is not explicit in the strategic goals and strategies formulated for the two core functions teaching and learning, and partnership and networking. Within the third core function, research and innovations, there is a strategy to “mainstream gender and actively involve women and special needs groups in research activities”. A mainstreaming policy should ensure the inclusion of gender in the other sectors as well, but experiences of mainstreaming are that gender tends to be left out or forgotten if not formulated in goals and strategies considerations. The Gender Mainstream Division (GMD) has an ambitious programme for reaching gender balance and for supporting female staff; they certainly need support in this work. The GMD is not a research unit, although a 56 study to support its activities will be conducted, “Women and Leadership in Higher Education”. The research programme for this study is not presented. The Division has been largely donor financed and has been under staffed and partly reliant on consultants and support from the Department of Women and Gender Studies. Even if the University in its plan promises to strengthen the GMD, continued external support is central from a gender perspective. The GMD is supposed to be supportive to researchers in the work of applying a gender perspective in research, but quite obviously, this is an overwhelming task. If the MU supervisors do not have the gender competence needed for a proper mainstreaming, the more important to put demands on their Swedish counterparts.
Assessment by Sida The project “Enhancement of academic and professional competences of female staff in public universities and the generation of gender focused research for national development” aims to increase access of female academic and administrative staff to higher ranks in MU. The idea is very relevant for MU and is commendable. However, the progress of including more women as professors/Deans/Directors and in top management has been slow and therefore it seems that MU needs to make this particular aspect of gender mainstreaming a priority if any change is going to be evident in the next five years. The proposed gender focused research on the topic ”Gender and leadership in higher education in Uganda: Achievements, challenges and strategies” is interesting and needed, however, it would be desirable if local research capacity is utilised, even if the GMD intends to go for “external” biding outside MU. The participation of MU female staff in this research is not clear, and Sida would like more information, such as Terms of Reference, for the procurement of this component before it is implemented. The close collaboration with the Department of Women and gender studies is crucial for the implementation of the programme as they are the academic unit at MU where gender related methods, theory and research is conducted. It is important that they play a central role in assessment of proposals/concepts for scholarships within this programme, as well as in the procurement of external capacity to conduct the proposed studies. While recognising the need for supporting the GMD of MU, it is Sida‟s view that this should be done in the context of available structures, and the specific MSc and PhD scholarship component should be part of the University Research Fund. The advertisement and selection of candidates should be done in collaboration with the SGS, even if the GMD are the ones that are responsible for the follow-up and reporting of student progress. It is important that the restricted membership of the MU Women and Leadership Forum does not disqualify a large group of possible beneficiaries of capacity building activities, and Sida would therefore like to know the criteria for membership in that Forum before any scholarships are advertised. Sida would like that the collaboration regarding gender mainstreaming in higher education with the four other public universities is based on institutional collaborations, and preferably based on MoU‟s between the institutions. This to secure the commitment of the other universities, and the investment by the MU GMD. It is important that the proposed base line “Situation analysis of the gender terrain” studies at the four public universities are conducted in collaboration with these institutions, and preferably with some contribution from the same.
The Gender Mainstreaming Division must revise the budget according to the approved support and it should be submitted to Sida before disbursement can be made for the agreement period January 2010 - June 2014.
Budget Jan-June Gender Mainstreaming 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Total Requested SEK 1 500 000 1 500 000 1 500 000 1 500 000 6 000 000 Approved SEK 1 000 000 800 000 1 000 000 800 000 400 000 4 000 000
Sida Research Officer Sector: - Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson 57
ASSESSMENT
FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY 58
FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE “Developing Sustainable Agricultural Production Systems through Ecological Resource Management and Value Addition”
Sub-Program 1: Enhance Efficiency in Agricultural Waste Utilization and Management Sub-Program 2: Enhancement of Production Systems for Increased Crop/Livestock Productivity Sub-Program 3: Enhancement of Value Chain Systems for Sustainable Agricultural Productivity
Applying Institution: Collaborating Institutions: Prof. E.N. Sabiiti Dr. Abraham Joel Coordinator Coordinator Faculty of Agriculture Department of Soil Science Makerere University Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences P.O. Box 7062 P.O. Box 7070 Kampala, Uganda SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden Tel: +256 41 542277 Tel: +46 18 672923 Fax: +256 41 531641 Fax: +46 18 672795 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.agric.mak.ac.ug Website: www.slu.se
PhD students Continuing New Mr John Baptist Tumuhairwe (finish PhD 2010) Three, unidentified Mr Peter. Walekhwa (finish PhD 2010)
PROPOSAL FROM MAKERERE UNIVERSITY
Abstract Uganda‟s agricultural production and productivity has declined from a growth rate of 7.9% in 2000/01 to 0.7% in 2007/2008. This is largely due to poor soil fertility, lack of adequate water for production, poor farming techniques, lack of sustainable animal feed resources, lack of agricultural inputs, lack of improved germplasm, losses from pests and diseases, limited value addition and skyrocketing prices. These are further aggravated by inadequate human resource capacity and limited private sector participation in technology commercialization and dissemination to drive agricultural developmental processes. This program is designed to address the above.
The problems to be addressed are within the priorities stated in the National Development Plan. Increasing agricultural productivity without degrading the environment is one of the challenges to be undertaken. The proposal is within the MU ten-year Strategic Plan and that of the Faculty of Agriculture (FA) Strategic plan both of which emphasize development of relevant human resources in an efficient and effective manner to meet the changing national and global demands.
The objectives of the program will be to (a) Increase the level and economic efficiency of crop waste utilization and management for various agricultural production systems; (b) Enhance soil fertility, water and livestock management through an integrated catchment approach; (c) Develop and scale-out low cost small-scale farmer and environment friendly crop pest management approaches; (d) Develop and commercialise nutraceutical products from traditional Ugandan products; (e) Develop socioeconomic decision support tools for promoting uptake of the innovations developed by the program; (f) Enhance the research capacity of staff of the MU FA and other agriculture-based public universities in Uganda to be able to contribute effectively to national agricultural development; (g) Establish and operationalise a technology incubation centre targeting the private sector as a sustainable mechanism for dissemination and commercialization; (h) Increase research culture in the FA through increased staff involvement in research and knowledge sharing through scholarly outlets. There are six research objectives dealing with crop waste utilisation, soil fertility, crop pest management, nutraceutical products, livestock productivity, and finally to develop socioeconomic decision support tools for promoting uptake of innovations.
59
The FA runs seven undergraduate and postgraduate degree programs and has 122 academic staff, 62 have PhDs, 56 MSc. and 4 BSc. There is need to train more staff to PhD level in line with the University policy. The basic capacity available so far can train graduates for MU and other public universities. The Faculty has basic research, training and outreach infrastructure to implement the proposed program. In addition, it has a research institute and a centre for continuing agricultural education. To strengthen the capacity of the FA to handle the proposed research, the Faculty has sought collaboration from the Faculty of Forestry and Nature Conservation (FNC) which has prioritized and has capacity in biodiversity research; and the Institute of Environment and Natural Resources (MUIENR) which has capacity in hydrology and wetland ecology. This is in addition to the well established collaboration with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU).
Five PhDs have successfully completed (of these three are women) and two are finalising. PhD supervision capacity has been enhanced.
Capacity Objectives Training of three PhDs Training of four postdoctoral fellows who have completed their during Phases I and II. Enhance the research capacity of staff of the Faculty of Agriculture and other agriculture-based public universities in Uganda to contribute effectively to national agricultural development. Establish and operationalise a Centre of Excellence in Waste Management that will also incubate available technologies and develop new ones with the private sector as a sustainable mechanism for technology dissemination and commercialisation. Increase research culture in the Faculty of Agriculture through increased staff involvement in research and knowledge sharing through scholarly outlets.
Research Objectives Sub-Program 1: Enhance Efficiency in Agricultural Waste Utilization and Management Project I: Establish and operationalise a Centre of Excellence in Waste Management Project II: Develop Strategies for improved energy generation from agricultural wastes Sub-Program 2: Enhancement of Production Systems for Increased Crop/Livestock Productivity Project I: Integrating Catchment-Based Soil Fertility and Water Management for Increased Crop Production Project II: Establish livestock productivity and food security in the rangeland pastoral communities Project III: Development of ecologically adapted crop management strategies for pests and diseases for increased crop productivity Sub-Program 3: Enhancement of Value Chain Systems for Sustainable Agricultural Productivity Project I: Development of Socio-Economic Models for Sustainable Agricultural Production Project II: Develop and commercialize nutriceuticals from traditional Ugandan foods Sub-program 4:Enhance research culture of the faculty staff through competitive small faculty funds and faculty research infrastructure
Expected Outputs Increased faculty strength in PhD supervision by staff. Increased number of staff with PhD degrees (3). Increased involvement of Faculty staff in research and technology dissemination activities. Scientific publications in refereed journals.
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by External Reviewer The overall objective of this research program is to provide new research based knowledge in order to develop and improve Ugandan agriculture in several aspects including optimized nutrient recycling and utilization, improved soil fertility and water management, improved pest management and production of added value products to increase nutritional levels.
60
Relevance of research areas scientific quality Development and improvement of Ugandan agriculture provides a challenge to future generations of farmers and advisory organizations. The current research program contains several suggestions that appear to provide a relevant platform for further development of the agricultural production. It is noteworthy that efforts have focus on nutrient optimization on recycling as means to support sustainable development with good potentials of nutrient optimization and independency for individual plant growers. The research program as a whole contains several interesting elements providing a good basis for education of PhDs and scientists at involved institutions. However, the individual sub-programs vary considerably in quality and scientific contents, which will be specified further in details below. Overall, the program has good integrity, however, the individual sub-programs has the characteristics to support “stand-alone” research.
Competence of the applying institution/unit Overall, it is expected that the involved persons achieve relevant and needed experiences to complete the proposed works. However, for all activities, several involved persons are not listed by their CVs and a more thorough evaluation is not possible. Also, the included CVs are very different concerning paradigms and contents, and for some researchers a scientific evaluation difficult.
Methodology and feasibility The proposed methodologies in the individual sub-programs are described to a large extent in very general terms without detailed specifications. It is my impression that the proposed works include relevant methods bearing in mind that many involved scientists have good or excellent backgrounds in the proposed disciplines. Along this, it is also anticipated that the proposed works should be feasible within the suggested time frames. However, in a couple of proposed sub-projects the objectives are numerous and very ambitious, which asks for adjustments in specific project descriptions. Sub-program 1, project I: Involves PhD graduates from phase one and two Sida support. Two specific project descriptions included, which gives a good and thorough introduction to the subject. Applied methodologies listed in general terms, and time-plan also very open. Sub-program 1, project II: Include the training of one PhD. The study not described in details, however a detailed and feasible time plan is included. Sub-program 2, project I: Methods and time-plan seem feasible. Sub-program 2, project II: Include one PhD and two MScs. Individual projects specified. Detailed time- plans are given leaving the impression of feasible research. Sub-program 2, project III: Very ambitious proposal with many objectives that each necessitates much research. The activity involves one PhD and three MScs, with little specification of projects. Very open time plan, making feasibility difficult to assess. Sub-program 3, project I: One PhD and two MSc projects; project contents described in briefly, and little specification of methods. Time plan only for the first year (2010). Feasibility difficult to assess. Sub-program 3, project II: One PhD and two MSc projects. Project plans and applied methodologies described only in brief, general terms. A relatively open time plan is given.
Research infrastructure It is stated the one research vehicle is needed for the UGA partner. 350 kSEK for such vehicle seems a high cost. Sub-program 1, project I: Laboratory renovation, equipment and running costs. Totally 1.3 MSEK over four years seems a high cost. The need is not specified neither justified. Sub-program 2, project II: Activity involves one PhD student, but costs for PhD candidate not included in detailed budget? Sub-program 3, project II: It is stated in budget notes that a gas liquid chromatograph needs to be purchased for the project. But such expense is not included in detailed budget?
Research management The capacity to manage proposed research is not described specifically in the document. However, given the fact that the proposed work is a continuation of successful previous co-operations (Phase I and Phase II) it must be anticipated that such capacity is in operation. 61
Several actions and pre-conditions listed to sustain a smooth project progress, are described in the document. E.g. “timely submission and strict adherence to budgets”, “students abandoning programs … mitigated by signing contracts”. It is not described, however, what the possible sanctions are to achieve these goals.
Sustainability of research capacity of the institution To my opinion, the proposed works have the capacity to meet these criteria, and it is also my impression that the educated candidates will achieve new knowledge beneficial for future capacity building and improvement of agriculture knowledge in Uganda.
Suggestions for how the projects can be improved Difficult to give detailed inputs to improvements, as the individual activities are described much in general and open terms. Generally, it should be emphasized that the objectives of individual sub-activities could be more specific and well-defined, that would facilitate to focus the activities further.
Environmental assessment by the Sida Environmental Assessment Helpdesk It is of great concern that Uganda‟s agricultural production and productivity has declined from a growth rate of 7.9% in 2000/01 to 0.7% in 2007/2008 and every effort to increase productivity while not increasing environmental stress is commendable. The objective of increasing soil fertility will also help mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as fertile soils have a greater capacity to store coal than degraded ones. Around 20% of global GHGs are produced from the agricultural sector, the sub-projects in this program looking to find ways to develop technologies for generating energy from agricultural waste as well as innovative schemes for production of cattle fodder from residues will also help reduce Uganda‟s carbon footprint. The idea of constructing and evaluating large water harvesting structures for agricultural production is a proven way to secure water resources in a changing climate.
Assessment by Sida Gender Helpdesk In the introductory presentation common for all sub-studies it is promised that “gender issues will be addressed in the individual research projects, especially with regard to selection of target groups and beneficiaries. In recruiting students, gender balance will be ensured.” However, gender is not addressed in most individual research projects. The awareness might be there, but it is not highlighted. Only in the sub-program on socio-economic enhancement of sustainable agricultural production it is noted that “in selecting farming households for the studies, attention will be paid on the gender dimensions of production”. In the logistical framework, where indicators are defined, gender is not mentioned. Obviously, there is a risk that gender issues will not be considered.
Assessment by Sida The overall proposal is well-justified and follows the same path as in the previous phase. It is very positive that the FA has sought collaboration from other parts of MU, such as the Faculty of Forestry and Nature Conservation (FNC) which has capacity in biodiversity research; and the Institute of Environment and Natural Resources (MUIENR) which has capacity in hydrology and wetland ecology, in order to strengthen the capacity of the Faculty to handle the proposed research. It will be crucial for the program to build on these institutional collaborations within MU. It is anticipated that the researcher from these other units will participate in all activities within the program.
The proposal has some weak parts, e.g. too open time-plans, missing CVs, unspecified and unjustified budget items etc, which the external reviewer has pointed out. It is important that missing information is added and clarifications are made. This will be revisited for the annual work-plans and in the budget follow-up. Focus of the support should be research capacity building i.e. human capacity building with emphasis on PhD and Post doctoral training. However, research funds for Post doctoral fellows will have to be applied for in competition. The Post doctoral fund will be administrated by the School of Graduate Studies and direct funding for Postdoctoral research should not be included in the Faculty program budget. If Post doctoral fellows are involved in supervision of PhD students and to some extent MSc students, cost for supervising student field work and travel to Sweden to meet with Swedish supervisors can be included in the budget.
62
The present level of the budget post for senior scientist research is far too high. The focus of this program should be on PhD training and research connected to this training in research groups, and the budget should follow accordingly. The program could consider increasing the number of PhD students, within the limits of the new budget. Cost for establishment of a Centre of Excellence in Waste Management will be partially supported. Cost for maintenance and renovation of centre will not be covered by Sida. Cost for laboratory equipment can be supported, however, the FA must present Sida with a list of equipment to be procured and justification for the same. These equipment should not overlap with equipment already present at other laboratories in the Faculty.
Compared to the earlier co-operation phase substantially less funds are allocated to the Faculty research fund. If this is connected to the efforts directed at establishing the Centre of Excellence is not clear. This change should be explained. Car cost is too high. It is not necessary to buy a new one. It should be some sort of simple but robust second hand pick-up vehicle suitable for fieldwork for maximum half the sum indicated. There has to be clear rules for efficient use in order to avoid miss-use (to be presented to Sida before purchase). Also look at other possibilities such as car renting.
It is noted that no coordination costs are included on either side. The guidelines should be revisited for correct standards for travel and subsistence grants for Swedish supervisors, as well as for students‟ consumables and stipends while in Sweden.
Subsistence grants will be disbursed directly through the Swedish Institute. The level for this post should be calculated per student in a separate column named “Swedish Institute”. Cost per month per student is to be calculated as 13 000 SEK (includes subsistence allowance (incl. warm clothes), insurance, activities, and administration).
The Faculty of Agriculture and all sub-programs must revise their budget according to the approved support and it should be submitted to Sida before disbursement can be made for the agreement period January 2010 – 30 June 2014.
Budget Faculty of Jan–June Agriculture 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Total 3 468 000 2 832 000 2 136 000 1 900 000 - 10 336 000 Total Requested 1. Agricultural Waste Utilization and 550 000 450 000 400 000 200 000 150 000 1 750 000 Management 2. Production Systems for Increased 700 000 700 000 700 000 700 000 350 000 3 150 000 Crop/Livestock Productivity Provisioning 3. Value Chain Systems for Sustainable 550 000 450 000 500 000 500 000 300 000 2 300 000 Agricultural Productivity 4. Faculty Research 200 000 200 000 200 000 200 000 0 1 000 000 Fund Total Approved 2 000 000 1 800 000 1 800 000 1 600 000 800 000 8 000 000
Sida Research Officers Sector: Renée Ankarfjärd Country: Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson 63
ASSESSMENT
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES, MUCHS
64
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES
Sub-Program 1: Research in Malaria around Lake Victoria in Uganda Sub-Program 2: Mental Health Problems of Vulnerable Populations in Uganda Sub-Program 3: Reproductive Health and Child Survival Sub-Program 4: Cancer and Degenerative Diseases Sub-Program 5: Tuberculosis and Microbiology Sub-Program 6: Clinical Pharmacology and Drug Development Sub-Program 7: Public Health Sub-program 8: MUCHS Research Funds and Co-ordination of the MUCHS Program Sub-program 9: MUCHS Grants Management Office
Applying/Cooperating Institution: Collaborating Institution: College of Health Sciences KIRT Committee, c/o IHCAR Makerere University Karolinska Institutet P. O. Box 7072 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden Kampala, Uganda
Coordinator Uganda: Coordinators Sweden: Prof. N. Sewankambo Prof. Vinod Divan Principal, College of Health Sciences KIRT Committee, c/o IHCAR Makerere University Karolinska Institutet P. O. Box 7072 171 76 Stockholm, Sweden Kampala, Uganda E-mail: [email protected] Tel: +256 (41) 4530021 Fax: +256 (41) 4532204 Assoc. prof. Stefan Peterson E-mail: [email protected] Mobile (Se): +46 70 446 0787, (Uga): +256 772 409418 Fax: +46 (8) 311590 E-mail: [email protected]
Dr. Kristina Persson E-mail: [email protected]
PROPOSAL FROM MAKERERE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES
Abstract The Faculty of Medicine at Makerere University was on 1st of July 2008 replaced by the Makerere University College of Health Sciences, MUCHS. The mission of MUCHS is to contribute to the improvement of the health of the people of Uganda through innovative and responsive teaching, learning, research and provision of services and to address the health issues that have relevance to Uganda‟s national health plan as elaborated by the Ministry of Health10. The proposed research program consists of seven sub-programs. As for the former agreement period (mid 2005 – 2009) out of 37 students under PhD training, 10 have successfully completed their training, 7 more will defend their thesis before end of 2009 and the remaining 20 will continue into the upcoming agreement period. The PhD candidates are co-supervised by senior scientists at MUCHS and by scientists at different Swedish institutions. It is proposed that 14 new PhD students will be recruited into the sub-programs at the beginning of the next agreement period. Taken together this means that MUCHS will have a considerable number of research trained staff (approx. 20 percent of the total 347 academic staff) at the end of 2013.
10 Health Sector Strategic Plan III, 2005/06 – 2009/10, Min. of Health, Uganda 65
The planned activities at the central level of MUCHS include a continuation of the MUCHS Research Fund, which provides small competitive research grants to all academic staff at MUCHS and to establish a grants management office.
Capacity Objectives In the next four-year phase of Sida funding starting January 2010 the following objectives have been set:
To strengthen and widen the scope of collaborative research initiatives between MUCHS and the partner local and international institutions; To strengthen the MUCHS staff capacity to carry out and supervise research; To establish the role of MUCHS as a lead institution in health related research within the region; To increase the number of female staff with doctoral degrees.
Research Objectives Presented in individual sub-programs.
Expected outcomes The expected outcomes of the Sida support include: Doctoral candidates who are registered complete their doctoral studies on time; The scope of research activities and PhD training opportunities expanded into building the MUCHS capacity for research, training, service and innovation to become the leading university in the region; Establishment of a grants management office to improve on accountability and to reduce delays, in addition to attracting funds from elsewhere; A well-functioning core research laboratory; Enhanced research productivity reflected in increased research publications in peer-reviewed journals; Trained staff of the other public universities in Uganda at PhD and masters level, contributing to country wide capacity for research, teaching, service delivery and innovations; New avenues for sharing new knowledge generated through research (conferences, publications, dissemination of research finding to all stakeholders etc).
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by External Reviewer 1 With respect to the available resources in terms of manpower (supervisors and PhD students) it must be an advantage to focus on 3-4 sub-programs (instead of 7) and thereby creating larger groups of PhD students working in the same area and being able to support each other and learn from each other. Most of the sub- studies in the sub-program “mental health problems of vulnerable populations in Uganda” deal with HIV which of course is a prioritised area in the region, but might be merged with the sub-program for “molecular biology of mycobacterium tuberculosis in Uganda” and thereby open up for cross-discipline research on TB and HIV. Similarly one could consider merging the sub-programs “malaria molecular biology of plasmodium falciparum strains” and “clinical pharmacology of antimalarial and antiretroviral drugs” and the project “community case management of malaria and pneumonia in under five children” which is a post-doc project in the sub-program health services research. Overall one would expect someone applying for 63 million SEK to put more efforts to make the application readable. There is a total lack of common structure in study protocols, CVs, publication lists which certainly do not facilitate the review. Further the sub-programs have different numbers and even different names.
Assessment by External Reviewer 2 The achievements from pervious agreement periods seem to be substantial. There is some concern that the overall plans for the third phase are presented in a way which is rather vague. It would be hard to argue against most of the sentiments expressed but they are exactly the same sort of comments that are found in the introductory section of all such applications but it is not always clear in specific terms how the aims will be realised. For instance on page 15 eleven challenges from the first two phases are listed. However in subsequent sections there is very little detail by which to assess whether these will be successfully addressed in Phase III. 66
The only challenge discussed in any detail is the lack of a grants management office. Key issues such as the political will and the relationship between the grants office and other administrative functions within the university (which may resent the establishment of an “autonomous” office) are not discussed at all.
Assessment by Sida Gender Helpdesk The program reviews previous research and results. For the coming period it is a goal to increase the number of female staff with doctoral degree. Unfortunately, the tables on students, staff or allocation of funding do not provide gender specific figures. The goal to increase female staff is not included among objectives in the Logic Model Framework. A panel of senior researchers will be formed in order to review application for grants. According to the guidelines at least three of six to seven PhD students are to be females. No guidelines are given regarding the sex-composition of appointed grant holders.
Assessment by Sida The faculty has over the last eight years enhanced its research environment with more people trained to PhD level and research driven by research groups at MUCHS. The collaboration with Sweden has been strong and a formal agreement for joint PhD degree has been achieved. There are, however, still a number of issues that need to be improved at MUCHS. The proposal from MUCHS is difficult to read, is very voluminous and would have gained from a more careful proof-reading. What is even more worrying is that all of the sub-programs seem to be a bunch of PhD projects rather than an effort to design more comprehensive research programs. If this indicates that the coordination of the research activities at MUCHS is not given enough attention or human resources this is a very serious sign that the research at MUCHS is not given very high priority or lacks clear guiding. MUCHS and in particular the Principal Investigators should take the recommendations from the external reviewer‟s assessment into account as regards the quality of the overall proposal.
Focus of the support should be research capacity building i.e. human capacity building with emphasis on PhD and Post doctoral training. However, research funds for Post doctoral fellows will have to be applied for in competition. The Post doctoral fund will be administrated by the School of Graduate Studies and direct funding for Postdoctoral research should not be included in the Faculty program budget. If Post doctoral fellows are involved in supervision of PhD students and to some extent MSc students, cost for supervising student field work and travel to Sweden to meet with Swedish supervisors can be included in the budget.
The Sida funds will be concentrated to the sub-programs 1, 5, 7 and 8. For sub-programs 2, 3, 4 and 6 the concern is that on-going PhD students should be allowed to complete their thesis work with Sida funds. This means that the Ugandan Senior Researchers for sub-programs 2, 3, 4 and 6 should submit revised budgets that include costs only for the on-going PhD students up to completion of their thesis work. In these sub-programs the approved amount for each of the on-going PhD students is approximately 350 000-400 000 SEK per year up to the year when the thesis will be finalised and defended. The approved amount should cover all costs for the students as well as the Ugandan and Swedish supervisors.
The support to the MUCHS Research Funds will be substantially increased compared with the previous agreement period.. The guidelines for the management of the MUCHS Research Fund should be elaborated in line with the recommendations specified under the heading Sub-program 8 of this assessment.
Sida recommends the management of Makerere University and MUCHS to discuss how the MUCHS research agenda can be improved and to clarify the responsibilities as regards the overall vision and coordination of the research at MUCHS, as well as making concrete plans for how the aspiration to “building the MUCHS capacity for research, training, service and innovation to become the leading university in the region” should be achieved, especially as concerns the capacity to research and to innovate.
Subsistence grants will be disbursed directly through the Swedish Institute. The level for this post should be calculated per student in a separate column named “Swedish Institute”. Cost per month per student is to be calculated as 13 000 SEK (includes subsistence allowance, insurance, activities and administration).
67
MUCHS and all sub-programs must revise their budget according to the approved support and it should be submitted to Sida before disbursement can be made for the agreement period January 2010 – June 2014.
Budget Jan- June Sub-program 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Total Total Requested 23 346 902 15 857 875 11 913 544 11 252 240 0 62 370 561
1. Malaria 2 700 000 2 400 000 1 400 000 800 000 500 000 7 800 000 2. Mental Health 1 200 000 700 000 0 0 1 900 000 3. Reproductive Health and 1 400 000 1 100 000 600 000 700 000 400 000 4 200 000 Child Survival 4. Cancer and Degenerative 800 000 0 0 0 0 800 000 Diseases 5. Tuberculosis and Microbiology 1 600 000 1 700 000 900 000 1 000 000 500 000 5 700 000 6. Clinical Pharmacology 1 100 000 1 100 000 700 000 400 000 400 000 3 700 000 7. Public Health 2 600 000 1 900 000 900 000 1 100 000 400 000 6 900 000 8. MUCHS Research Funds 1 100 000 1 000 000 700 000 700 000 0 3 500 000 9. MUCHS Grants 0 0 0 0 0 0 Management Office Total Approved 12 500 000 9 900 000 5 200 000 4 700 000 2 200 000 34 500 000
Sida Research Officers Sector: Dr. Ros-Mari Bålöw Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson
68
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES Sub-Program 1: Research in Malaria around Lake Victoria in Uganda
Project 1: Longitudinal study of antibody responses to P. falciparum Project 2: Host factors, artemisinins and parasite resistance Project 3: Malaria – HIV interactions Project 4: Severe malaria
Ugandan Senior Researchers Swedish Senior Researchers Dr Fred Kironde Prof. Mats Wahlgren Dept. of Biochemistry Microbiology and Tumour Biology Centre, MTC Makerere University Karolinska Institute and Swedish Institute for P O Box 7072 Infectious Diseases Kampala, Uganda SE-171 82 Solna, Sweden Tel: +256 41 267271 Tel: +46 8 457 2510 E-mail: [email protected] Fax: +46 8 31 05 25 E-mail: [email protected]
Ugandan collaborators Swedish collaborators Dr. Moses Kamya Dr. Göte Swedberg Dr Florence Mirembe Dr. Annelie Brauner Dr. Richard Idro
PhD students Continuing Proposed Dr. Fatuma Namusoke Catherine Lwanira Dr. Stevek Kiwuwa Jane Acham Dr. William Buwembo One to be identified by project 2 Dr. Musa Sekikubo Kyeswa Dr. Mark Kaddu
PROPOSAL
Abstract The main focus of the sub-program when entering the this phase of Sida support will largely build on earlier achievements with the main themes of i) understanding the pathogenesis of malaria, ii) immunology of the host and parasite changes in view of the changing drug policies and the advent of vaccine trials. Most of the studies will be undertaken at the Sida funded Demographic Surveillance Site in Iganga/Mayuge
Capacity Objectives To train the five on-going lecturers and the three new students to PhD level in molecular parasitology and immunology, which will improve research and teaching in infectious diseases at MUCHS.
Research Objectives Project 1 Assess the potential of merozite surface protein 3 (MSP3), glutamine rich protein (GLURP) and others as components of blood-stage directed malaria vaccines. Undertake a longitudal survey of the existing levels of serum IgG antibody to a number of peptides and vaccine antigens representing candidate vaccine molecules of P. falciparum.
Project 2 To determine the IC50 for artemisinins and lumefantrine of parasites from Iganga; 69
To determin the general pattern of polymorphism in exon 1 and 2 of pfATPase 6 and pfMRP genes in parasites from Iganga; To determine the association between 50% inhibition concentration of artemisinins and polymorphism in the pfATPase 6 and pfMRP genes; To determine if use of lumefantrine selects for specific variants of the pfMDR1, pfCRT and pfMRP genes; To design methods for rapid detection of relevant polymorphism; To determine changes in the above polymorphisms after introduction of coartem use in Uganda, To characterize the RANTES gene in severe malaria; Determine other genetic polymorphisms for known susceptibility markers; Generate haplotypes for the polymorphisms detected and correlate haplotypes with sickness parameters; To address the following questions: What is the safety and efficacy of Coartem for use as intermittent presumptive treatment? What is the optimal treatment interval for intermittent presumptive treatment?
Project 3 To explore the interactions between HIV and malaria in children living in an area of high malaria transmission.
Project 4 Compare the efficacy and safety of intramuscular Lorazepam and intravenous Diazepam for the treatment of acute seizures and preventing recurrences; Compare the outcomes of malaria and non-malaria associated seizures to elucidate the pathogenesis of neuro-cognitive impairments and epilepsy after severe malaria.
Expected results Project 1 To get a deeper understanding of the antibody specificities in the defence against the malaria parasite in elder vs. younger children; Results from the thesis research will be published. Project 2 To establish the baseline information on susceptibility of parasites from Iganga to artemisinins and lumefantrine; Monitoring of drug treatment responses to follow the potentially important molecule of the merozoite; To study data on polymorphisms in the RANTES gene that are associated with protection and susceptibility to human malaria; To establish the safety, efficacy and interval for use of Coartem as intermittent presumptive treatment. Results from the thesis research will be published.
Project 3 To answer the following questions: Does malaria accelerate the progression of HIV infection, and if so, by what mechanism? Are HIV-infected individuals at higher risk for anti-malarial treatment failure? Project 4 Interventions aimed at preventing neurocognitive impairments and epilepsy associated with acute malaria infections methods; Development of safe and efficacious treatment and prophylaxis against recurrences in children in resource poor settings.
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by External Reviewer 1 Overall this is a good program, however, there seems to be a need of an epidemiologist and/or a biostatistician in some of the projects.
70
Project 2: Randomised controlled trial of pregnant women attending ANC. Women are allocated to three arms to receive Fansder, Artemether/Lumefantrine (1 dose) or Artemether/Lumefantrine (2 doses). Expected outcome not specified, power calculation is missing, thus the relevance of the study cannot be assessed.
Project 3: Prospective cohort study of all (?) children 2 months – 5 years attending Tororo District hospital with a new episode of fever who agree to avoid medication administered outside the study protocol will be given standard doses of Artemether/Lumefantrine and HIV-positive children will also be given antiretroviral therapy. A convenience (?) sample of 300 healthy and 300 HIV-infected children will be followed for 3 years. All or convenience sample? No power calculation! Project 4: Based on power calculation 248 children with generalised convulsive seizures will be randomised receiving Lorazepam or Diazepam. Primary outcome measure is the proportion of children with seizure recurrence within 48 hours of drug administration. Approved!
Assessment by External Reviewer 2 This part of the proposal shows signs of having been assembled in haste with a lot of cutting and pasting. In some places notes inserted by one author to another are still visible. There is no consistency in style or approach, with some projects being described in more detail than necessary (and looking like a direct cut and paste from a protocol for other submission) whereas in some cases there is barely any detail at all. This gives the impression that the team lacks coherence, or perhaps more likely is under great time pressure and not able to put the kind of effort in that one would normally want to see in a funding proposal. It would be interesting to see the total commitment of the supervisors in terms of their teaching and administrative duties and total number of other grants and activities to which they are committed to providing input.
One concern is that the productivity of Phase I and II is not clear. 15 papers (out of a total of 165 from the overall program) are listed on page 41-42. However, only 2 of these have a Ugandan trainee as a first author. This seems a bit disappointing given that from tables 1 and 2 this represent 40 person years in the program (31 of them by PhD students). The productivity of the mirror student seems to have been considerably better. One would not want to press to hard on this, capacity building is long term activity and it may well be that that the productivity will continue to increase markedly over time. None the less understanding and addressing the reasons for this would be worthwhile.
Relevance of research areas scientific quality The areas chosen are all potentially relevant. The projects are naturally a balance between pragmatism (what is already happening) and the supervisors own interests. As noted above the quality of the scientific detail is very variable, and in general insufficient to make any assessment of the quality of the project. The section on severe malaria is more detailed and deals with important questions. It is ambitious and potentially problematic in depending on a clinical trial. Such trials are very prone to delay due to a number of issues including variations in recruitment. It will be important to ensure that the timelines for the student are clearly thought out.
Competence of the applying institution/unit MUCHS provides an energetic and facilitating environment (albeit one that is faced with many challenges). The supervisors are all clearly appropriately experienced. As noted above there is some concern that the construction of the proposal suggests either a lack of communication between them or a lack of time. While this is endemic to all who write grants, one would like to be assured that their other commitments do not mean that time for mentorship will be compromised.
Methodology and feasibility In general there is insufficient detail to critique this on several of the projects. This may not be surprising in a proposal for PhD studentships, and may even be desirable, as it is important that the student plays a substantial role in developing the methodology. One approach would be to say that as the supervisors are clearly experienced in their field, so there is no reason to think that the eventual designs will not be appropriate.
Sustainability of research capacity of the institution The building up of a group of trainees is clearly good in itself; however, there is no obvious strategy as such for capacity strengthening beyond the continuation of recruiting more PhD students. At several times in the proposal 71 the issue of needing to have a strategy for post doctoral development is highlighted but there is no clear plan to address this, and in the case of the malaria sub program it is not mentioned.
Suggestions for how the projects can be improved It would help to present the proposal in a much more standardized way, with a more coherent over all approach. In several parts of this review lack of appropriate detail has been commented on. This does not imply that the proposal would necessarily benefit from being longer (quite a lot of the detail that is present is not especially relevant), but it would certainly benefit from structuring and editing to be consistent and to present key information. In particular it would be helpful to have a clearer sense of strategy, and clearer justification of budgetary requirements. It would be good to have seen the lessons learnt from the first two phases specifically addressed, with some way of monitoring whether the measures proposed to address them were effective. Specifically one could argue that there should be more emphasis on the development of post doctoral careers.
Assessment by Sida Gender Helpdesk No gender considerations in the research programs. In some projects it might be irrelevant, but in others not. One of the sub-studies is about prevention of malaria in pregnancy. In this sub-program four of five new students are female.
Assessment by Sida The sub-program is presented in a focused way and appears to have evolved since the previous phase. The recommendation from reviewer 1 to include an epidemiologist/biostatistician in the design of the projects should be considered, as well as the comments and suggestions for how the projects can be improved by reviewer 2. Based on the approved budget and the reviewer‟s comments a revised budget for the sub-program should be submitted to Sida before disbursement can be made and should include student plans where planned courses, study visits and time for defending of their PhD thesis is clearly outlined for each student.
Sida Research Officers Sector: Dr. Ros-Mari Bålöw Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson
72
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES Sub-Program 2: Mental Health Problems of Vulnerable Populations in Uganda
Project 1: Mental health problems of HIV/AIDS and war among the people of Gulu district, Northern Uganda Project 2: Mental health problems of gender-based violence: Behavioural and emotional responses as well as coping mechanisms of sexually abused females in northern and north-eastern Uganda Project 3: Psycho-social effects faced by elderly caregivers of HIV/AIDS orphans in Uganda Project 4: Psychological morbidity among HIV positive pregnant women and mothers Project 5: Psychosocial factors affecting adherence to HAART in children and adolescents Project 6: Psychotic Disorders in the North-Western Crescent of the Lake Victoria Basin Project 7: Outcomes of mental illness and HIV/AIDS among war affected people of Gulu district Project 8: Psycho-social effects faced by elderly caregivers of HIV/AIDS orphans in Wakiso district, Uganda: Implication to nursing and other health care givers.
Ugandan Senior Researcher Swedish Senior Researcher Dr. Seggane Musisi Prof. Peter Allebeck Department of Psychiatry, MUCHS Division of Social Medicine Makerere University Karolinska Institutet P. O. Box 7072 Stockholm, Sweden Kampala, Uganda Tel: 08-737 38 34 E-mail: [email protected] Fax: 08-737 38 40 E-mail: [email protected]
Ugandan Collaborating Scientists Swedish Collaborating scientists Dr. Eugene Kinyanda Assoc. Prof. Solvig Ekblad, KI Dr. Elialilia S. Okello Assoc. Prof. Stephen Lawoko, KI Dr. Rebecca Nyonyintono Dr. Eija Airaksinen, KI Prof. J. Kunde-Lule
PhD students Continuing Dr. Noeline Nakasujja (to be completed Sept 2010) Ms. Janet Nakigudde (to be completed 2011) Mr. Paul Bangirana (to be completed mid-2011)
PROPOSAL
Abstract In the last three decades Uganda has experienced civil strive and an HIV/AIDS epidemic which has created vulnerable groups including the elderly, women, children, those infected with HIV as well as victims of sexual violence and displacement. Available research shows that these groups tend to be disproportionately represented in those who suffer mental health problems. The situation calls for not only research to fill the information gap, but also building of capacity among mental health care professionals to deal with these population groups.
Capacity Objectives To enhance the capacity of and to increase the number of specialists e.g., psycho geriatricians, child mental health workers, psycho-trauma therapists and gendered mental health workers. To enhance research and teaching capacity for the teaching of different types of mental health staff in this country.
Research Questions What are the mental health problems of the vulnerable groups/populations in Uganda? 73
Which social and psychological factors in vulnerable groups may increase or reduce the risk of mental health problems in the short and long term? Which types of interventions are effective in reducing the risk of mental health problems in resource- constrained settings? Which types of integrated health and social services are effective in mitigating mental health problems in vulnerable groups?
Expected results Each study will lead to the award of a PhD degree. Papers have been written and submitted for publication
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by Sida Gender Helpdesk Available research, it is stated, shows that vulnerable groups, including elderly, women, children, those infected by HIV, victims of sexual violence and displacement, tend to be disproportionately suffering of mental health problems. The research will address the interaction between HIV/AIDS, war and mental illness, with a focus on women and children. In the five proposed studies, however, there is little of a gender perspective. People, patients, victims, individuals, grandparents, elderly, caregivers are gender neutral terms used for the women and/or men subjected to study.
Assessment by Sida This sub-program addresses an area of high relevance for Uganda. The proposal is however not very well structured, which makes it difficult to read. The project design of most projects is vague. This has made it very difficult to assess this proposal in a thorough way. It has not been possible to send this part of the proposal for external review because of limited information on the content of most of the PhD projects. Sidas recommendation is therefore that the on-going PhD students are allowed to finalise their thesis work but that no new students are brought into the program. The sub-program should submit a revised budget including more detailed project plans for each of the on-going students. The revised budget and plans should be submitted to Sida before any disbursement can be made and should include student plans where planned courses, study visits and time for defending of their PhD thesis is clearly outlined for each student.
Sida Research Officers Sector: Dr. Ros-Mari Bålöw Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson
74
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES Sub-Program 3: Reproductive Health and Child Survival
Project 1: The aetiological factors in cervical cancer – HPV and HIV Project 2: Studies on HIV among young people including discordant couples Project 3: Contraception: acceptability, access, health system issues among young people in rural districts Project 4: Enhancing gender perspectives in adolescent motherhood in Uganda Project 5: Contraception, contraceptive technologies and family planning Project 6: Gender-based violence and risk of HIV acquisition among vulnerable youths Project 7: The levonorgestrel intrauterine system: Effectiveness, safety, and acceptability among users in Kampala, Uganda Project 8: Evaluation of pre-packaged antimalarials and antibiotics in the integrated approach to the management of fever in under-five children in Iganga-Mayuge Health and Demographic Surveillance Site Project 9: Female genital fistula among Uganda young women- community and clinical perspectives
Ugandan Senior Researchers Swedish Senior Researchers Prof. Josaphat Byamugisha Assoc. Prof. Elisabeth Faxelid Dept. Obstetrics/Gynaecology ICHAR, Department of Public Health Sciences P. O. Box 7072 Karolinska Institutet, Kampala, Uganda 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden Tel: +256 41 534361 Telefon: + 46 8 524 8 00 00 Fax: +256 41 531364
Collaborating Ugandan Scientists Collaborating Swedish Scientists Dr. Dan Kaye Prof. Kristina Gemzell Danielsson Dr. Lynn Atuyambe Assoc. Prof. Anna Mia Ekström Mr. Nazarius Mbona Assoc. Prof. Stefan Peterson Dr. Charles Karamagi Dr. Lars Almroth
PhD students Continuing Proposed Gorette Nalwadda Kakaire Othman Jolly Beyeza Joan Kalyango (shared with Sub-program 7) Barageine Justus Kafunjo
PROPOSAL
Abstract The Reproductive Health (RH) and Child Survival sub-program consists of two closely interlinked sub-themes of Reproductive Health, and Child Survival. Effective contraceptive methods are a prerequisite for RH. It is estimated by WHO that 100 000 women die every year due to unsafe abortion or lack of contraceptive methods. Contraceptive use in Uganda is among the lowest in the world and maternal mortality due to unsafe abortion among the highest accounting for 15-30% of the maternal death.
The major themes currently being addressed include: Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Adolescent health and pregnancy Emergency contraception Cervical Cancer screening programming Male Violence and its effects on pregnancy and its social context
These areas were identified as key issues of research in response to the national identified problem areas to reduce morbidity and mortality among women.
75
Capacity objectives The ultimate goal of the Reproductive Health and Child Survival sub-program is to contribute to the reduction of maternal and under-5 mortality and morbidity; To create capacity for research in the Department of Obstetrics/Gynaecology and related disciplines. To contribute to the quality of higher education and career development.
Research objectives Address maternal health; explore avoidance by auditing of maternal deaths with emphasis on emergency obstetric car. Describe and analyse factors influencing accessibility, utilisation and acceptability of emergency contraception among young people in Uganda. Studying the social context for domestic violence in pregnancy and its relationship with induced abortion. Explore and describe the adolescent mothers' health seeking behaviour, coping mechanisms and constraints. Establishing a screening program for cervical cancer/identify innovative procedures to ensure easy access to screening by as many women as possible/demonstrate the effect of HIV sero-positivity after treatment of high grade cervical lesions.
Expected Outcomes Data obtained will be published in referred journals, disseminated at conferences, to the Ministry of Health the district and institutions of research. Findings will be widely publicised in journals, at conferences, ministries and in the districts. It is anticipated that the result will influence policies at different levels including training of health professionals. Identify gaps in the care adolescent mothers receive at different levels and make recommendations for alleviating the problems.
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by External Reviewer 1 The research areas listed are all of interest and relevant both for the country and the region. It is a strength that those that also include a project plan have aimed at covering several aspects of the problem, as well as using several study designs and methods, thereby increasing their value for research training. Unfortunately, for several of the proposed research projects there is only a concept idea and no project plan. Only 3 out of 9 of the projects proposed for this subprogram are complete or contain nearly all of the information needed to assess them according to Sidas instructions, they are rather research ideas. There is generally no or insufficient information about the logistics of the project. There are no project budgets. The summary budget in the appendix seems to have been put together based on standard costs per year per project or student, but there will obviously be large differences in field costs between a study with a few interviews and a large intervention or epidemiological study with follow-up that needs a solid field organisation to succeed. A further problem for the budget is that there is lack of information about the size of materials needed; even intervention projects are proposed without power calculations, outcomes, data collection and description of how follow-up is organised. The log-frame is not correctly done, and does not add to clarity. It is stated in the introduction that Gulu and Mbarara Universities will be part of the program with Masters training but I can not find it mentioned in the project proposals. Projects 1–3 are PhD projects and expected to be completed during 2009 (project 1) and at the beginning of the forthcoming agreement period (project 2 and 3). The proposal for the RHCS subprogram includes support for post-doc research for three of the PhDs who completed during previous periods of Sida support.
Project 4: Enhancing gender perspectives in adolescent motherhood in Uganda This project is an explorative study of adolescent motherhood (seemingly only including unmarried mothers) in which the focus is on the male partners and the fathers of the young girls. It will also include some legal aspects related to adolescent sexuality. The methodology is qualitative and the results are supposed to give information 76 needed for an intervention program. The objectives for this intervention are not stated (prevention of teenage pregnancy? Improved health care for young mothers? More tolerant attitudes in the family and the community? Consequently neither methods nor outcomes of the intervention can be stated. Still, this intervention is supposed to be implemented by a PhD. The problems for young pregnant girls in African countries are well known and it seems very relevant to collect more in depth information in order to improve the situation. This study should be possible to complete within a 4-year-period and in my opinion the qualitative studies will give a sufficient material for a PhD thesis. The intervention possibilities are at present unknown; experiences from other settings suggest that various forms of social support are the most relevant and needed for the girls and their children; in addition legal reforms may be necessary. Neither of these is easy to test in a limited intervention study.
Project 5: Contraception, contraceptive technologies and family planning This is only a list of research objectives each of which is a major project. It can not be considered as a proposal for research funding.
Project 6: Gender-based violence and risk of HIV acquisition among vulnerable youths Again, this is a major research topic without any attempt to state clear hypotheses (what is the rationale for linking “gender-based violence” in general to HIV?). If the project aims are related to rape among young people and HIV this should be stated with appropriate references, and the research questions related to this. An intervention project in this area is extremely difficult and demanding, both practically and scientifically. There is no such plan, and no evidence of the capacity to develop a plan.
Proposed PhD projects Project 7: The levonorgestrel intrauterine system: Effectiveness, safety, and acceptability among users in Kampala, Uganda The general benefits of this IUD as contraception and treatment for several gynaecological problems have been extensively documented in many countries. The only reason to replicate these studies in Uganda is that this is thought to be necessary to support acceptance and introduction of the method; whether this is true is not mentioned in the proposal. The additional aspect of safety for HIV-positive women is more specifically relevant for Uganda. The research questions need several large randomized trials to be answered. There is no description at all of these trials; methods, number of women needed (likely to be high given that the Cu-IUD also has a high contraceptive effectiveness), time of follow-up, outcome variables, data collection, loss to follow-up etc. Consequently it is not possible to assess this as a proposal for funding.
Project 8: Evaluation of pre-packaged antimalarials and antibiotics in the integrated approach to the management of fever in under-five children in Iganga/Mayuge Health and Demographic Surveillance Site This is a project for health systems research, an area of high priority for all countries but low-income countries in particular. Policies and programs for health care often do not achieve the intended effect because of unexpected or unknown limitations in the health care system. The project is complementary to an already ongoing randomized study on use of pre-packaged medications for fever in infants. The study will use an already established Health and Demographic surveillance site and cover both the public and private sector. The proposal is clear and detailed, with a well described and appropriate methodology, but does not include a justified budget. This should of course be submitted before decision of funding.
Project 9: Female genital fistula among Uganda young women- community and clinical perspectives In many countries in Africa obstetric fistulas are the terrible consequence of the lack of skilled care at delivery. The resources for repair are inadequate and the resulting psychosocial stigma will leave most victims abandoned and shut off from contacts with others. This project aims at getting the prevalence of the problem, assess the consequences for the young women and compare the outcomes for some aspects of the surgical treatment. The proposal is reasonably detailed and seems realistic, although it is difficult to know how easy it will be to get a correct estimate of the prevalence through asking round in the communities and health clinics. Also, it is not clear what is the denominator for the prevalence. 77
The second sub study with individual interviews of the victims and families should anyway be feasible, as also the randomised trials given that 300 patients are operated per year. The follow-up in the trials is not discussed and might be a problem if patients come from the rural districts. Again, the project budget is missing.
Assessment by Sida Gender Helpdesk The figures given on maternal mortality and unsafe abortions are truly appalling and research badly needed. A gender perspective is necessary to approach some of the identified research areas, for example, teenage pregnancies and lack of male engagement in Reproductive Right activities. Previous studies within the program point at the need for the proposed study on father‟s perspective on adolescent motherhood. Contraceptives and family-planning, and gender based violence and HIV are the themes of two further post-graduate studies. Although directly concerned with issues of gender power, no framework for analysis of such power is presented.
Assessment by Sida This sub-program addresses areas of high relevance to many low-income countries. Parts of the proposal are not very well structured, which makes it difficult to read and the project design of many projects is fairly vague. Sidas recommendation is therefore that the on-going PhD students are allowed to finalise their thesis work and only PhD project 8, which is shared with sub-program 7 – Public Health and PhD project 9 is supported. PhD project 7 and the proposed Post-doctoral projects will not be funded.
Focus of the support should be research capacity building i.e. human capacity building with emphasis on PhD and Post doctoral training. However, research funds for Post doctoral fellows will have to be applied for in competition. The Post doctoral fund will be administrated by the School of Graduate Studies and direct funding for Postdoctoral research should not be included in the Faculty program budget. If Post doctoral fellows are involved in supervision of PhD students and to some extent MSc students, cost for supervising student field work and travel to Sweden to meet with Swedish supervisors can be included in the budget.
The sub-program should submit a revised proposal including more detailed project plans for each of the on-going PhD students (planned courses, study visits and time for defending of their PhD thesis etc). The revised proposal should be submitted to Sida before any disbursement can be made.
Sida Research Officers Sector: Dr. Ros-Mari Bålöw Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson
78
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES Sub-Program 4: Cancer and Degenerative Disease
Project 1: Enabling participation after stroke in Uganda – The rehabilitation process from hospital to community living Project 2: Perceptions of stroke, subtypes, risk factors and outcomes – a Ugandan case study Project 3: Enabling participation in everyday life for children with physical disabilities living in Uganda Project 4: Early identification of disabled children 0-5 years and support to their families Project 5: Burkitt‟s lymphoma in Uganda Project 6: Study of factors influencing delay in receiving treatment for breast cancers and the effect on outcome
Ugandan Senior Researchers Swedish Senior Researcher Prof. Elly Katabira Doc. Elisabete Weiderpass Vainio MUCHS Department of Medical Epidemiology P.O. Box 7072 Karolinska Institutet Kampala, Uganda SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden Tel: +46 8 524 823 65 Collaborating Scientists Fax: +46 8 31 49 25 Dr Richard Idro E-mail: [email protected] Prof. Henry Wabinga [email protected]
PhD students Continuing Dr. Jacksom Orem Dr Michel Odida
PROPOSAL
Abstract The Cancer and Degenerative Diseases sub-program of the Makerere University College of Health Sciences (MUCHS) Sida supported research program will consist of studies on breast cancer that will build on the previous studies that were carried out since 2001 to 2009, as well as research projects to address stroke prevention, intervention and disability management in Uganda. The latter is a new and neglected research area, which will be developed in collaboration between MUCHS-School of Medicine (Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics), School of Health Sciences (Department of Nursing), Schools of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy of the Ministry of Health and Karolinska Institute (KI) in Sweden.
Capacity Objectives Two PhD students will finalise their thesis at the beginning of the new agreement period.
Research Objectives The long term goals of this sub-program is to initiate and develop research within neglected areas of research in the areas of emerging diseases as stroke and cancer with the aim of developing programs and policies focusing on both preventive and rehabilitation interventions in Uganda. Another goal is to support the development of the training of health workers within these areas.
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by External Reviewer 1 The program has two arms – stroke and cancer. The stroke component is new and has proposed four PhD students. The cancer component had 5 PhD students of which three are scheduled to defend their thesis during 2009 and the other two during 2010. It is almost impossible to review the projects due to a poor and partly confusing presentation.
79
The stroke sub-studies consists of two projects labelled A and two labelled B: A1. Enabling participation after stroke in Uganda – The rehabilitation process from hospital to community living The study protocol consists only of the aims which are vague and confusing e.g. “to establish the burden of stroke and the risk factors in 2-3 districts in Uganda and major health facilities such as Mulago hospital as well as smaller health units like health centre 2, 3 an 4 within the communities” etc. The project will end up in a randomised controlled trial of a rehabilitation program.
A2. Perceptions of stroke, subtypes, risk factors and outcomes – a Ugandan case study This project aims at estimating “the prevalence of known risk factors in urban and rural populations”, “assess among patients at increased risk of stroke, knowledge of warning symptoms and associated risk factors and of stroke treatment and sources of information”, to estimate “the incidence of stroke, and of haemorrhagic versus ischemic stroke in an adult rural population”, “to ascertain whether there is an association between raised serum cholesterol, a positive TPPA and family history of diabetes mellitus with subtypes”, to assess the outcome of current stroke management in patients after 30 days and after one year” and “to initiate a program of primary stroke prevention”. Out of five sub-studies four are briefly presented on 3-5 lines each. This is an interesting and important project, however, study site(Iganga?), study population, as size of the studies and power calculations are missing it is impossible to assess whether it is feasible. The enormous project is aimed for only one PhD student.
B1. Enabling participation in everyday life for children with physical disabilities living in Uganda Only the aims of the study are presented which makes the project impossible to review!
B2. Early identification of disabled children 0-5 years and support to their families The aims are to “assess and identify disabilities/impairments among all children aged 0-5 years attending Mulago hospital and 2 health centres”, “to explore attitudes, practices, beliefs and needs of parents, guardians regarding disabilities in children aged 0-5 years” “to provide support and empower parents/guardians to cope and participate in the everyday care and rehabilitation of children with disabilities”, and to “design an evaluation of the intervention”. The important project is planned to be conducted in three phases starting with a screening of units and ending with an evaluation of the intervention. Unfortunately the applicant does not provide us with any estimates of the size of the problem and thereby the size of the study etc.
Burkitts lymphomas in Uganda Ongoing project which is supposed to end with a PhD in 2010.
Study of factors influencing delay in receiving treatment for breast cancer and the effect of the outcome The aim of this project is to identify factors associated with patient and health system delay and the length of the delay among women with breast symptoms, if stage at diagnosis is related to delay and if stage at diagnosis affects the survival rate. The first issue is important, but the last two have been extensively studied and we already know the answer. It must be more important to investigate how to increase the awareness of breast cancer in the community and if there are barriers in seeking help and in the health care system. The research group should gain from the Breast Global Health Initiative (see homepage) which has developed guidelines for countries with basic, limited, enhanced and maximal resources regarding early detection, diagnosis, treatment and health care system. Overall this subprogram has a few important projects, but overall too much information is missing in the study protocol to be able to assess whether the studies are feasible. Thus this sub-program should not be funded!
Assessment by External Reviewer 2 (Stroke component) This is an important area to study but you need to specify why. No background literature is given for the stroke prevention study. What is known about strokes in Uganda, what are the risk factors and what are the major causes of strokes- haemorrhage or thrombosis. On page 178 you state that preliminary studies at Mulago Hospital indicated further studies were required. What did these preliminary studies show? What problems did they identify that you wish to address. There is literature from other parts of Africa on cerebrovascular accidents that you should refer to. It would be useful if you would give some idea of the size of the burden of stroke in Uganda that makes this a question worth studying. 80
Without a robust background to the problem of stroke then it becomes difficult to define areas of study. Currently the aims and objectives of the study are purely descriptive ones e.g. establishing the size of the problem, risk factors and demographic and clinical factors. These are of themselves worthy objectives but need to be turned into a set of hypotheses that can be addressed, provide research training for students and lead to a PhD thesis.
For study 1 one could postulate that the prevalence of stroke is likely to be higher in an urban than in a rural centre because of a higher prevalence of hypertension. The methodology would include identifying an age and sex matched population to study. The size of this would depend on your estimated prevalence of stroke (preliminary data would be useful here). I do not think it is valid to compare the risk of stroke in the rural area (Iganga) with that in Mulago Hospital as the latter will have a population selected for high risk cases. You would need to identify another urban population.
Are there imaging modalities in the rural areas that would allow you to differentiate between haemorrhagic versus ischemic stroke?
I think that you need to give more background to the introduction of research objective 4 which investigates a possible association between raised serum total cholesterol, a positive Treponema Pallidum Agglutination Test (TPPA) and family history of diabetes mellitus with subtypes. Is there any prior data to suggest that these associations are plausible? There is certainly some evidence that hypertension predisposes to stroke and you could add this. You would need a control sample of individuals without a stroke for these comparisons. Given the appropriate background literature you could then turn research objective 4 into a hypothesis e.g. individuals with the risk factors that you are studying are likely to have an increased risk of stroke because Research objective 5 could then be regarded as a background study that might yield questions that could be studied in future. You do not give any details of the statistical methodology that you will employ in these studies. The proposal needs some work as outlined above to make it acceptable as a study worth funding.
Research infrastructure Obviously a CT scanner is essential for the categorization of stroke types. No mention is made of whether this is available and also of radiology backup.
Assessment by Sida Gender Helpdesk Gender is not highlighted
Assessment by Sida This sub-program addresses areas of high relevance to many low-income countries. The proposal is however not very well structured, which makes it difficult to read. The project design of most projects is fairly vague. Sidas recommendation is therefore that the on-going PhD students are allowed to finalise their thesis work but that no new students are brought into the program. The sub-program should submit a revised proposal including more detailed project plans for each of the on-going PhD students (planned courses, study visits and time for defending of their PhD thesis etc). The revised proposal should be submitted to Sida before any disbursement can be made.
Sida Research Officers Sector: Dr. Ros-Mari Bålöw Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson 81
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES Sub-Program 5: Tuberculosis and Microbiology
Project 1: Evaluation and adoption of new methods for improved diagnosis of TB in HIV positive smear negative suspects Project 2: Epidemiology, clinical, radiological and cytomorphological characteristics of the “Uganda genotype” of M. tuberculosis in rural Uganda Project 3: Anti-bacterial potentials of Ugandan medicinal plants in treatment of dental diseases Project 4: Epidemiology of HIV and H. simplex type 2 infection in populations Project 5: Controlling pneumococcal disease in low-income countries
Ugandan Senior Researcher Swedish Senior Researchers Dr. Moses Joloba Prof. Gunilla Källenius Department of Medical Microbiology Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control MUCHS Solna, Sweden P.O Box 7072 E-mail: [email protected] Kampala, Uganda Tel: +256 41 541830/+256 41 542 330 Dr. Sven Hoffner E-mail: [email protected] Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control Solna, Sweden E-mail: [email protected]
Collaborating Ugandan Scientists Collaborating Swedish Scientists Dr. Katamba Achilles Dr. Melles Haile Dr. Benon Asiimwe Dr. Tuija Koivula Prof. Celestino Obua Prof. Anders Hjerpe Prof. Johannes van Staden Prof. Anders Gustafsson Dr. Edith Nakku-Joloba Prof. Anna Karin Borg Karlsson Dr. Fred Kambugu Assoc. Prof. Anna Mia Ekström Dr. Karin Elena Källander Prof. Birgitta Henriques Normark Prof. Staffan Normark
PhD students Continuing Proposed Dr. Fred Bwanga Simon Walusimbi Dan Wamala Dr. Francis Ocheng
PROPOSAL
Abstract One-third of the world‟s population is infected with M. tuberculosis. Tuberculosis (TB) remains the leading cause of death in HIV-infected adults. Uganda ranks 15th in the world in TB burden, with an annual incidence rate of 355 cases per 100,000 people (WHO Report 2008). The current case detection rate for TB in Uganda is 43%, which is far below the WHO recommended target of 70%. This sub-program is aimed at addressing locally relevant needs that has a strong microbiology component. There will be a collaborative effort between different local and international researchers in various departments. The program will address key local issues and train students at doctoral level at Makerere University as well as other Universities and institutions.
Capacity Objectives To build capacity to conduct molecular biology and advanced mycobacterioloogy and microbiology studies at MUCHS; To improve management and control of tuberculosis, dental diseases, sexually transmitted diseases and pneumococcal diseases. 82
Research Objectives Assess the sensitivity and specificity of new rapid diagnostic tests in diagnosis of smear negative TB against the established gold standard; To study the epidemiology, clinical, radiological and histopathological characteristics of the „Uganda genotype‟ of M. tuberculosis in rural Uganda; To test the anti-microbial activity of 16 plants used in Ugandan folk medicine against bacteria associated with dental caries and periodontitis; To describe the epidemiology of HIV and of Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) type 2 infection in populations, Uganda with specific interest in younger populations; To estimate prevalence of HSV-2 and HIU-1 among persons aged 11 to 65 years in two populations (urban and rural) in Uganda; To describe the networks (sexual, sociobehavoral) and contexts that predispose to HIV and HSV-2 infection in these populations; To determine the molecular characteristics of pneumococcal strains isolated from Ugandan children with pneumococcal carriage and invasive pneumoccocal disease to inform policy choices of 1st- and 2nd-line antibiotics and vaccine introduction strategies for the Ugandan and East African settings. Expected outcome Enhanced capacity to conduct molecular biology and advanced mycobacteriology and microbiology studies at MUCHS and collaborating universities; Improved management and control of tuberculosis, dental diseases, sexually transmitted diseases and pneumococcal diseases; High-level skilled manpower in microbiology and molecular biology research at MUCHS. For the first time we will be able to train microbiologists at PhD level at the University; An insight in the pathogenic potential of various mycobacterial species will be gained.
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by External Reviewer 1 The suggested areas of research within the TB and Microbiology sub-program are relevant for any country and for Uganda in particular as TB/HIV, herpes genitalis infection and childhood respiratory infections are still rampant in the country and further control of them is strongly warranted. As for dental health I know less but my impression is that it is in general better than in rich counties but that may now change as food and eating habits approaches those in the North. However I note that this area of research is not included in the priority areas of health research of MUCHS that is depicted in the bottom section of page 7 in the application. The quality of research appears promising as the already produced material from this ongoing project application is of good standard with the prospect of improving further as of the present application.
Both institutions are internationally well respected scientifically and especially for Makerere Medical Faculty there has been a remarkable improvement of scientific productivity the last decennium to which the Sida funded collaborative project with Karolinska Institutet has contributed substantially. The competence of the collaborative scientists seem in general good. There is a lack of clinical competence on the Swedish side where only the principal investigator of project 5 has clinical competence although short and far away. For Anna Mia Ekström, principal Swedish investigator of project 4 there is no CV which is bad as this appears to be the weakest project. The methodological approaches seem in general the ones you expect with few innovative components which cannot be expected in this context. As for the methods in particular they are difficult to validate as they are in general described very shortly. For example in the main methods project (nr 1) the fluorescent staining does not mention anything about the specificity of the staining and the same is true for the TB magnet bead separation method. For project 2 it is not clear if the approach to find study persons is truly active case finding. If so what is the clinical competence of those searching for people with TB symptoms? For project 3 I wonder if it is ethically granted to obtain a biopsy from intact gingival tissue in order to get gingival target cells for testing. Can it not be a site for infection? And what benefit does the donor have of the procedure? 83
Further I lack any assay on the dental status of individuals living in the areas from where the herbal material with potential antibacterial effects is collected. For project 4, the study on incidence of Herpes infections appears not thought through. With a six months study period what number of participants with negative initial serology do you figure to have to include if you are to have any chance of a credible answer? And what is the kinetics of the antibody response, i.e. when is the conversion in relation to the time of infection? For project 5 it is amazing to say the least to read that there is a 98% resistance to TMP-SMX in vitro and yet it is the first line antibiotic for lower respiratory infections in Uganda. Have the applicants considered the accordance or lack thereof between in vitro and in vivo susceptibility of the microorganisms involved? Further it is not clear if the project aims at finding a tailored pneumoccocal vaccine for Ugandan children. How wise is that in a global world?
Research infrastructure This is apparently improving quickly in Makerere. Yet I notice the many drawbacks and shortcomings which are (admirably) mentioned in the application over work during the previous period they are only sparsely aimed at rectify in the present application. These shortcomings mostly concern infrastructure. A fine new asset is the in Demographic Surveillance Study Site area which should yield as soon as it has found reliable and tested ways for data collection. It is important to maintain contact with other more established INDEPTH study sites to ascertain quality control. A new local grant office is much welcomed. On the Swedish side the principal investigators I know are very experienced although I cannot evaluate the principal of project 4 as I find no CV. On the Ugandan side I doubt the same person Moses Joloba can be principal for all five subprojects as appears to be the case. Is such an undertaking and responsibility feasible and wise? The sustainability of the research is of course helped by the duration of these projects which has guaranteed continuity as well as continuous in-put of new participants. The cadre of PhDs emanating from the project is impressive and it promises to be further improved.
Assessment by Sida Gender Helpdesk Gender is not highlighted.
Assessment by Sida This sub-program addresses research areas of high relevance for Uganda and other low-income countries. The PI:s should take into consideration the comments of the reviewer. Based on the approved budget and the reviewer‟s comments a revised budget for the sub-program should be submitted to Sida before any disbursement can be made.
Sida Research Officers Sector: Dr. Ros-Mari Bålöw Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson 84
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES Sub-Program 6: Clinical Pharmacology and Drug Development
Project 1: Clinical outcome of drug treatment - in particular HIV-AIDS and the role of pharmacogenetics Project 2: Effect of foods in Uganda on the pharmacokinetics and outcome of antimalarial drug treatment Project 3: Population kinetic studies of drugs for TB, HIV/AIDS and malaria Project 4: Pharmacoepidemiological analysis and forecasting on the rationality of drug use in Uganda Project 5: Improving rational therapy of HIV/AIDS by promoting adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy, and kinetics of ARVs in children. Project 6: Investigating new and novel methods of delivering medicines, especially ARVs in children.
Ugandan Senior Researcher: Swedish Senior Researcher: Assoc. Prof. Jasper Ogwal-Okeng Prof. Lars L. Gustafsson Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics Department of Clinical Pharmacology MUCHS Karolinska Institutet P.O. Box 7072 Huddinge University Hospital Kampala, Uganda S-141 86 Huddinge, Sweden Tel: +256 41 532 945 Tel: +46 8 585 810 66 Fax: +256 41 532 947 Fax: +46 8 585 810 70 E-mail: [email protected] E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
Collaborating Ugandan Scientists Collaborating Swedish Scientists Prof. Adome Odoi Assoc. Prof. Olof Beck Prof. Celestino Obua Assoc. Prof. Urban Hellgren Prof. James Tumwine Dr Paul Waako Dr. Kaye Prof. Aklillu Elene Prof. Jasper Ogwal-Okeng
PhD students Continuing Proposed Jackson Mukonzo (finnish PhD 2011) Dan Kibuule Sarah Nanzigu (finnish PhD 2012) To be identified by Dept. Pharmacy Norah Mwebaza (finnish PhD 2014)
PROPOSAL
Abstract The problem of infectious diseases as major causes of ill-health and poverty is still huge, and evidence for chemotherapeutic intervention is still lacking. The human resource to investigate pharmacokinetic and pharmacogenetic profiles of medicines for malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS is still thin on the ground. The first two phases laid the ground for research training in Clinical Pharmacology in Uganda. This proposal seeks support to consolidate the achievements of the subprogram in terms of PhD students, laboratories, medicines information centre and publications in the area of clinical pharmacology. In this phase we intend to strengthen the research infrastructure by acquiring drug analysis equipment i.e. liquid chromatography, linked to mass spectropectrometry (LC-MS) and to complete the three ongoing thesis, recruit new students into the subprogram and introduce the Therapeutic Drug Monitoring unit to support the clinicians in rational therapy. We shall also collaborate with the new public universities of Gulu (GU) and Mbarara University 85 of Science and Technology (MUST). We shall enhance the capacity of the newly graduated and graduating PhDs to supervise by involving them as co-supervisors.
Capacity objective Institutional (departmental) capacity building; Use research to train at PhD level and as such strengthen and improve training programs; Introduce newly graduated PhDs as co-supervisors.
Research Objectives To study the role of pharmacogenetics in the outcome of drug treatment of HIV/AIDS in the Ugandan population; To investigate the effect of Ugandan foods on the pharmacokinetics and outcome of antimalarial drug treatment; To study the population pharmacokinetics of drugs for TB, HIV/AIDS, malaria and other neglected diseases; To develop and validate field-adapted drug analytical methods in clinical and epidemiological studies; To study pharmacoepidemiological analysis and pharmacovigilance of drugs used in TB, HIV/AIDS, malaria and neglected diseases; Improving rational therapy of HIV/AIDS by promoting adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy To carry out research in innovative ways of drug delivery, particularly in children (Pharmaceutics studies).
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by Sida Gender Helpdesk Gender is not highlighted. One PhD project focuses however on the interaction between herbal preparations and drugs during pregnancy, lactation and in children below two years of age.
Assessment by Sida This sub-program addresses areas of high relevance to many low-income countries and where strengthening of research capacity is urgently needed. The presentation of the sub-program however is very brief and not very well structured. The proposed PhD students do not match the PhD project proposals. It is stated that drug analysis equipment will be procured, but the justification of this is not described. Rational therapy and drug delivery in relation to ARVs is described in the project titles, but there is no mention of ARVs in the new PhD project descriptions. Furthermore, there is no mention about the future and sustainability of the drug information centre. It has not been possible to send this part of the proposal for external review because of limited information on the content of most of the PhD projects. Sida‟s recommendation is therefore that the on-going PhD students are allowed to finalise their thesis work but that no new students are brought into the program. The sub-program should for each of the on-going PhD students, before any disbursement can be made, submit to Sida a revised proposal including more detailed project plans where planned courses, study visits and time for defending of their PhD thesis is clearly outlined for each student.
Sida Research Officers Sector: Dr. Ros-Mari Bålöw Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson 86
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES Sub-Program 7: Public Health
Project 1 and 2: Community case management of malaria and pneumonia in children under five Project 3 and 4: Improving newborn survival in Uganda through community case management and health facility strengthening Project 5: Promoters and barriers to adherence to the secondary prevention of a chronic condition in low resource settings: Pre-anti retroviral care in Iganga, Uganda Project 6: Socio-economic status, social capital and utilization of health care services for febrile children aged less than five years: the case of Uganda Project 7: Developing a protocol for integrating public health screening and life-style interventions for common non-communicable diseases in primary health care in developing countries
Ugandan Senior Researchers Swedish Senior Researchers Dr. David Guwatudde Assoc. Prof. Stefan Peterson, IHCAR Dr. George Pariyo IHCAR Makerere University School of Public Health Karolinska Institutet MUCHS 171 76 Stockholm, Sweden Kampala, Uganda Tel: +46 8 524 833 72 Fax: +46 8 31 15 90 E-mail: [email protected]
Collaborating Ugandan Scientists Collaborating Swedish Scientists Dr Suzanne Kiwanuka Prof. Göran Tomson, KI Dr. Fred Makumbi Assoc. Prof. Sarah Wamala, Nat. Institute of Public Health Dr Nazarius Mbona Tumwesigye Assoc. Prof. Max Petold, Nordic School of Public Health Dr Andrew State Dr. Karin Källander Prof. Fred Nuwaha Prof. Clas Göran Östensson, KI Dr. William Bazeyo Prof. Sandro Galea, Univ. of Michigan, USA Dr. Lynn Atuyambe Assoc. Prof. Anna-Mia Ekström, KI Dr. John Sempebwa Dr. Joy Lawn, Saving Newborn Lives Dr. Tobias Alfven, KI
Makerere PhD students Continuing Proposed Dr. Joan Kalyango (shared with Sub-program 3) Dr. Roy William Mayega Dr. Peter Waiswa (finish PhD 2010) Dr. Christine Nalwadda Dr. Muhamadi Lubega (finish PhD 2011) Dr. Solome Bakeera (finish PhD 2011)
PROPOSAL
Abstract This Health Systems research proposal proposes to develop institutional research capacity while answering highly policy- and practice-relevant research questions in several areas critical to the health system in Uganda as it enters the epidemiological transition and takes on equity in access for vulnerable groups (delivering women, neonates, children, poor, chronically ill).
Specifically the proposal aims to: - Enhance the capacity to conduct quality research with immediate policy relevance for Health and Development in Uganda and other low-income countries - Further strengthen linkages between researchers and policy-makers & implementers in the Ministry of Health at district and national level
87
Capacity and research objectives Building on capacity built in the current phase and ongoing intervention studies multidisciplinary research projects will: In a febrile-illness cluster: 1 Evaluate the costs and effects of a strategy for integrated community case management for malaria and pneumonia through community health workers in a cluster randomized trial (Postdoc Dr Elizeus Rutebemberwa) For newborn health: 2 Evaluate the costs and effects of facility and community interventions for maternal/neonatal care practices in facilities and communities on newborn care practices and newborn survival in a cluster randomized trial (Postdoc Dr Peter Waiswa and new PhD) For access to care 3 Determine facilitators and barriers to adherence to chronic care models using comprehensive care for HIV as a tracer condition (Dr Muhamadi Lubega, continuing PhD project to 2011) 4 Evaluate the respective roles of social and material capital for assessment of equity in access to care (Dr Solome Bakeera, continuing PhD project to 2010/11) 5 Develop a model for integration of screening activities for precursor states for diabetes and hypertension into the Primary Health Care system (new PhD student Dr Roy Mayega)
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by External Reviewer 1 Relevance of research areas scientific quality The thematic composition is well motivated in the introduction to the proposal in terms of the characteristics of the global health transition. A HDSS such as the Iganga site is well placed to serve as an infrastructure enabling such research. It may also serve as a platform for research training and capacity building. The first phases of the collaboration have shown that the potentials are there, that the researchers know what it takes, not the least for long-term sustainability. They have also verified that, like most other HDSSs, they have experienced problems of long-term commitment, fatigue from the community and demands for supplying immediate health care needs. But first and foremost they need urgently to make policy makers aware of this resource and make them start asking health policy questions to it. The researchers do plan to give priority to this by inventing presentation tools and communication devices that can narrow the space between what they “know” and what they “do”. What I am really lacking is a thorough analysis of the epidemiological situation of the study population in terms of trends, disease burden, risk factor prevalence and preventability, mortality pattern and prematurity of deaths, functional ability, cognition etc, i.e. an analysis of the very basis for setting priorities like those outlined in the seven projects. This is what the HDSS is for apart from being an arena for interventions and their evaluation.
Competence of the applying institution The public health competence and commitment of MUCHS is well recognized and the ambition to have PhD students within the collaboration graduate locally is timely. The staff establishment shown on p.11 of the research program highlights capacity building needs e.g. that senior staff seems to be lacking specifically within the public health field. The suggested emphasis on post-doc recruitment is therefore well motivated. There is a very good competence both on the Ugandan and Swedish side of this collaboration. One of the Swedish coordinators has spent long periods of time in Uganda during the building up of the infrastructure and there seems to be well cared for supervisory functions on both sides.
Methodology and feasibility The researchers are well aware of the methodological problems of doing population-based field work in developing countries and they have long experiences of what it takes in terms of commitment and patience. As mentioned above I would like to have seen a proper analysis of the basic demography of the study setting based on the first years of surveillance. This would pave the way for where to go from here. One methodological issue that I have not seen that they have coped with is the frequency with which home-visiting is made, which in its turn is directly related to the disease burden of the society – where mortality is high you may need a different 88 design strategy compared to a healthier society. This is of course also related to the problem of community fatigue, another issue identified but not really dealt with.
Research infrastructure There are no doubt great potentials in longitudinal surveillance systems like the ones built up here. It is characteristic that its value increases by time which is the challenge also for the research group and the funders. This “olive tree” nature of HDSSs implying that you invest for others to harvest puts demands on the commitment, maintenance and perseverance that single one-off projects are not facing. The major potential of the infrastructure is that of cross-site studies and for that purpose the Ugandan sites are members of INDEPTH. This potential is only to a limited extent exploited and there should be more emphasis put on this kind of partnerships especially within sub-Saharan Africa.
Suggestions for how the projects could be improved Address seriously the issue of community fatigue by identifying and trying out appropriate means of communicating with the community on results and their implications. Similarly, make policy makers curious and ask questions to the data base that will be wealthier over time. Undertake proper epidemiological analysis of the demographic and epidemiological situation of the study setting and publish sooner rather than later a design article combining the study design with the background data, an article to serve as a basic reference for the emerging more specific papers to be. Upgrade the rather limited focus on chronic and non-communicable disease and risk factor patterns of the research agenda.
Assessment by Sida Gender Helpdesk Multi-disciplinary projects will look at integrated community case management for malaria and pneumonia, at community interventions for maternal/neonatal care, equity in access to care, diabetes and hypertension in Primary Health Care. It is noted that some of the research questions are by their own nature gendered. Specific questions will be posed on e.g. gender aspects of decision making for care-seeking, access to care etc. The relevance of gender power is explicitly acknowledged and the importance of gender in collection of data is pointed out. Same sex interviews will be conducted. Therefore a balanced composition between male and female field-assistants is attempted.
Assessment by Sida The proposal is well structured and has a realistic scope for the next agreement period. Focus of the support should be research capacity building i.e. human capacity building with emphasis on PhD and Post doctoral training. However, research funds for Post doctoral fellows will have to be applied for in competition. The Post doctoral fund will be administrated by the School of Graduate Studies and direct funding for Postdoctoral research should not be included in the Faculty program budget. If Post doctoral fellows are involved in supervision of PhD students and to some extent MSc students, cost for supervising student field work and travel to Sweden to meet with Swedish supervisors can be included in the budget. Funds for PhD student Joan Kalyango (shared with Sub-program 3) is budgeted for within Sub-program 3.
The comments of the reviewer should be taken into consideration. Based on the approved budget and the reviewer‟s comments a revised budget for the sub-program should be submitted to Sida before any disbursement can be made.
Sida Research Officers Sector: Dr. Ros-Mari Bålöw Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson 89
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES Sub-Program 8: MUCHS Research Funds
Applying Institution: Cooperating Institution: MUCHS Special Committee of 6-7 people Makerere University P. O. Box 7072 Kampala, Uganda
PROPOSAL
MUCHS Research Funds The Sida support has been so instrumental in stimulating and strengthening the research culture at the MUCHS through the small grants awarded to new and upcoming researchers at the medical school. 78 members of staff of the former Faculty of Medicine have benefited from this fund.
This effort should be supported further in order to take the research culture at the institution to the next level. In order to benefit more staff, we request that these funds be raised to 4,420,000 SEK for the following reasons; The number of applicants for the small grants increased and many applicants in the previous phase were not successful; The university appointments board recently recruited new staff thus increasing the number of staff eligible for the faculty funds; The cost of living has gone up implying that the cost of doing research has increased as well; There shall be promotion of two research teams in the first year and three in the subsequent years. To compete for the research grants, these teams will comprise of young and upcoming researchers led by senior researchers for mentorship and guidance. These teams will compete on a yearly basis from the four schools. Continued efforts will be undertaken to identify other sources of funding to augment this scholarly and innovative practice.
Competitive Research Grants for CHS Research teams The following guidelines will apply: a) Internal advertisements will be mailed to all staff and also posted publicly on departmental notice boards MUCHS and school web sites with clear guidelines for applications and closing dates. b) A panel of 6-7 senior researchers (including at least three females) chaired by the MUCHS research coordinator will review the applications for merit and award up to a maximum of US $30,000 per grant for a period of one year. External reviews by non-panel scientists in and outside Faculty will be sought as appropriate. c) Eligible applicants as Principal Investigators (PI) and other co-investigators will include junior and mid-level school academic staff (including honorary lecturers), will form a team of researchers who will compete for the grants. d) The teams will be encouraged to draw co-investigators from the four schools, across departments and research themes that are multidisciplinary shall be encouraged. e) The research teams shall have to be constituted basing on gender equality. f) All successful applicants will be required to produce a scientific and financial report and accountability at the end of the project and subsequently a manuscript published in a peer reviewed journal (acknowledging Sida support). g) The appointed Committee comprising of the PIs of the sub-programs, the Deans of the four schools chaired by the principal of the MUCHS will monitor progress through reports from MUCHS members who are awarded grants, project technical reports and financial accountabilities, scientific papers and presentations during MUCHS seminars or conferences.
90
Research collaboration, networks, and travel grants There is overwhelming need to create partnerships, collaborations and networks for knowledge, expertise and skills exchange locally, regionally and internationally among faculty of the MUCHS and collaborating institutions and organizations. This will in turn facilitate joint research, grant application, mentorship and dissemination of knowledge, which are key to sustainability. The following guidelines shall apply and the same committee of 6-7 people described above will review applications and award the grants:
(i) Travel grant applications will be received and reviewed by the same panel mentioned above of 6-7 members chaired by the MUCHS research for Research. (ii) Eligible applicants are academic staff from the level of teaching assistant and above. (iii) Grant recipients will be required to present what they have gained from the travel during Faculty scientific meetings and also produce a written report (technical and financial). (iv) The appointed committee will be responsible for monitoring travel grants in the same manner as described above for competitive research grants for staff to stimulate networking and conference attendance. (v) Special effort targeting female applicants as described above for staff research grants will be undertaken.
Assessment by Sida Some of the sub-programs in the MUCHS proposal to Sida is not very well outlined and the recommendation from the external reviewers is that they should not be funded. Sida has approved some funds for the on-going PhD students to allow for finalisation of their thesis work. Along with this Sida approves an increase of the funds for the MUCHS Research Funds to encourage junior- and mid-level academic staff to apply for competitive research funds. Furthermore, in the Phase II Sida assessment of the then Medical Faculty funds it was emphasised that the rules for the committee members in terms of how long they serve, how they are identified and appointed etc. should be considered. It is not clear from this proposal if this has been done and MUCHS must elaborate such rules and submit them to Sida before the first year’s grant is released.
Sida Research Officers Sector: Dr. Ros-Mari Bålöw Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson
91
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES Sub-Program 9: MUCHS Grants Management Office
Applying Institution: Co-operating Institution: MUCHS KIRT Committee, c/o IHCAR Makerere University Karolinska Institutet P. O. Box 7072 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden Kampala, Uganda
PROPOSAL
Abstract Funds are sought to facilitate the establishment and maintainance of the MUCHS grants office, these funds are needed for the following reasons:
1) There is need to hire new staff to run the grants office, however these funds shall be drawn from the overheads to the university from Phase III grant. 2) To purchase office equipment, consumables and soft ware programs. 3) Funds will be needed for grants management training for staff. 4) Some funds will be needed for allowances and travel of these staffs in the first 3 years. Specifically the grants office shall improve the management of the third phase of Sida support to overcome the bottlenecks faced in the last two phases. It will also support other grants won from other donors and research organizations.
This office is essential for research resource mobilization, with the following objectives: To manage all grants in the MUCHS and all research organizations affiliated to the MUCHS; To identify grant calls and disseminate this information to all staff; To work with researchers to prepare proposals for the identified calls; To ensure compliance with grants regulations nationally and international; To manage the accruing funds.
Assessment by Sida Sida supports coordination of the program both at MUCHS and KI which carry out some of the tasks identified in the proposal for the grants management office. Makerere University is currently going through a university reform, and the functions and processes connected to a grants management office will be defined in that process to support a central Makerere University Grants management office. Establishment of a grants management office at MUCHS is not justified by the application and it is not the responsibility of Sida to build such a function. Sida will support existing functions, and therefore MUCHS will have to demonstrate its own willingness and allocate internally generated funds for the establishment of this office. This sub-program is not approved.
Sida Research Officers Sector: Dr. Ros-Mari Bålöw Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson 92
ASSESSMENT
FACULTY OF SCIENCE
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY
93
FACULTY OF SCIENCE “Enhancing Capacity in Basic Science Research and Training for Sustainable Development”
Sub-program 1: Ethnobotany Sub-program 2: Environmental monitoring and restoration Sub-program 3: Mathematical modelling of eutrophication and pollution in Lake Victoria Sub-program 4: Multi-Matrix Contamination Levels, Trends and Biomagnification of Persistent Organic Pollutants and Pesticides in the Fish Food Web of Lake Victoria (Uganda) Sub-program 5: Thin films gas sensors for environmental monitoring Sub-program 6: Training and capacity building in geophysics Sub-program 7: Development Green Chemistry Processes of Importance to Industrial and Analytical Applications. Sub-program 8: Capacity building in research and teaching in molecular genetics
Applying Institution: Collaborating Institution: Coordinator Uganda Coordinator Sweden Dr. Vincent A. Ssembatya Dr. Peter Sundin Assoc. Professor Head Faculty of Sciences International Science Program (ISP) Makerere University Uppsala University P.O. Box 7062 P.O.Box 549 Kampala, Uganda SE- 751 21 Uppsala, Sweden Tel: +256 414 532401 (office) Tel: +46 18 471 3574 (office) Tel: +256 772 374144 (mobile) Tel : +46 70 167 9118 (mobile) Fax: +256 414 531061 Fax: +46 18 471 3495 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]
PROPOSAL FROM MAKERERE UNIVERSITY
Abstract The program consists of eight sub-programs, each addressing at least one of the specific objectives and composed of a cross cutting research team. Activities include PhD training and building of research competence through post-doctoral (centrally budgeted for) research. A total of 5 PhD and 8 MSc will be trained. The program will also involve staff and students‟ exchange, participation in conferences and field activities. The faculty will also organize an international conference to disseminate the findings of the sub-programme to various stakeholders. The Faculty will pay special attention to the recruitment of female scholars and students in the sub- programme. The studies being proposed are an important and logical extension of the on going studies which have been sponsored by the International programme on Chemical sciences (IPICS). The studies were centred on characterization of pesticide residues in fish, water and sediments of Lake Victoria.
The sub-program objectives 1. Ethnobotany I. Build competence in Natural Products for integration into agriculture, nutrition and health care systems (Botany); - Integration of food and medicinal plants in health care. (1PhD) 2. Environmental Monitoring and restoration II. Identify and quantify environmental pollutants and design restoration strategies Components (Chemistry, Mathematics, Botany); - Restoration of polluted and degraded habitats in Kasese district. (1PhD) - Mathematical modelling of eutrophication and pollution in Lake Victoria. (1PhD) 94
- Capacity building in pesticide residue monitoring in the Lake Victoria basin. (1PhD) III. Develop thin films gas sensors of high sensitivity for environmental monitoring and capacity in the field of Geophysics (Geology, Physics) ; - Material science 3. Green Chemistry IV. Develop green chemistry catalysis processes of importance to industrial applications (chemistry). - Coordination chemistry; Industrial chemicals. 4. Molecular Genetics Research V. Develop capacity in molecular genetics for sustainable modern research and teaching; - Capacity building in Molecular genetics. (1 PhD) 5. Post-doctoral Fellowships Enhance competitive research through post-doctoral fellowships. These are budgeted for by the Graduate School.
Expected Outputs . Improved supervisory skills. . At least 5 PhDs (out of the current full-time Faculty members of staff that still require doctoral training funding). . At least 4 Masters students supported. . At least 4 articles in refereed journals per sub-program. . Research reports (by junior and senior researchers). . Regional conference proceedings written.
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by External Reviewer In general for the entire project I am lacking a clear definition of the problem. The scientific area is described but the scientific problem that should justify to specific suggested application is missing. If the research support is mainly to provide a basic level of competence and not for making specific progress towards scientific goals, then I can understand the absence of identified research problem. However, I strongly recommend you to improve these aspects since it will create a more productive research environment at the University if clear and operational goals are indentified. I also recommend a much more precise instruction with included publication lists to demonstrate skill with the proposed areas of research. The number of publications are misleading especially if the direction of the research and the quality of the journals are unknown. As regards a budget in relation to the suggested scientific programs, it looks like the application is rather formal and less specific and motivated by the specific components. Unforeseen is in some cases the largest category. This looks very strange to see the lack of precision in the other specified categories. I suggest either a more general lumped approach or alternatively a detailed specific budget where the specific items are specified. Present approach is confusing and not giving any understanding of the actual needs for making the suggested investigations.
Assessment by Sida The faculty program is unfocused and uncoordinated. The program is rather package of individual projects than a collaborative research program with emphasis on research supervision and training. However, considering the importance of some basic sciences for research capacity building Sida decided to support some of the proposed projects in main disciplines, such as physics, mathematics and chemistry. The approved parts of the program are considered as the Faculty‟s first step on the way to build up research capacity in the basic sciences.
Focus of the support should be research capacity building i.e. human capacity building with emphasis on PhD and Post doctoral training. However, research funds for Post doctoral fellows will have to be applied for in competition. The Post doctoral fund will be administrated by the School of Graduate Studies and direct funding for Postdoctoral research should not be included in the Faculty program budget. If Post doctoral fellows are involved in supervision of PhD students and to some extent MSc students, cost for supervising student field work and travel to Sweden to meet with Swedish supervisors can be included in the budget. The proposed post-doc projects were therefore not assessed.
95
Subsistence grants will be disbursed directly through the Swedish Institute. The level for this post should be calculated per student in a separate column named “Swedish Institute”. Cost per month per student is to be calculated as 13 000 SEK (includes subsistence allowance, insurance, activities and administration).
The Faculty of Sciences and all sub-programs must revise their budget according to the approved support and it should be submitted to Sida before disbursement can be made for the agreement period July 2010- June 2014.
More details are presented in the assessments of the individual projects.
Budget Faculty of Science Jan-June Sub-program 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Total Requested Total 6 846 560 4 106 760 3 545 080 501 600 0 15 000 000 1. Ethnobotany 550 000 500 000 450 000 100 000 100 000 1 700 000 2. Environmental monitoring and 600 000 350 000 400 000 100 000 50 000 1 500 000 restoration 3. Mathematical 500 000 450 000 450 000 50 000 50 000 1 500 000 modelling 4. Pesticides 750 000 500 000 150 000 50 000 50 000 1 500 000 5. Material Science 0 0 0 0 0 0 6: Geophysics 0 0 0 0 0 0 7. Green chemistry 500 000 250 000 200 000 25 000 25 000 1 000 000 8. Molecular genetics 0 0 0 0 0 0 Approved Total 2 900 000 2 050 000 1 650 000 325 000 275 000 7 200 000
Sida research officers Sector: Dr. Zinaida Iritz Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson 96
FACULTY OF SCIENCE Sub-program 1: Ethnobotany “Integration of medical plants as therapeutic and nutritional supplement in health care delivery in Uganda”
Applying Institution: Collaborating Institution: Ugandan Coordinator Swedish Coordinator Dr. Maud Kamatenesi-Mugisha Prof. Anna-Karin Borg-Karlsson Faculty of Sciences KTH Makerere University Stockholm, Sweden Department of Botany E-mail: [email protected] P.O.Box 7062 Kampala, Uganda Tel: 256-772-438905 E-mail: [email protected] Proposed PhD Student MSc Student Ms. Savina Asiimwe Mr. Anywar Gordwin
PROPOSAL
Abstract This project will explore the possibility of improving health care delivery through integration of medicinal and nutritional supplementation plants that are currently used in the management of opportunistic infections including HIV/AIDS. This proposal constitutes an up-scaling of the ended NORAD 2006-08 work on food and nutritional medicinal plants. One Master‟s dissertation has been submitted and the second master‟s dissertation is being written. Plant domestication manual and product development is on-going. Some of the medicinal plants have shown the potential to improve the quality of life in this respect. Some of them can be commercially exploited on value addition and may be used to boost economic development in Uganda. This component will train one PhD student [Ms .Savina Asiimwe], who is a member of staff of Makerere University. A document of plants that are used for medicinal as well as nutritional values will be produced. The project will validate the medicinal and nutritional values of indigenous plants, initiate propagation and domestication of medicinal plants and train local communities on techniques of multiplication of indigenous medicinal plants used in the management of HIV/AIDS and other opportunistic infections. Product development with the purpose of standardization of nutri-medicines will be central in this project so as to add value of African medicinal and nutritional plants for easy accessibility to the wider community.
Main objective The main goal of the project is to identify, upgrade and integrate medicinal and nutritional supplementation plants used in the management of opportunistic infections including HIV/AIDS into health care delivery and boost economic development in Uganda.
Specific objectives . Identify medicinal and nutritional plants with therapeutic and antioxidant properties available from Ugandan flora. . Conduct scientific validation and observational studies of medicinal plants with nutritional value. . Develop and promote processing of potential herbal products as medicinal and nutritional supplements for wide scale usage (value addition). . Investigate the existing harvesting techniques current in use and develop good harvesting practices. . Establish model herbal gardens on selected farms for community adoption as crops to use as food, beverage or medicine and biotrade. . Conduct training, advocacy and lobbying the population and policy makers for the integration of medicinal and nutritional plants in the treatment of HIV/AIDS and other immuno-compromised ailments.
Expected outputs/outcomes . Checklist (reputable document) of medicinal and nutritional supplement plants diseases and other opportunistic 97
infections; . Scientific publications; . Two theses from students; . Rare/over-harvested nutri-medicinal plants will be identified and knowledge of propagation methods generated; . establish model gardens to train users on diversification of on-farm income and increasing the farm bio-diversity; . establish the medicinal and nutritional profiles of useful; learning the practice as an economically sound rural enterprise for bio-commercialisation (biotrade); . Formulation and product development of herbal and nutritional supplements (value addition).
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by External Reviewer This project is a broad and very ambitious initiative. The aim is to identify Ugandan plants that can be used both because of their content of pharmacologically active components and due to their nutritious value.
Neither of the two areas is well explained with regard how the studies will be designed. Concerning nutritious value it is not sufficient to determine protein content and ash content. Besides a more thorough investigation with regard to amino acid composition one should also need to investigate presence of anti-nutritious compounds that would counteract and use of materials with added nutritious value. Some animal experiments to evaluate nutritious value would have been expected. I would recommend to involve persons with competence in food- and nutrient research when evaluating the Ugandan plants. Trials on mice or rats to evaluate nutrient content would certainly be helpful.
It is stated that one aims at improving the healthcare delivery through integration of medicinal plants and nutritional supplementation plants in the management of opportunistic infections including HIV/AIDS. It is certainly important to see that infected persons get a nutritious diet besides appropriate medication.
One aim is to build upon the traditional medicine where a range of plants has been used. Many of the traditional cures have turned out to be very efficient, and one can often isolate active compounds from the plant extracts used. This part of the study seems realistic. If there will be compounds with effect towards infections and/or HIV/AIDS is more uncertain. The need to preserve plants with medical effects is obvious. There are plans to study domestication of the plants so that it will be possible to cultivate them as regular crops.
The evaluation is given below under 8 separate headlines according to instructions.
Relevance of research areas, scientific quality The topic of the research planned, nutritious food and pharmacologically active compounds to patients suffering from infections and HIV/AIDS is highly relevant. However, the applications is lacking a lot of information concerning how things shall be done, and that reflects back to the scientific quality of the application.
Competence of applying institution/unit The information given in the application is rather rudimentary. The project leader has a CV and the same goes for one PhD student. No information is given for co-investigators or for the Swedish counterpart. The PI has experience in the area of ethno-pharmacology and evaluation of effects of different plant derived materials with regard to reproductive health.
There is no documentation concerning nutrition, and since that is an important part of the project, this is a severe problem. The Swedish counterpart has a strong position in natural products and will most probably be involved in the chemical-pharmacological studies.
Methodology and feasibility The methodology given is too rudimentary to be evaluated. There are a lot of different initiatives, but very little information concerning each and everyone. The evaluator is not specialist in all of these sub-areas, but it is obvious that e.g. the nutritional analysis and antioxidant bioactivity needs a much more thorough treatment.
98
Research infrastructure The infrastructure for this project is not properly described. Maybe it is found in the larger application where this application seems to be a part. It seems obvious that the plant part can be taken care of within the infrastructure, while the chemical/food science oriented aspects are not properly demonstrated.
Research management The PI has experience since before to coordinate projects.
Sustainability of research capacity of the institution The sustainability is very much dependent upon how the infrastructure is built/complemented when such a project is being developed. Plants that are identified as being suitable to fulfil the goals of this project will be cultivated and that means that there will be a collection of suitable isolates. This is a step towards sustainability of this part of the project.
Suggestion for how the projects can be improved I suggest that a more detailed research plan is presented. The involvement of scientists with experience in food nutrition is important for the nutritional aspect of the project.
Appropriateness of the proposed budget The budget figures seem realistic for this kind of project. A slightly larger budget for equipment would have been expected if all the subprojects will be carried out. However, since the infrastructure is not properly described, it might be that all such equipment is already in place.
Overall judgement This project needs to be more thoroughly prepared and the different subproject better analysed and described.
Assessment by Sida The overall aim of the project fits well with Sida‟s objectives on poverty reduction. The proposal might be approved for funding after its revision in accordance to the comments and suggestions of external reviewer.
Sida research officers Sector: Dr. Zinaida Iritz Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson 99
FACULTY OF SCIENCE Sub-program 2: Environmental monitoring and restoration “Environmental Restoration through Research on the Polluted and Degraded Habitats in Kasese, Western Uganda”
Applying Institution: Collaborating Institution: Ugandan Coordinator Swedish Coordinator Dept. of Plant Physiology Stig Ingvar Backéus P.O. Box 7062 Department of Plant Ecology, Swedish Biodiversity Centre Kampala, Uganda Uppsala University, Box 7007, Prof. Hannington Oryem-Origa 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden Dept. Of Plant Physiology E-mail: [email protected] Tel: +256 772 624932, Tel. +46 (0)18 471 28 61, 471 28 50. E-mail: [email protected] Fax +46 (0)18 55 34 19
Local Collaborators: Dr. Grace Nabulo, Plant Physiologist and Environmental Scientist Tel: +44 78376805 E-mail: [email protected] Mr. M. Ntale (Analytical Chemist)
Proposed PhD student Arthur Makara
PROPOSAL
Abstract This project aims at “Restoration of polluted and degraded habitats in Kasese District‟‟ as a result of copper mining between 1956 and 1982. Through this research project, one PhD student will be trained. The main objective of this project is to investigate the extent of heavy metal uptake and accumulation by selected plant species in the polluted and degraded areas in Kasese and Kilembe and design strategies for their possible restoration. This project will be implemented by carrying out the following activities: Conducting plant inventory in the polluted and adjacent unpolluted areas; monitoring changes in the pH of the soil, sediments and water in the polluted and unpolluted areas; determination of heavy metal contents of the soil, sediments and water; assessment of soil organic matter content; monitoring of soil microbial activities; determination of total metal accumulation by plants from polluted and unpolluted areas; assessment of seed germination under laboratory (using polluted and unpolluted soils) and field conditions (in polluted and unpolluted areas) with seeds from indigenous plant species. This will be done by manipulating the soil pH using hydrated lime. Pilot restoration plots will be established in the polluted habitats to test and design strategies for their phytoremediation using selected plant species of known commercial values.
Main Objective The main objective is to investigate the extent of heavy metal uptake and accumulation by selected plant species in polluted and degraded areas in Kasese and Kilembe and design methods for their possible restoration.
Specific Objectives . To conduct inventory of plants both in the pyrite trail areas and adjacent unpolluted areas in QENPA and Kilembe, . To analyse the soil and water chemistry of the streams within and adjacent to the contaminated sites both in Kilembe and pyrite trail in QENPA, . To analyse heavy metal contents of selected plant species in the polluted and unpolluted areas, 100
. To conduct both laboratory and field germination and establishment studies on pyrite trail in QENPA and tailings in Kilembe mines areas using selected plant species, . To investigate plant and soil chemistry from the field restoration plots, . To investigate the trends of natural regeneration in the polluted areas, . To try out pilot restoration of degraded areas using selected tree species of commercial values.
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by External Reviewer The project is a relevant and important area for Uganda. I believe that it is very relevant as a tool for environmental restoration of a real world case. The area of uptake of metals by plants and the phytoremediation processes are of high importance for understanding how to design the use of polluted areas. The basic competence of the PhD student and the supervisor in Uganda is good. However, the CV‟s are very general and publications lists from the scientists are missing. It is impossible to understand their excellence with only knowing about number of publications and not getting a list of the actual publications. Also the CV of the Swedish supervisor is missing. The rationale behind the methods is very briefly described. So many methods and investigations are suggested without any reasonable connection to how the results should contribute to the progress and publications of the PhD student. I believe that the lab has basic competence with making various descriptive analyses but the basic strategy for the experiments is missing. Most of the suggested methods are very broad and descriptive and are not focusing on a specific issue that is suitable for a single PhD student. However, it looks like most of the studies are made by only one department. It was not possible to assess research management and sustainability of research capacity of the institution based on the proposal. I would like to suggest that studies should be restricted to only some few of the 7 specific objectives mentioned. The studies need to be more related to a research issue rather than a general environmental issue. The absence of previous investigations within the suggested field is a problem since the origin of the major pollution is quite old. A detailed description of present conditions is important but less useful for research if not connected to a plan for how to improve the general scientific understanding of the remediation processes. I strongly suggest a more precise application especially if it should be possible to give efficient support for the PhD student. The role of the Swedish supervisor and the role the international scientific community are unclear.
Assessment by Sida Studies on the possible re-vegetation of the polluted areas using some deep-rooted plants species are of economic importance. Selection of plants which will not be eaten by animals is important for prevention food chains from heavy metals. The project focus on reduction of the heavy metal load in the polluted areas is relevant from environmental and economic aspects. There is a need for revision of the proposal in accordance to the comments and suggestions made by the external reviewer. After revision of the proposal it will be approved for Sida‟s support.
Sida research officers Sector: Dr. Zinaida Iritz Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson 101
FACULTY OF SCIENCE Sub-program 3: Mathematical modelling of eutrophication and pollution in Lake Victoria
Applying Institution: Collaborating Institution: Ugandan Coordinator Swedish Coordinator Vincent .A. Ssembatya (PhD), Dean, Senior Prof. Leif Abrahamsson, Lecturer, Dept. of Mathematics Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Uppsala University Makerere University E-mail: [email protected] Kampala, Uganda Prof. Richard Wait, John Mango Magero, PhD, Department of Scientific Computing, Senior Lecturer, Dept.of Mathematics, Makerere Uppsala University University E-mail: Kampala , Uganda
Juma Kasozi, PhD, Senior Lecturer, Department of Mathematics, Makerere University, Kampala
Proposed PhD student Mr. Walakira Ddumba, Department of Mathematics
Abstract The increased inflow of nutrients is changing the chemical and bio-physical characteristics of the Lake Victoria. The transport of pollutants from littoral to pelagic is limited due to a large surface area and lack of circulation. Structural changes can have a significant effect (e.g. the causeway in Winam Gulf). Pollution leads to health problems for the riparian communities. In the Mathematics component of this sub-program, we intend to train one PhD student and one Postdoc. Under the supervision of both local and Swedish collaborators, the PhD student will work on the formulation of a waste dispersion model using the shallow water equations. The other group will work on modelling the potential effects of climate change on Lake Victoria.
Main objectives To formulate a waste dispersion model using the shallow water equations. To assess the potential effect of climate change, the Hadley Centre at the UK Met Office and U. Cape Town have both predicted significant increases in temperate and rainfall. The effect on the Lake Victoria needs to be modelled.
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by External Reviewer The project is a relevant and important area but the general approach and the lack of connection to a scientific mathematical problem or to a well defined environmental problem is a big problem. The basic competence of the PhD student and the supervisor in Uganda is good. However, the connection to the suggested mathematical modelling what ordinary commercial software is not obvious. However, the CV‟s are very general and publications lists from the scientists are missing. It is impossible to understand their excellence with only knowing about number of publications and not getting a list of the actual publications. Also the Swedish supervisor is missing. The rationale behind the methods is not described. The two tasks are specified without any connection to the most important issue in environmental related mathematical modelling – (data and validation). No indications on how the modelling should be linked to experimental investigations are made. I believe it is not possible to make any scientific 102 progress without having a well indentified scientific aim. The two tasks suggested are without any specific connection to mathematical or environmental problems.
It is not possible to make progress within this area without have a well defined link between mathematical science, computer science and environmental science. I can only identify pure mathematical background among the suggested investigators. This makes the application single sided. I would like to suggest that studies should be linked to a department where environmental problems are studied. I also believe that the subject have to be restricted to a specific problem that is possible to approach by advanced mathematical models in a scientific way. Without a demonstration of a basic understanding of how to justify the use mathematical models for the subject outlined it is not possible to give any reasonable suggestions for how to improve the application.
Assessment by Sida Mathematical modelling is an important tool to study natural processes in their complexity. Considering importance of this tool Sida approves the support to training of one PhD.
The comments of the reviewer should be taken into consideration. Based on the approved budget and the reviewer‟s comments a revised budget for the sub-program should be submitted to Sida before any disbursement can be made.
Sida research officers Sector: Dr. Zinaida Iritz Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson 103
FACULTY OF SCIENCE Sub-program 4: Multi-Matrix Contamination Levels, Trends and Biomagnification of Persistent Organic Pollutants and Pesticides in the Fish Food Web of Lake Victoria (Uganda)
Applying Institution: Collaborating Institution: Ugandan Coordinator Swedish Coordinator Bernard Kiremire Peter Sundin, PhD ISP, Uppsala University Arineitwe Kenneth, E-mail: [email protected] Byamukama Robert, Wasswa, John Derek Muir, Professor, Mubiru Edward, Department of Chemistry, Environment Canada, Burlington, Makerere University; Ont.Canada
John Balirwa, Henrik Kylin, Professor, Uganda Fisheries Research Institute SLU Uppsala, Sweden
Proposed PhD Student Kenneth Arinaitwe
PROPOSAL
Abstract This project will investigate the emerging persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in air and precipitation samples taken in the Ugandan part of the L. Victoria watershed and use back trajectories to establish the source of air currents associated with the contaminants .Three sampling stations for air and precipitation have already been set up in Kakira, Entebbe and Bukasa island. The study will also determine contamination levels of POPs in water, biota and sediment from the lake. The results from this study are projected to have a number of uses pertinent to human health considerations as well as regulatory control programs.
The project is a continuation of the ongoing studies on pesticides, where tremendous achievements have been made. Altogether, seven Ugandans and one Rwandese have been trained in using various analytical tools of assessing pesticide residues. Three of these are female students who are in the final year of finishing their MSc studies. In addition to training, the pesticide laboratory at Makerere University has been equipped with two gas chromatographic equipment and one GC/MS (the first in the eastern Africa universities). Using the above facilities and other minor equipment, two regional training courses have so far been organised and attended by graduate students from Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
Main objectives . To assist health authorities and policy makers to take rational decisions on the use of pesticides for public health and in agriculture based on data generated from within the country. . To inform the public on current contaminant conditions in the lake, particularly the suitability of fish and water for consumption, in order to solicit their support for continued pollution abatement programs. . To provide significant data for United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP‟s) database for Global Monitoring of POPs.
Expected Outputs . Facilitation of student on the sub-program to get PhD . Publication of articles and books. . Dissemination of findings at Makerere University. . Discussion of the findings with decision makers at local, national and international levels.
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL 104
Assessment by External Reviewer The environmental problems related to organic pollutants are of high relevance for Uganda and a certain basic level for understanding methods of their behaviour have recently been established. The competence is good for the suggested main investigator and the suggested PhD candidate has also reached the required levels to enter a PhD program. The methods are appropriate for making analyses. However I am not convinced that the design of the sampling program is appropriate to the objective of the project. I am linking a scheme that demonstrates how the different sub-studies should be combined into the fish food web of Lake Victoria. Obviously a basic infrastructure for making analyses and taking samplings from the different environments has been built up. I believe that the project needs a more specific goal to be a PhD program. The current project sound important to understand the problem and to make proper description of the current conditions in the area. However, the specific formulations of objectives are still to be done. It is very unclear how the budget should be used and the large sum for equipment is not justified.
Assessment by Sida The project is relevant and important but revision is needed with regard to fulfilling the requirements for a PhD project. Although in the application it is explained that the basic instrumentation already exist the project requested 650 000 SEK for equipment in the budget for 2010. The requested financial level is too high and needs to be revised.
Sida research officers Sector: Dr. Zinaida Iritz Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson 105
FACULTY OF SCIENCE Sub-program 5. Thin films gas sensors for environmental monitoring
Applying Institution: Ugandan Coordinator Tom Otiti, Department of Physics Faculty of Sciences Makerere University P.O.Box 7062 Kampala, Uganda
Proposed MSc Student Alex Okello
PROPOSAL
Abstract Gas sensing is important in a wide range of applications, including air quality monitoring, smoke alarms, and greenhouse gases detection among others. Following increasing industrial and technological activities, the kinds and quantities of pollution sources have increased dramatically over recent past. This has necessitated development of methods for monitoring and controlling these sources. There has been improvement in performance of solid state gas sensors but their sensitivities are not high enough. Therefore, the development of more sensitive but low cost, selective gas sensors than the conventional sensors is still required. Recent advances in nanomaterials provide an opportunity to dramatically increase the response of these materials, as their performance is directly related to the exposed surface volume. The proposed study aims at developing thin films gas sensors of high sensitivity.
Main Objective To develop more sensitive but low cost, selective gas sensors
Expected outputs Facilitation of one MSc student
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by Sida Although the area is of high relevance in respect of many environmental problems, Sida can not approve the support to this project. Sida deems that Makerere University should focus on the main areas within the basic sciences, i.e. areas of physics, chemistry and mathematics. No support is suggested.
Sida research officers Sector: Dr. Zinaida Iritz Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson 106
FACULTY OF SCIENCE Sub-program 6: Training and capacity building in geophysics
Applying Institution: Ugandan Coordinator Prof. Yusto Kaahwa Faculty of Sciences Makerere University Kampala, Uganda
Co-Investigator: Dr. Ezra Twesigomwe, Kabale University
PROPOSAL
Abstract There is continuous seismic activity especially in the Western Rift Valley region. Acquisition and processing of data from seismic surveys is one of the most important tools for getting geological information about the first kilometre thickness below the earth‟s surface. It has applications in groundwater searches, earthquake monitoring, risk assessment, civil engineering and other underground explorations. There are also variations in the gravity and magnetic fields of the earth. In Uganda, there is scanty information on gravity and magnetic measurements. Gravity variations reflect density variations in subsurface rocks. Such density variations give information about structures at various depths. Subsurface structures can also be determined by measuring variations in the earth‟s magnetic field. Density anomalies may imply the presence of salt domes or other types of ores. There is therefore great need to collect data on gravity and magnetic fields variations. Such data would be used in both mineral and petroleum explorations. The data would also be used to construct gravity and magnetic maps for specified regions. This research fits in the National Development Plan of poverty eradication by building capacity to exploit natural resources while protecting the environment. It is also in line with the Makerere University strategic plan of strengthening research and capacity building with the view of solving local problems. During the implementation, the University Research and Innovations policy and the Intellectual Property Management policy will be followed. Most of the field work will be done during vacations or recess terms. We will participate fully in these activities and with technical support; the risks of equipment failure will be minimized.
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by External reviewer This application is based on the need of building research capacity in geophysics to solve geological problems in Uganda. There is no doubt that this is highly relevant for the country. It is suggested that monitoring of earth quakes will be reinforced by purchasing and installation of new geophones and that gravity and magnetic field variations shall be measured, however, no specific geological problems or hypotheses have been presented to be solved or tested. This makes the scientific value of the proposal quite limited.
The research background of the principal investigator is outside geophysics; while the co-investigator has a limited publication is seismic research. Through the cooperation with the external collaborator the limited experience in seismic monitoring and analyses may to some extent be overcome, while the gravity and magnetic part will still be a problem.
The goal of the project is to produce two MSc degrees and at least three papers. However, since no specific geologic problem and no plan for the MSc studies have been presented it is hard to see a positive outcome of the proposed project. This is also true for the planned upgrading of the infrastructure. 107
The applicant lacks a detailed plan for the research, including scientific problems and hypotheses, which will then serve as a motivation of upgrading of the infrastructure. A plan for the students to be involved in the project is not presented. Due to the lack of experience in gravity and magnetic measurements and modeling collaboration with some external expertise in this field is suggested.
With reference to the above a support to this proposal can not be recommended.
Assessment by Sida Due to weaknesses of the proposal described by the external reviewer, the project will not be supported by Sida.
Sida research officers Sector: Dr. Zinaida Iritz Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson 108
FACULTY OF SCIENCE Sub-program 7: Development Green Chemistry Processes of Importance to Industrial and Analytical Applications
Applying Institution: Ugandan Coordinator Collaborating Institution: Prof. Henry Ssekaalo Swedish Coordinator Department of Chemistry Prof. Ola Wendt Faculty of Sciences Centre for Chemistry Makerere University Lund University Kampala, Uganda Box 124 Tel: 256- 221 00 Lund, Sweden E-mail:
Regional Collaborating Researchers: Prof. G. N. Kamau, Department of Chemistry, Univ. of Nairobi Prof. J.K.Y. Katima, College of Engineering and Technology, Univ. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Prof. S.O. Wandiga, Department of Chemistry, Univ. of Nairobi
Local Collaborating Researchers Sarah Tibatemwa, Principal Analyst, National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), Uganda.
Research Group Membership H. Ssekaalo, J. Mbabazi, S.A. Nyanzi, E. Tebandeke
PROPOSAL
Abstract One of the current world-wide concerns is the increasing pollution of the environment. Therefore, any activity that reduces environmental pollution should be most well-come. In chemical research the term “green chemistry” refers to chemical processes whose reactants, products and by-products are environmentally friendly. The fundamental importance of coordinate bond interactions in biological systems and a variety of industrial processes is well-documented. The intention of the proposed project is to utilize these interactions for green chemical processes. One area of these studies will be to use polyoxometallates (POMs) to catalyze a variety of important industrial chemical processes. POMs, especially the heteropoly ones, are highly robust coordination compounds tolerating a medium of wide pH range and. can be regenerated many times for reuse. Oxidation involving oxygen is an important process for synthesis of industrial and fine chemicals, but the processes are often inefficient for such syntheses. POMs appear good candidates to improve on the efficiency of these oxidations. They will be employed in the oxidation of hydrocarbons using green oxidants like oxygen and hydrogen peroxide from which only harmless by-product water is generated. For example, they will be used in the epoxidation of olefins to yield epoxides which are important industrial raw materials for producing other chemicals. The use of POMs as catalysts with oxygen or hydrogen peroxide oxidants in this process is in sharp contrast to the often used expensive organic peroxides and peracids oxidants from which highly undesirable and sometimes toxic by-products are generated. Another disadvantage of these organic oxidants is that the homogeneous catalysts used are not easily recoverable because they are unstable and tend to break down into harmful products. POMs have demonstrated the ability to coordinate carbon dioxide, thus the potential for coordinatively catalyzing a number of its reactions. Therefore, POM-based catalysts will also be employed for the fixation of carbon dioxide into organic molecules to generate important industrial chemicals. For example, the cycloaddition of carbon dioxide to epoxides can produce five-membered cyclic carbonates which can be used as valuable raw materials for engineering biodegradable plastics and highly polar solvents. It can also be inserted into other organic compounds like alcohols and phenols to produce important chemical intermediates. The catalyzation of these reactions by POMs is of special importance because not much attention has been paid to utilizing this gas as an important chemical feedstock despite its being one of the earth‟s most abundant carbon resource, and its alarming increased concentration in the atmosphere. The POM-based catalysts shall also be 109 employed in the coupling reactions to form carbon-carbon or carbon-heteroatom bonds to generate bigger organic molecules of industrial importance. Another important area of our studies will be the utilization of selected metal complexes or new synthesized ones for interactions with environmental derivatives of nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur. These interactions will be employed for replacing the existing methods for their quantification that are not environmentally friendly.
Main objective The overall goals of this Project is to develop polyoxometallate-based catalysts for various synthetic processes and develop new user-friendly methods for quantification of nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur species in environmental systems and also use studies thereof to strengthen coordination chemistry research in the Department of Chemistry, Makerere University.
Specific objectives are: . To synthesize various polyoxometallate (POM)-based catalysts . To apply POM-based catalysts to oxidation of hydrocarbons . To apply POM-based catalysts to fixation of carbon dioxide into organic molecules. . To apply POM-based catalysts to C-C coupling reactions . To synthesize various metal complex reagents for interaction with the NPS derivatives . To develop new spectrophotometric methods of quantification of NPS derivatives. . To apply the new and improved methods to quantification of NPS derivatives in selected environmental systems.
Results from the previous ISP support Building capacity and competence in this area of research has been supported by the International Science Programme (ISP); Sweden will train one PhD student. Finally fruitful collaboration with Prof. Ola Wendt, University of Lund has been on going over the last three years in this respect.
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by External Reviewer The project aims to develop new polyoxometallates (POMs) to be used as catalyzators in a variety of important industrial chemical processes, with a green chemistry approach. This is an important area for developing a sustainable chemical industry. The POMs are planned to be used for a variety of chemical reactions forming new C-C bonds or new functional groups using H2O2 and H2O, binding CO2 and spectroscopic measurements of NPS levels. The project is well described and the results will be of interest and highly valuable.
However, the possible stability and toxicity of the POMs is not discussed, which is important, if they will be used in large quantities in the future. The project leader presents no publications after 1993! in his selected list of publications and the reference list comprises of surprisingly old references, thus, the research activity and experience of the research leader is difficult to judge. The practical aspects of the project e.g. the role of the people involved and time plan for the research (including Ph D students) is not presented. Funding might be recommended if the applicant can present more details of the project and if money is available.
Assessment by Sida The proposed project belongs to the university efforts to promote and strengthen chemistry research in the Department of Chemistry. The comments of the reviewer should be taken into consideration. Based on the approved budget and the reviewer‟s comments a revised budget for the sub-program should be submitted to Sida before any disbursement can be made.
Sida research officers Sector: Dr. Zinaida Iritz Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson 110
FACULTY OF SCIENCE Sub-program 8: Capacity building in research and teaching in molecular genetics
Applying Institution: Collaborating Institution: Ugandan Coordinator Swedish Coordinator Dr. Charles Masembe Dr. Johan Höjesjö Department of Zoology Department of Zoology, Faculty of Sciences Box 463, Makerere University 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden Kampala, Uganda E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]
Assessment by Sida Although the knowledge and research in area of molecular genetic is important Sida has decided not to support the suggested project. There are two reasons for Sida‟s decision. First, due to limited financial possibilities Sida will focus its support to research capacity within the main areas of basic sciences, i.e. physics, chemistry and mathematics. Second, as result of Sida‟s long-term support to regional thematic research programs BIO-EARN and WIOMSA the basic research capacity in genetic exists in Uganda. Moreover, the well equipped labs allowing research in areas of genetics in Uganda are in place. 111
ASSESSMENT
FACULTY OF TECHNOLOGY
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY
112
FACULTY OF TECHNOLOGY “Sustainable Technological development in the Lake Victoria Region (Uganda)”
Sub-Program 1: Infrastructure and land management Sub-Program 2: Architecture, planning and urbanism Sub-Program 3: Water resources and Environmental Engineering Sub-Program 4: Engineering material and application Sub-Program 5: Renewable energy systems Sub-Program 6: GIS and ICT for sustainable rural development Sub-program 7: Enhancing the establishment of the Centre for Research in Energy and Energy Conservation (CREEC) as a centre of excellence in energy in East Africa Sub-Program 8: Faculty Funds Sub-Program 9: Regional Collaboration among the East African universities
Applying Institution: Ugandan Coordinator Collaborating Institution: Swedish Coordinator Dr. Mackay Okure Prof. Inga Britt Werner Faculty of Technology Department of Urban Planning and Environment Makerere University The Royal Institute of Technology P. O. Box 7062 SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden Kampala, Uganda Tel: +46 8 7908559 Tel: +256 41 541173 Fax: +46 8 7906761 Fax: +256 41 531048 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]
PROPOSAL FROM MAKERERE UNIVERSITY
Abstract The Faculty of Technology together with several Swedish Institutions received support from Sida/SAREC for collaborative research on the theme “Sustainable Technological Development in the Lake Victoria Region” during the period 2000 – 2009 to the tune of SEK 67.1 million. Capacity building for PhD supervision, entrenchment of a research culture, licentiate and PhD degrees, enhancement of regional collaboration, and establishment of the Centre of Excellence in Energy and energy Conservation (CREEC) as well as the Innovation Systems and Innovative Clusters Programme (ISICP) has been some of the key achievements of that support. 10 out of 26 PhD students will have finished their studies by the end of Phase II. The application, covering the period Jan 2010 to Dec 2013, is to complete, augment and complement the on- going research projects, consolidate the initiatives that emerged from the collaboration and further entrench the research culture that has been cultivated. By the end of the programme period, the Faculty will have added 44 PhD holders to its academic staff. This will take the number of staff with PhDs to 75, representing 60% of the total academic staff. With this achievement, the Faculty will be placed in a very competitive position as far as research and training in engineering and technology in the region and beyond, hence in a much better position to contribute to research and innovations for national and global development. The program is a joint application consisting of six thematic areas integrating those from Phase II. In addition the Faculty applied for support to three sub-programs of strategic category. Some 28 Ugandan and 28 Swedish Senior researchers will continue working on these jointly developed thematic areas, and they will be joined by researchers from Busitema University, Gulu University and Kyambogo University, the other public universities in Uganda. They will be supervising 16 Ph.D. students from Phase II and 18 students to join during Phase III. More than 20 of those who will complete PhDs are expected to continue to carry out research in their fields, either as post-docs or assistant supervisors and of course full supervisors towards the end of Phase III.
Capacity Objectives . Continued training and graduation of staff at PhD level . Enhanced support and development of local supervision capacity . Enhanced career advancement among middle and top staff . Improved staff retention . Strengthened research and collaboration at national, regional and international levels 113
Research Objectives . Summarised under individual sub-programs
Expected outputs . Collaboration between 15 Ugandan and 12 Swedish senior researchers . Supervision of 18 staff members to PhD level . Increased multi-disciplinary and inter disciplinary research . Increased regional cooperation and collaboration . Dissemination of research findings
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by Sida Gender Helpdesk The theme is “Sustainable technological development in the Lake Victoria region”. The tables in this program show the gender distribution among staff and students, actual and projected. This is good, although one would have liked to se more ambitious projections. In 2008 there are 1500 male and 500 female students, projected for 2015 are 1800 male and 700 female students. Among the staff there was in 2008 115 men and 20 women, projected to become 130 and 35 respectively in 2015. Efforts are made to address the gender imbalance. “..the faculty researchers will be called upon to pay particular attention to gender aspects of their research”. This is done, although somewhat unevenly in the presented research projects. A negative example is a project “Land rights, tenure and conflict management in a changing socio-economic climate”. This is a project where gender issues ought to be central in problem statement, objectives as well as methodology, but it is not even mentioned. Gender issues and women‟s needs are primarily used as justification for studies on kitchen design, urban housing, water, fuel and other issues. Few studies have included a research question on gender. One post-doc study on urban infrastructure and management has a special interest in women‟s participation in planning processes. A project on salt mining aims at improving the process. Women contribute with 80 % of the labour, but the project description reveals no effort to seek an understanding of gender specific aspects of the process. Another project is directed to women only: to build ITC capacity of rural female secondary school science teachers.
Assessment by EIA HELPDESK (Environmental Assessment) This programme is of no doubt important to the development and maintenance of infrastructure in Uganda in order to create an enabling environment for economic growth. Most of the suggested projects are not within SwedBio‟s area of competence to comment on but we would like to highlight a few which have a particular relevance to Sida‟s thematic priority of environment and climate change under the:
Sub-program 3: Water Resources and Environmental Engineering: - Project 4: “Investigation and analysis of the transient hydrological regimes of the Upper Nile and implications for hydropower development” Almost all electricity that is fed into Uganda‟s electrical grid is generated from two hydropower dams Kiira and Nalubaale on the shores of Lake Victoria and there are plans to construct a third - Bujagali - with funding from the World Bank. The hydrological impacts of dam construction on the water regime and hence livelihoods in the Nile basin as well as the health of the lake‟s ecosystem are not too well known. In recent years Lake Victoria‟s water levels have declined and environmentalists claim this is a result of Uganda‟s excessive draining of the lake to maintain its electricity supplies from the hydropower dams in combination with drought caused by climate change. The debate is continuing awaiting up to date data and peer-reviewed methodology that could provide a common ground for stakeholders and decision-makers to meet and find solutions as to how the ecosystem services of the lake and the Nile can be maintained while at the same time much-needed energy can be generated in a sustainable way be it hydropower or other sources. The expected results of this study seem likely to provide the necessary tools for forecasting and assessing water management and development in the River Nile basin.
114
- Project 5: Development and application of numerical modelling to pollutant transport and delineation of shallow groundwater protection areas from anthropogenic pollution in peri-urban Kampala Contamination of groundwater is serious health and environmental hazard, frequently occurring in informal settlements where basic water services infrastructure is lacking. The research objectives are relevant and can provide GoU with a good scientific basis for decisions on improved water quality benefits in the urban poor areas to promote health, hygiene and the fulfilment of one of the targets in MDG 7. This is also an area where Sida has extensive experience and competence provided by programme offices like Cecilia Scharp and Bengt Johansson, which could be called in to advise on the project.
- Project 6: Impact of Storm Dynamics on a tropical Urban Drainage System: Case Study of a City in Uganda Tropical storms will increase due to climate change. Designs of drainage systems in urban areas of Uganda have been constructed based on calculations of precipitation patterns during stable weather conditions. Heavy rainfalls caused by global warming might imply difficulties to drain cities of excess water and cause health hazards due to infiltration of sewage water in drinking-water sources. The outcomes of the project – better models for forecasting hydrological events in Kampala and other urban centres will help city planners prevent such risks.
Sub-program 5: Renewable energy systems Project 2: Investigation of Biomass Gasification for Sustainable Small Scale Rural Electricity Power Generation In Uganda, firewood and charcoal contribute 88% and 6% respectively to the country's total energy consumption (New Vision, March 25th 2009). There is an urgent need to introduce healthier and more sustainable ways to energy generation in the country. Pressure is therefore immense on the last free-flowing waterways in Uganda to provide room for hydropower dams that can provide reliable energy services. An unchecked exploration might put the ecosystem services of Uganda‟s river in peril and their ability to provide for human well-being. This requires a more careful development of hydropower and that additional energy must be obtained from sustainable sources. Gasification of biomass (as Uganda as a country on the Equator with a large agricultural sector is well endowed with) could be an important addition to Uganda‟s energy mix. Another benefit of this project is the involvement of Professor em Björn Kjellström as supervisor. Processor Kjellström is a highly respected expert on renewable energy with a distinguished international network.
Project 3: Investigating Electricity Generation from Locally Available Renewable Resources Using Fuel Cells This project is of similar relevance as the aforementioned and will also assess the large potential for renewable energy that can be used for power generation and in the transport sector. Therefore the purpose of this research to explore the electricity generation possibilities from locally available biomass resources using fuel cells and evaluate the process chains that can be taken to produce suitable fuels for the fuel cell is of great interest as the conversion of solid fuels to bio fuels in a sustainable and energy-efficient way still is not properly addressed. The project objective of assessing the performance of fuel cells operating on locally available biomass resources will also benefit a greater ownership of this process which so far is largely researched by companies of the North wishing to import cheap bio fuels from the South. Given the hitherto low accessibility of Ugandan citizens to a national grid (somewhere between 5-10% of the population) off-grid solutions to energy services are important to develop while waiting for the expansion of the grid. Projects like these will provide resources for sustainable off-grid energy production.
Regional cooperation theme: Sustainable Energy Systems “Development of the Centre for research in energy and energy conservation (CREEC) at the Faculty of Technology as a Centre of Excellence in energy in East Africa” The research focal areas of CREEC - Hydropower (small and medium), Bio Energy, Solar PV and Energy Management are well in line with the objectives of Sida‟s climate policy. In Sida‟s “Ett bra klimat för utveckling” it is stated that Sida works to support partner countries to develop and invest in energy that is both environmentally and financially sustainable which can generate growth and prosperity that is decoupled from increasing emissions”. It is therefore recommended that Sida continues to support this important institution. Assessment by External Reviewer In general, the main weakness of the program is the presentation of the research methodology in the projects descriptions. The methods presented are mainly directed at the collection of data and evidence. The more 115 complex and thus difficult methods for the design of the research, the analysis of the material and the validation of results are not described. As regards a budget, is not possible to assess the requested equipment costs since no lists of equipment or motivations for procurement are presented in the projects proposals.
Assessment by Sida The objectives and scope of the application include consolidation of the research activities of Phases I and II. The application is designed in line with the strategy for development of the Faculty as well as for the country strategy. The selected projects for support are relevant, and in line with national priorities. The program four year duration is realistic and the expected results, such as number of graduated PhD‟s, publications, promotions, conferences, staff-student ratio, equipment diversity, etc are measurable. Gender is considered in the application. Sida deems the collaboration between the Ugandan coordinator and the Swedish coordinator as well as the faculty‟s contact with its sister faculties in Tanzania and Mozambique as good. However, there is a need to complete the project proposals with lists of equipment included in the projects budgets as well as motivations for their procurement.
Focus of the support should be research capacity building i.e. human capacity building with emphasis on PhD and Post doctoral training. However, research funds for Post doctoral fellows will have to be applied for in competition. The Post doctoral fund will be administrated by the School of Graduate Studies and direct funding for Postdoctoral research should not be included in the Faculty program budget. If Post doctoral fellows are involved in supervision of PhD students and to some extent MSc students, cost for supervising student field work and travel to Sweden to meet with Swedish supervisors can be included in the budget.
Subsistence grants will be disbursed directly through the Swedish Institute. The level for this post should be calculated per student in a separate column named “Swedish Institute”. Cost per month per student is to be calculated as 13 000 SEK (includes subsistence allowance, insurance, activities and administration). The Faculty of Technology and all sub-programs must revise their budget according to the approved support and it should be submitted to Sida before disbursement can be made for the agreement period July 2010- June 2014.
Budget Faculty of Technology Jan-June Sub-program 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Total Requested Total 15 881 229 13 253 770 9 765 946 7 753 616 0 46 654 561 1. Infrastructure and land 2 000 000 2 500 000 1 000 000 500 000 500 000 6 500 000 management 2. Architecture, planning 1 500 000 900 000 1 100 000 1 000 000 500 000 5 000 000 and urbanism 3. Water resources and 2 500 000 1 500 000 1 100 000 1 000 000 500 000 6 600 000 environmental engineering 4. Engineering material 1 400 000 1 200 000 900 000 1 400 000 300 000 5 200 000 5. Renewable energy 1 200 000 1 000 000 1 200 000 550 000 350 000 4 300 000 6. GIS and ICT 2 000 000 1 400 000 1 000 000 1 000 000 400 000 5 800 000 7. CREEC 300 000 300 000 300 000 300 000 200 000 1 400 000 8. Regional Collaboration 900 000 900 000 900 000 900 000 500 000 4 100 000 9. Faculty Research 200 000 200 000 200 000 200 000 0 800 000 Funds Approved Total 12 000 000 9 900 000 7 700 000 6 850 000 3 250 000 39 700 000
Sida research officers Sector: Dr. Zinaida Iritz Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson 116
FACULTY OF TECHNOLOGY Sub-Program 1: Infrastructure and land management “Improving the performance of existing infrastructure and management of land in Uganda”
Applying Institution Ugandan Coordinator Collaborating Institutions: Swedish Coordinator Faculty of Technology Division of Highway Engineering Makerere University Department of Building Science P.O. Box 7062 The Royal Institute of Technology, KTH Kampala, Uganda SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden Tel: +46 8 790 8700 Ugandan Senior Scientists Assoc. Prof. J. A. Mwakali Swedish Senior Scientists Department of Civil Engineering Lund University Makerere University Prof. Thelandersson Tel: +256 41 530686 Prof. Bengt Hansson Fax: +256 41 530686, Prof. Anne Landin E-mail: [email protected] KTH Assoc. Prof. B. M. Kiggundu Prof. Bjorn Birgisson Former Dean of Faculty of Technology and Prof. Kurt Psilander Prof. of Engineering/Chairman Electoral Prof. Hans Matsson Commission P. O. Box 22678 Chalmers University Kampala, Uganda Prof Hans Björnsson Tel: +256 71 540421 Fax: +256 41 255671 E-mail: [email protected]
Dr. A. G. Kerali Dept. of Civil Engineering Makerere University Tel: +256 41 530686 Fax: +256 41 530686, E-mail: [email protected]
Dr M Katende-Mukiibi, Makerere University
PhD students Continuing New May Namutebi Godfrey Mwesige Richard Irumba Robert Oroma
PROPOSAL
Abstract Uganda is a fast growing developing country with infrastructure that is not commensurate with its national development aspirations. The existing infrastructure within the Lake Victoria Basin area has been expensive to construct, is inadequate, old, ill planned, badly erected and poorly maintained. Although the country is trying to allocate a big percent of the budget to infrastructure development, national and individual resources available for infrastructural development are grossly inadequate. There is therefore an urgent need to address in a rational way the infrastructural and land management needs of the country. One of the ways of doing so is through applied research especially through technologies and means that are appropriate to the Ugandan situation. The research theme in general is to find practical solutions to the development and management of Uganda‟s 117 infrastructure and land management. The main focus of the specific research topic selected is to identify and/or develop procedures and technologies needed to diagnose problems and apply remedial measures to infrastructural and land management concerns in a developing country such as Uganda. The research will be used to: develop appraisal techniques; develop appropriate engineering standards, works procedures for infrastructure; and to develop guidelines for land Management.
The proposed research idea will not only contribute by addressing pertinent infrastructural and land management issues in contemporary Uganda, but will also help in strengthening the capacity of Makerere University, Kyambogo University and Gulu University to deliver solutions in the area of infrastructure. The expected outputs from the research and collaborative efforts will be improved research in infrastructure and training capacity in terms of better qualified staff, better laboratory facilities, and more partnerships between the faculties, industry, regional and international universities.
Achievements from Phase II and linkage with Phase III One Ugandan senior researcher has been promoted to the rank of Professor and another to the rank of Senior Lecturer after completing his PhD. One researcher has applied for promotion to the level of Senior Lecturer. He will supervise one of the PhD candidates and thus build capacity. Two Licentiates and two PhDs have been defended. Several papers have been published in international peer reviewed journals and conference proceedings. The research has contributed to improvement of national construction standards and regulations. Increased collaboration between Makerere University, University of Dar es Salaam and Eduardo Mondlane University.
Capacity Objectives . Training of six PhD candidates, of which four are new.
Research Objectives . Develop an understanding of the assessment techniques through their practical utilisation, and compare the various techniques and establish their suitability and applicability in the field. . Determine appropriate engineering standards and guidelines for roads and buildings for the different environments, materials and terrain. . Provide inputs to the Highway Model–4 (HDM-4) for low volume roads. . Compare the effectiveness of the various maintenance techniques and materials. . Develop simple procedures and programs for the assessment process of concrete structures. . Determine ways of improving the performance of the construction industry in terms of safety and health, quality, cost and time. Establish appropriate methods and guidelines for performance improvement. . Examine the status of land rights and land conflicts in Uganda with particular focus on the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Northern Uganda. . Document land tenure systems in Uganda and formulate land tenure security and demarcation systems suitable for Uganda.
Expected Outputs . Enhanced capacity within the Civil Engineering and Surveying Departments for carrying out structural appraisals. . Development of strategies for the entire appraisal of structures leading to formulation of guidelines for a visual assessment, detailed investigations and remedial actions on buildings and roads. . Development of appropriate engineering standards and planning tools for buildings and roads. . Publications in local and international journals/periodicals. . Increased regional and international collaboration in teaching and research. . Curriculum review. . Regional workshop.
118
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by External Reviewer The presentation of the sub-program is well structured and supported with good arguments. The sub-program is targeting the performance of infrastructure and land management within the Lake Victoria Basin area. The main focus of the projects involved is ”to identify and/or develop procedures and technologies needed to diagnose problems and apply remedial measures to infrastructural and land management concerns”.
The research theme is very relevant to the region; big investments are made in infrastructure and the management of these values is of great importance. A good quality of infrastructure also fosters development.
The proposed projects will most likely enhance research capacity in the fields of engineering and surveying in the three universities, which are involved in the projects: Makerere University, Kyambogo University and Gulu University.
As regards a holistic attitude to the research problems, only project 6 includes the collaboration between Faculty of Technology, the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Faculty of Law. The collaboration between the Faculties will be directed on the sociology and legal aspects. Such collaboration is to be stimulated.
In general, the common weakness of the project proposals is a limited format of presentation of the research problems, objectives and methodology. All project proposals are very short and just outline the needed information on the objectives and methodology.
Competence of the applying institution/unit CV for Prof. Kiggundu is missing in the application. CV for M. Musinguzi is missing. On the other hand he is only mentioned in the table on p.23 and not elsewhere, which probably implies he will not participate. There are no lists of publications included in the CV:s, which makes it difficult to assess the competences of Senior Researchers. A majority of the senior researchers on the Ugandan side seems to be very well experienced in the fields of the outlined projects. The new PhD candidates are young enough to be able to make extensive contributions within their fields of expertise after they have completed their Doctoral studies. On the whole, as far as it is possible conclude from the CVs, the competences of Senior Researchers are good.
Methodology and feasibility Project 1. The experimental method is an obvious choice of method in this project. The capacity and competence to work with the experimental method is definitely at hand in the group of researchers. Project 2. Case study methodology will be applied in the project. A purposeful sampling procedure needs to be employed. The methodology part would benefit from elaboration on the selection of case or cases to be studied. Project 3. Methods are mainly based on quantitative data, but not described in any detail. There is a need to present more detailed description of the methods and clarify the relationship between the research problems and the selected methods. Project 4. The methodology as described is difficult to assess. Case study is mentioned as a methodology to be used, but the sample indicated (60 cases) is far too big to be handled within a multiple case study, and the sampling technique is not according to case study procedures. Project 5. The project is very explorative. The outlined methods are feasible. Project 6. The methodology, with the sampling strategy included, are suitable in relation to the research questions.
Research infrastructure 119
The budget lines for equipment are modest. Only two of the projects have equipment in the budget: project 2 (SEK 60 000) and project 3 (SEK 130 000). In the case of project 3 I presume the cost refers to video equipment. I cannot evaluate if these costs are well motivated, since the equipment is not specified.
Research management Research management is not described in the sub-program application. The PhD students‟ course works will mainly be at the Swedish Universities.
Sustainability of research capacity of the institution The proposal has a focus on problem diagnosis and management of infrastructural and land management concerns, and it is most likely to be the case that the program will increase research capacity in the targeted disciplines. The budget seems to be appropriate.
Assessment by Sida The suggested research program is a continuation of efforts to build research capacity within applied research at the Faculty of Technology. The application includes projects which are intended to consolidate the research capacity created within the area of infrastructure and land management during the previous cooperation Phases I and II. The overall aim of the program fits well with the objectives of Sida, i.e. the postgraduate training of PhD candidates within relevant and important areas for Uganda.
In general, the proposed sub-program would contribute to the building of research capacity at the Faculty of Technology, Makerere University. The reported results from Phase II show than the sub-program has a good chance to achieve set objectives and goals during the next agreement period. I would recommend the continuing support from Sida to the proposed sub-program to support a positive development and results of previous funding.
The proposal is focused on research training through the proposed research projects. The students‟ projects emphasise objectives and expected out-comes but not describe the methodology of the studies. There is a need to complete the proposals with additional information in accordance to the reviewers comments.
Considering the number of the candidates for PhD the requested budget is modest. However, because of the limited resources it is suggested that the number of new PhD candidates is decreased from four to three.
The comments of the reviewer should be taken into consideration. Based on the approved budget and the reviewer‟s comments a revised budget for the sub-program should be submitted to Sida before any disbursement can be made.
Sida research officers Sector: Dr. Zinaida Iritz Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson 120
FACULTY OF TECHNOLOGY Sub-Program 2: Architecture, planning and urbanism
Applying Institution Collaborating Institution Ugandan Coordinator Swedish Coordinator Prof. Inga Britt Wener Dr Barnabas Nawangwe Urban Planning and Environment Dean, Faculty of Technology The Royal Institute of Technology, KTH Faculty of Technology SE-100 44 Stockholm Makerere University Sweden P. O. Box 7062 Tel: +46 8 7908522 Kampala, Uganda Fax: +46 8 798580 Tel: +256 41 545029 E-mail: [email protected] Fax: +256 41 532780 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]
Ugandan Senior Scientists Swedish Senior Scientists Dr. Hannington Sengendo Assoc. Prof. Örjan Svane Dean of Arts Built Environment Analysis Makerere University Department of Infrastructure, KTH Tel: +256 41 542241 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected] Assoc. Prof. Rolf Johansson Built Environment Analysis Mr. S Mukiibi Department of Infrastructure, KTH Department of Architecture E-mail: [email protected] Faculty of Technology Makerere University E-mail: [email protected]
Other Collaborators Ms. Nnaggenda-Musana A Faculty of Technology Makerere University E-mail: [email protected]
PhD students Continuing Proposed Ms Solome Kweyunga Ms Jesse Musamba Ms Lilian Namuganyi Ms Josephine Namukasa Mr Fredrick Omolo Mr Samuel Kisa
PROPOSAL
Abstract There was no formal training of architects and planners in Uganda until 1989 when the Department of Architecture opened its doors to the first students. Since then more than 120 architects have graduated from Makerere University. A Master of Physical Planning program was also introduced in 1993 and has been training students on a modular arrangement. The absence of a training program for architects and planners led to a large vacuum in the two professions.
121
The prevalence of informal settlements and poor housing conditions are on the increase due to lack of planning and human capacity that can guide housing development. Physical planning has not been accorded priority and as a result many urban areas lack physical development plans and, if they exist, they have not been effectively implemented, resulting into unplanned and haphazard developments which are responsible for the high prevalence of slums and informal settlements.
Poor housing and unsustainable human settlement developments are also blamed for many of the diseases in African countries, including Uganda, hence aggravating poverty. Provision of adequate housing and proper human settlement planning addresses two of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) - combating disease and ensuring environmental sustainability, and this will be the over-arching theme for research under this application.
The application falls within the government‟s poverty eradication and alleviation program, Makerere University‟s strategic broad research agenda and the research thematic areas proposed for support under Phase III. This application also falls within the University‟s new strategic plan (2008/9-2018/19) as it addresses the problems of science-based research and innovation.
The thematic area will draw from a pool of cross-disciplinary researchers available at the Department of Architecture and the Faculty of Arts, who have the capacity for high level research and supervision of PhD students. A total of 3 new students have been identified, who will undertake studies in areas crucial for the development of research capacity in the area of architecture, planning and urbanism.
Measurable outputs from Phase I and II: 2 PhD students completed their studies. 3 PhD students fully registered at Makerere. PhD students and researchers presented 15 papers at various conferences. Senior researchers published papers in peer reviewed journals and chapter in a book. Makerere senior researcher promoted to rank of associate professor.
Objectives The main objective is to consolidate and enhance the capacity for research and PhD supervision that has been created in the areas of architecture, planning and urbanisation, with special emphasis on poverty alleviation and environmental health. The main expected outcome will be enhanced capacity for research, which in turn is expected to result in the capacity for knowledge creation and dissemination as well as policy interventions in the area of urbanisation and environmental health.
Expected Outputs and Outcomes At the end of Phase III of support, the following outcomes are expected: A critical mass of highly qualified researchers in the area of architecture, planning and urbanism; More than 20 publications in peer reviewed journals; A systematic methodology of dissemination of research results to stakeholders; Capacity created for independent supervision of PhD and Masters students by Makerere staff; A culture of multi and cross disciplinary research entrenched; Capacity to apply for and win research grants enhanced; Capacity for diversification of programmes within the thematic area established; A regional consortium of researchers on urban development issues established; A regional electronic journal on architecture, planning and urbanism launched.
Research topics 1) Effective urban infrastructure planning and management in developing countries – a case of Kampala. 2) The conflict between culture and modernity in the domestic kitchen designs for the indigenous urban dweller in Uganda. 3) Diverse experiences and meaning of place in Kampala City. 4) The evolution of physical planning in Kampala City. 122
5) The architectural conservation of Jinja‟s historic district. REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by External Reviewer Relevance of research areas scientific quality The proposed thematic approach, with a focus on urban development, conservation, and housing issues, seems relevant and well connected to the urban development challenges of Uganda and other countries of the Lake Victoria region as well as to the emerging capacity of the research environment at Makerere University. This approach applied at the city level would be an interesting research challenge for the next phase. Furthermore a missing theme, at least from what is written in the proposal, is the deeper analysis of urban development policies, driving forces and trends in the broader context of Uganda at different levels (e.g. the Lake Victoria region, East Africa, and globally).
The research methodology is only very briefly described in the project descriptions. Literature studies and different types of case study approaches are mentioned. However, the methods mentioned are mostly directed at the collection of data and evidence. The more difficult methods for the design of the research, the analysis of the material and the validation of results are not described. In the proposal only minor equipment and consumables are asked for. In project 6 (Josephine Namukasa) the use of GIS is mentioned. It seems reasonable but requires that proper computer capacity for storage and adequate software are available at Makerere and that the sometimes relatively high costs of purchasing, or collecting, and storing data are covered outside this program proposal.
I find the ongoing and proposed research projects rather complementary within a broader framework of urban design and planning, housing and conservation. Only the soon finalized project on kitchen design falls a bit outside this framework. However, as already mentioned, if the important approach applied could be transformed for the design and organization of public space and infrastructure at the city level, this could strengthen the capacity of the research environment through better knowledge about the everyday use of the city, related to the needs, habits and traditions of the urban dwellers.
Obviously there are great potentials for cross-fertilization between ongoing research and the research projects of the proposal although being in different phases of progress. Seminars with specific themes of common interest, the intentional selection of case study sites where different perspectives can be used for parallel, or integrated, analysis, the sharing of empirical findings and co-production of papers are useful tools for reaching added value in the shaping of a strong research environment. If these or similar tools are used, or not, is not mentioned in the proposal.
Concerning the individual research projects it is difficult to fully assess the quality and potential due to very brief descriptions especially on methodology as already mentioned above. Some of the projects have very ambitious aims, for instance to contribute with useful advice and guidelines for policy-making and planning practice. It is of course good aims, but perhaps too challenging for a PhD project that is more of a research education project. A more realistic approach would aim to the production of new knowledge that can contribute to the production of such advice and guidelines when adapted and integrated to other findings.
Assessment by Sida Sida deems that that the proposed research under this sub-program is of great value and interest. The proposal consists of five projects, four of them are ongoing training of PhD and one is a new project. Methodology description presented in all projects is weak and methods are limited to literature studies and different types of case studies. The research work is focused on the collection of data and evidence. There is a need to revise the methods and include the analysis of the material and the validation of results, particularly for the new project. Support is approved for ongoing PhD projects and, if the budget allows, for one new project after improvement of its research method. An improved proposal for the project 5 should be submitted to Sida.
Sida research advisors Sector: Dr. Zinaida Iritz 123
Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson 124
FACULTY OF TECHNOLOGY Sub-Program 3: Water resources and environmental engineering
Applying Institution Collaborating Institution Ugandan Coordinator Swedish Coordinator Department of Civil Engineering Department of Land and Water Resources Engineering Makerere University The Royal Institute of Technology, KTH P.O. Box 7062 SE-100 44 Stockholm Kampala, Uganda Sweden
University of Dar es Salaam, Civil Engineering Department
Senior Researchers (MU) Swedish Senior Scientists Prof. G. Ngirane-Katashaya, Faculty of Docent. Elzbieta Plaza, Land and Water Resources Technology, Makerere University, Kampala Engineering Department, KTH, Teknikringen 76, SE-100 44 Email: [email protected] Stockholm, Sweden Prof. Frank Kansiime, Makerere Institute of Email: [email protected] Environmental and Natural Resources, Prof. Olle Wahlberg, Inorganic Chemistry Department, Makerere University, Kampala Teknikringen 28, KTH, SE 100 44 Stockholm, Sweden Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Dr. Eleanor Wozei, Faculty of Technology, Prof. Per-Erik Jansson, Land and Water Resources Makerere University, Kampala Engineering Department, KTH, Brinellvägen 28, SE-100 44 Email: [email protected] Stockholm, Sweden Dr. Henry K. Ntale, Faculty of Technology, Email: [email protected] Makerere University, Kampala Prof. Roger Thunvik, Land and Water Resources Engineering Email: [email protected] Department, KTH, Teknikringen 76, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Mrs. Robinah Kulabako, Faculty of Technology, Sweden Makerere University, Kampala Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Assoc. Prof. Ann Catrine Norrström, Land and Water Resources Engineering Department, KTH, Brinellvägen 28, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden Email: [email protected] Senior Researcher (Uppsala University) Prof. Allan Rodhe, Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Villavägen 16, 752 36, Uppsala, Sweden Email: [email protected] Senior Researchers (SLU) Prof. H. Jönsson, Environmental Engineering, SLU, Uppsala, Sweden Email: [email protected] Girma Gebresenbet, Professor of Logistics, SLU, Uppsala, Sweden. Email: [email protected]
PhD Students Continuing New Kalibbala Herbert Muniina Kenneth Kizito Frank Kinobe Joel Kizza Michael Musenze Ronald Tumutungire Martin
125
PROPOSAL
Abstract There is a strong link between access to safe water and sanitation and the prevalence of poverty. Safe water coverage in Uganda is estimated at 60-65% while sanitation coverage is much lower. The coverage of solid waste management is very limited which increases health risks. In addition, it is the priority of the Ugandan government to increase the use of water for production in order to spur development. A key requirement in addressing the above challenges is the ability of training and research institutions to provide appropriate training to sector participants and also to provide tailor-made research products that directly address the key issues. The research projects under the WREE sub-theme have been designed to directly address these important issues. The aim is to produce a critical mass of professionals in the Faculty of Technology that are spearheading training and research in the fields of water resources engineering and environmental engineering.
The overall research project seeks to promote efficient, equitable and sustainable development of the country‟s local and shared water resources, through establishment of an integrated framework of tools, technologies and methodologies to guide planners and decision-makers in the sector. Recognition is made of the interdependencies between regimes (ground water, surface water, land), processes (hydrology, meteorology, hydrogeology), uses (water supply, irrigation, hydropower, recreation), and socio-economic considerations (stakeholder priorities, environmental impacts, costs, gender issues, treaties and regulations). The above interrelationships all dictate the application of an integrated approach to water resources planning and management, which is the fundamental thrust of the research project.
Collaboration with experienced research partners from Sweden and elsewhere will enhance local research capacity and credibility, through international linkage and exposure. The students trained under the project will then spearhead future research in water resources development and management, thereby improving the capacity of Ugandans to appropriately plan and manage the country‟s water resources. The project will also result in a strengthening of the linkage between Makerere University and practitioners/stakeholders in industry.
Achievements in Phase II By the end of Phase II, the following will have been achieved by the WREE group i) Four students will have defended their PhDs. ii) One member of staff has been promoted to the rank of Professor in Makerere University. iii) Six members have completed their Licentiates at various Swedish Universities. iv) Thirteen papers have been published in peer reviewed journals. v) The Environmental Engineering laboratory at Makerere University has been equipped with state of the art equipment with support from the project.
Objective The main objective is to further develop and improve capacity in training and research in WREE at Makerere University and other public universities in Uganda The specific objectives are: i) To contribute to the solution of national challenges in the water and environmental sanitation sector in the country and thereby contribute to national development. ii) To train MSc and PhD students both from Makerere University and other public universities and increase the number of skilled staff members that are actively involved in teaching and research. iii) To improve the research capacity of the PhD graduates to perform research and supervise future PhD students.
Expected outputs The expected benefits are i) Increased research capacity at Makerere University and other public universities in the area of WREE. ii) Increased number of PhD graduates in the Faculty of Technology, Makerere University and other public universities. 126
iii) Increased visibility of the WREE group in national and international fora through carrying out joint research, participation in conferences, publications and peer reviews. iv) Improved laboratory facilities for carrying out research and training.
The seven proposed PhD topics, of which four are on-going PhD projects and three are new are:
. PhD Project 1: Development of a water resources engineering and management decision support system (WREM-DSS) framework . PhD Project 2: Natural organic matter removal and trihalomethanes (Chlorinated Organics) control in water treatment . PhD Project 3: Investigation and analysis of the transient hydrological regimes of the Upper Nile basin and implications for hydropower development . PhD Project 4: Modelling of vegetation-atmosphere-irrigation interactions within watersheds and their importance for the water balance . PhD Project 5: Development and application of numerical modelling to pollutant transport and delineation of shallow groundwater protection areas from anthropogenic pollution in peri-urban Kampala . PhD Project 6: Impact of storm dynamics on urban drainage systems in the tropics – A case study of Kampala City . PhD Project 7: The logistics of waste collection and transportation in urban areas
Capacity Objectives Training of 7 PhD candidates of which four are on-going studies and three are new proposals.
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by External Reviewer The proposed research development and training program, and the student research projects elected for the PhD/master training, is highly relevant and of significant importance to Uganda as well as to the region. The proposed research topics are also relevant, and the exposure to international research environments, training as well as conferences and publications, are important for the stimulation of further research in WREE.
Development of research capacity Considering that the Makerere University, according to the proposal, presently employs 3 PhDs and 7 masters in water resources and environmental engineering, the proposed research development (3 new PhD candidates and completion of 4 ongoing PhD-projects) is expected to add significantly to the pool of experts and knowledge at the WREE. Hence, if the PhD-projects/programs will be completed according to the plan, and if the students will remain at WREE, the research capacity will be increased.
Holistic attitude to problem From a technical point of view, the most important aspects of water resources and environmental management are covered, i.e. water resources, soil-water-atmosphere interactions, urban hydrology, groundwater, sanitation/wastewater, and solid waste. The holistic and societal considerations appear to be absent from the research, study topics as well as training program. Also all senior researchers/supervisors are primarily technical and with no apparent experience/expertise in holistic/socio-economic approaches. Having said that, it is the general opinion that first one has to master the technical disciplines before entering into the holistic/cross-cutting issues such as socio-economic settings/constraints, interaction with education, health, stakeholder involvement, understanding of political/cultural/social barriers and opportunities. It could be considered to expand the training program with post-doc training in the cross-cutting issues and holistic/societal approach to managing water resources/environment in particular, and natural resources in general.
Scientific quality 127
The scientific quality of the proposed research is good. The proposed study projects are relevant and seeking to employ advanced methodologies, so that results will be useful in the further work of WREE as well as challenging and educating for the PhD-candidates.
Presentation of the proposal The quality of the proposal in terms of form/presentation is not up to a standard generally required for research program applications of this size (SEK 7-8 million). The proposal appears to have been put together by several persons over a short period of time; there are no page numbers, no beginning and no ending. It is not clear who is the applicant, nor is there a clear line of arguments from the objectives over the proposed activities and the budget/required input. Two of the senior researchers named on the front page do not appear in the table summarising the research topics and students on page 4. Development and formulation of research proposals for various funding organisations is an important part of research and academia. It could, therefore, be recommended that research application/proposal preparation be included in the PhD-training programs.
The methodology of the proposed training program is straight-forward and well-proven (research studies, PhD- courses, papers, conferences), and therefore also feasible. Of the 7 presented research project 6 are recommended for support. In the project on urban hydrology “Impact of Storm Dynamics on a tropical Urban Drainage System: Case Study of a City in Uganda” no clear methodology is presented and the methodology and objectives are mixed.
Assessment by Sida The achieved results from the previous period of Sida‟s support are measurable. The suggested new three projects under this sub-program are important, but only two of them, i.e. project 5 and 7, is presented in if form giving enough evidence for support. Sida deems that all on-going research training projects will be improved. Regarding the proposed 3 new projects, projects 5 and 7 can be supported if the budget allows.
Sida research adivors Sector: Dr. Zinaida Iritz Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson 128
FACULTY OF TECHNOLOGY Sub-Program 4: Engineering material and application
Applying Institution: Ugandan Coordinator Collaborating Institution: Swedish Coordinator Department of Mechanical Engineering Department of Materials Science and Engineering Faculty of Technology Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) Makerere University Brinellvägen 23 P.O. Box 7062 SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden Kampala, Uganda Tel: +46 8 790 89 49 Tel: +256 41 531 048 Fax: +46 8 20 31 07 Fax: +256 41 531 048
Ugandan Senior Scientists Swedish Senior Scientists Dr. Joseph K. Byaruhanga Associate Prof. Stefan Jonsson Senior Lecturer Head of Mechanical Metallurgy Division Department of Mechanical Engineering Department of Materials Science and Engineering Faculty of Technology Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) Makerere University Brinellvägen 23 P.O. Box 7062, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden Kampala, Uganda Tel: +46 8 790 89 49 Tel: +256 41 531 048 Fax: +46 8 20 31 07 Fax: +256 41 531 048 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Prof. Raghnild Aune Department of Material Science and Engineering Eng. Dr. John Baptist Kirabira Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) Lecturer, Department of Mechanical SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden Engineering, Makerere University Brinellvägen 23 P.O. Box 7062, KAMPALA, Uganda Tel. +4687908363 Tel. +256 41 531 048/Fax. +256 41 531 048 Cell phone. +46708915492 Cell phone +256772422738 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]
Dr. Sam Kinyera Obwoya Senior Lecturer, Department of Physics, Kyambogo University, KYU P.O. Box 1, Kyambogo Tel: +256 414 288 329 Cell phone +256782471604 Email: [email protected]
PhD Students Continuing New Mr. Peter W. Olupot Mr. Dominic Semukuutu Mr. Abraham J.B. Muwanguzi
PROPOSAL
Abstract Engineering materials are the back borne for industrialization of any nation. Uganda, located in the Lake Victoria region, is considered well endowed with a great number of natural resources in terms of minerals. Information from Geological survey and Mines Department (GSMD) confirm this, and emphasizes the occurrence of very many basic high temperature ceramic raw materials which can be used in production of refractories, building bricks, white/table ware, porcelain, floor tiles, and many different domestic and industrial products. Two Iron ore 129 deposits located at Sikulu hill and Muko in Eastern and Southwestern Uganda, respectively, are also reported. Mineralogical survey and laboratory indicative studies carried out in the past years indicate their potential for yielding a good raw material for a steel industry in Uganda and the Lake Victoria region at large. Currently there has not been a comprehensive study on the iron ore deposits. The on going projects in the sub-program have done a lot in characterization of the main ceramic-raw material deposits in Uganda.
Currently, Makerere University, under several development partners has engaged in the development of research and training with the aim of improving the competence of the academia in appropriately contributing to solving of social economical and scientific problems with the aim of development.
The application covers three research topics/projects: 1. Characterization of high temperature raw ceramic materials for manufacture of firebrick refractories (on- going). 2. Characterization of raw ceramic materials for manufacture of electric porcelain insulators (on-going). 3. Characterization of Muko iron ore deposit with the aim of exploiting it for a steel industry.
Capacity Objectives . Training of three PhD candidates . Enable the staff members engaged in the program activities to improve their competence in understanding, characterization, processing of naturally occurring minerals with the aim of developing products from them.
Research Objectives . Develop capacity of research and research supervision in the area of engineering materials at the Faculty of Technology. The ultimate tangible goal of the sub-program is to develop physical model/prototype products that can be used as a basis for eventual exploitation of the existing mineral natural resources in Uganda. . Undertake a study of the science and technology of manufacturing firebricks and ascertain the technical viability of their production using locally available raw materials in Uganda. . Characterize ceramic raw materials with the aim of determining their suitability and necessary beneficiation for the manufacture of porcelain insulators. . Undertake a study in the characterization of the Muko iron ore deposits to determine the potential of exploiting it for a steel industry.
Expected Outputs . Research training yielding a PhD and capacity in research and research supervision. . Baseline data of the naturally occurring minerals considered. . A technology for manufacturing firebrick refractories from naturally occurring minerals deposits. . A technology for manufacturing porcelain insulators from naturally occurring mineral deposits in Uganda. . A technology for purifying iron ore to produce pig or sponge iron, to serve as a raw material for steel production. . Data that will serve as a basis for attracting local and foreign investment in steel production.
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by External Reviewer This application is divided into four projects, but with a common theme of development of the basis for using natural resources in Uganda for industrial applications. Since Uganda imports a lot of product that could be produced in the country the suggested development of knowledge and research capacity in this field should be of high priority.
The problems related to the different projects have been rather well described and the presentation of the proposal is clear. The research topics are rather general and they are very much related to “characterization” of the materials to be used and to processes to improve the exploitation. The reason for the need of 130 characterization is clear, however, the research potential would increase significantly if hypotheses had been presented. This could also have focused the work, which is sometimes quite broad, and made it easier to follow the outcome of the projects.
The competence of the applying researchers and the PhD students seems good and they will most probably be able to carry out the suggested projects. However, only for one of the supervisors the number of publications has been presented. A full publication list of all participants should be included.
The methods to be used to solve the problems are often not clearly motivated, even if they probably are adequate. This may be a reflection of the more general way the research is presented. If hypotheses and more detailed presentation of the research problems had been presented the methods could have been more clearly motivated.
Two research students are included in the projects and they are expected to finish their PhD within the time of the project. With two others finalizing their PhD-thesis and the senior researchers there should be a group of researcher at the Makerere University, close to a critical mass for fruitful thematic cooperation and development.
The collaboration with the Geological Survey and Mining Department, the Uganda Industrial Research Institute and others seems a good guarantee for the results of the projects to be presented to the stakeholders.
In summary this proposal is sound and a continued support from Sida is motivated. However, some improvements should be done before the proposal is accepted: (1) present hypothesis for the research, (2) present a better motivation for the methods to be used, (3) give publications list of the participants in the projects and note those publications that stems from previous work within the Sida collaboration.
Assessment by Sida As results of Sida support two students are finalizing their PhD-thesis. With two new research students which are included in the sub-program, it is expected that at the end of Phase III four PhD students have finished their studies and as a result there should be a group of researchers at Makerere University dealing with very important research for the country.
The comments of the reviewer should be taken into consideration and the proposals have to be completed by description of research hypothesis, clear presentation of methods and list of publications. Based on the approved budget and the reviewer‟s comments a revised budget for the sub-program should be submitted to Sida before any disbursement can be made. The salaries of Swedish supervisors should be clearly motivated.
Sida research officers Sector: Dr. Zinaida Iritz Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson 131
FACULTY OF TECHNOLOGY Sub-Program 5: Renewable energy systems
Applying Institution: Ugandan Coordinator Collaborating Institution: Swedish Coordinator Dept. of Mechanical Engineering Dept of Energy Technology Faculty of Technology Royal Institute of Technology, KTH Makerere University Professor Torsten Fransson Kampala, Uganda Professor em. Björn Kjellström Assoc. Prof. Mackay Okure Dept of Energy Engineering Dept of Mechanical Engineering Luleå University of Technology Makerere University [email protected] Professor Lennart Söder Tel: +256 41 4534227 Mr. Mikael Amelin Cell: +256 77 2666876 Depart of Electric Power Systems Royal Institute of Technology, KTH Dr. A. M. Sebbit Dept of Mechanical Engineering Faculty of Technology Makerere University
Assoc. Prof. E. Lugujjo
Dr. Izael P. Da Silva Dept of Electrical Engineering Faculty of Technology Makerere University
PhD Students New Continuing Mr. Aggrey Mwesigye Mr Joseph Arineitwe Mr Hillary Kasedde Mr Joseph Olwa Mr Al-mas Sendegeya Mr Godfrey Bakka-Bulindi
PROPOSAL
Abstract The research is focussed on utilisation of renewable sources of energy; namely non-woody biomass, solar and wind for meeting industrial heat and electric power in small isolated grids. In the utilization of biomass, the processes studied are based on gasification of the non-woody biomass in a gas producer that has been adapted to the properties of each particular type of feedstock. This adaptation is an important part of the research. It is expected that the gas producers can be manufactured in Uganda when the technology is implemented commercially. Utilisation of the combustible gas from the gas producer as fuel for ceramic furnaces, in an indirectly fired gas turbine and in internal combustion engines have been studied during Phase II. Four students have been engaged in the research. Two additional students are included to complement the studies and extend to new technologies.
In the rural electrification part of the project, the emphasis is on isolated remote generation systems (away from the grid) e.g. solar systems. Most of these systems are installed based on the current individual energy requirements. They may have been installed without proper load evaluation, load forecast, demand curve analysis size and design. Also addressed is how to address rural electrification projects‟ sustainability and 132 service affordability given the high initial front end investment cost, but with low investment return especially for rural population with limited sustainable income generating activities.
The application covers six projects: Project 1: An investigation of the potential of non-woody biomass gasification for industrial thermal applications in Uganda Project 2: Investigation of biomass gasification for sustainable small scale rural electricity power generation Project 3: Investigating electricity generation from locally available renewable resources using fuel cells. Project 4: Development of a tool for hazard and safety analysis of biomass gasification plants Project 5: Monte Carlo methods for planning rural power systems. Project 6: Planning of low cost electricity distribution networks for rural electrification
Capacity Objectives . The main capacity objective is to develop research capabilities at Makerere University in the field of biomass energy technologies and their application in rural and small scale industries. . Equipping a laboratory at Makerere where the research will be furthered on characteristics of biomass and the related processes such as combustion and briquetting. . Developing and expanding network of cooperation between Makerere Univ., Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Luleå University of Technology, University of Dar es Salaam and Eduardo Mondlane University. . Develop scientific research in ways of planning, designing and optimal utilization of the various renewable energy resources in Uganda. . Training of six PhD candidates.
Research Objectives . Develop local scientific knowledge regarding technologies for utilisation of non-woody biomass for substitution of petroleum fuels in the ceramic industry and for electric power generation in small isolated grids. . Develop an indigenous technology, based on the gasification principle, for the efficient utilisation of the available non-woody biomass resources to meet the energy requirements . Identify and ascertain success factors and reasons necessary for the application of renewable technologies. Technical, environmental, social and economic indicators and benefits of the application of renewable technologies will be monitored. . Develop local scientific knowledge regarding technologies for designing Hybrid systems in an optimal manner to power small communities as stand alone, isolated grids. Load growth shall be taken into consideration.
Expected Outputs . The availability of the Energy for Rural Transformation Programme supported by Sida and other development partners shall be taken advantage of. . Local seminars within the theme of energy will be held to present the research findings to stakeholders, government bodies and NGO‟s. . Collaboration with some small scale industrialists for the purposes of continuous improvement in the design and manufacturing of the combustor and preparation of the combustible biomass materials will be emphasized.
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by External Reviewer Relevance of research areas scientific quality The research is focused on utilization of renewable sources of energy; non-woody biomass, solar and wind for meeting industrial heat and electric power in small isolated grids. In the utilization of biomass, the processes studied are based on gasification of the non-woody biomass in a gas producer. In the rural electrification part of the project, the emphasis is on isolated remote generation systems (away from the grid) e.g. solar systems. The first three projects are focused of the use of gas industrial thermal application, use of biogas for rural power 133 generation and investigation of electricity generation using a fuel cell. The second three projects are focused on rural electrification. These projects are well connected to each other. This research is relevant for the country. A dominating part of the energy supply is coming from biomass. Very few people in the rural areas have access to electricity. Competence of the applying institution/unit The staff and the senior scientists in the project are very experienced. Four students are continuing from Phase II and 2 students are new in Phase III. The 2 new students have satisfying records. Methodology and feasibility Four of six projects are continuing from Phase II. A number of students dropped out during that phase. The methodologies in the projects are not described in detail. The projects are feasible with a question mark for the fuel cell project. It is an interesting project, but it is questionable if fuel cells will be used for power generation in rural areas. Research infrastructure During Phases I & II of the support, the basic equipment were purchased. It is however not clear how much of instrumentations are available at Makerere University. In the rural electrification projects important field work is done in Uganda. It is important that the facilities are built up in Makerere University during the project. Research management The Swedish project leaders are very experienced project leaders. It is difficult from the proposal to judge the management at Makerere Univ. Sustainability of research capacity of the institution There are four old students and two new students in the program. Four candidates dropped out during Phase II. There are four senior researchers from Makerere in the project. Some of them are involved in many projects. An increased number of graduated researchers are desired. Therefore it is important that the number of drop out is limited. Suggestions for how the projects can be improved It is important that experimental capacity is built up in Makerere University and that the students will spend a considerable time at Makerere. The proposal gives the impression that the bulk of the research is carried out at KTH. The project leaders should put effort on preventing drop out of the graduate students. The project about fuel cell should clearer point out the feasibility of using fuel cells for small scale power generation in rural areas in Africa. Appropriateness of the proposed budget It is not possible to analyze the appropriateness of the budget from the proposal.
Assessment by Sida The proposal does not follow Sida‟s Guidelines for research project proposals. Since the proposals for the four continuing PhD students include information on achievements and lessons learned, it allows Sida to approve the support to on-ongoing projects. Due to weak description of methodology and lack on needed information, the submitted proposals for the two new projects, 3 and 4, can not be supported.
Sida research officers Sector: Dr. Zinaida Iritz Country: Dr. Cristna de Carvalho Eriksson 134
FACULTY OF TECHNOLOGY Sub-Program 6: ICT and GIS for sustainable rural development
Applying Institution Collaborating Institution Collaborating Institution: Swedish Co-ordinator Applying Institution: Ugandan Co-ordinator Ugandan Coordinator Swedish Coordinator Department of Earth Sciences Prof. Lena Trojer Sub-Department of Engineering Mathematics Uppsala University Assoc Prof. Sandy S. Tickodri-Togboa School of Techno culture, Humanities and ICT and GIS in Engineering SE-752 36 Uppsala, Sweden Department of Engineering Mathematics Planning, Division of Techno science Studies, Faculty of Technology Tel : +46 18 4712514 Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062, Blekinge Institute of Technology, PO-Box 214, Makerere University KAMPALA, Uganda S-374 24 Karlshamn, Sweden P.O. Box 7062 Fax: +25641531048; Tel: +46454 19104; Fax +46454 191 04 Kampala, Uganda Mobile: +256772410590 Mobile: +46733 800133, Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]
Senior Researchers Ugandan Senior Scientists Swedish Senior Scientists Dr. Samuel Baker Kucel Assoc Prof Gerhard Bax Dr. Gyavira Taban-wani Assoc. Prof Gerhard Bax Lecturer, Department of Mechanical School of Techno culture, Humanities and Sub-Department of Engineering Mathematics Department of Earth Sciences Engineering Planning, Division of Techno science Studies, Application of Section of ICT and GIS in Uppsala University Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062, Blekinge Institute of Technology, Engineering SE-752 36 Uppsala, Sweden KAMPALA, Uganda PO-Box 214 Faculty of Technology Tel : +46 18 4712514 Fax: +25641531048; S-374 24 Karlshamn, Sweden Makerere University E-mail: [email protected] Mobile: +256772302157 Tel: +46454 19104; Fax +46454 191 04 P.O. Box 7062 Email: [email protected] Kampala, Uganda Prof. Lena Trojer Prof. Lars E. Sjöberg. Department of Geodesy Tel: +256 41 530481 or +256 77 513450 or Department of Human Work Science Dr. Anthony Gidudu & Photogrammetry Royal Institute of +256 71 124790 Media Technology and Humanities Lecturer, Department of Surveying Technology. SE 100 44 Stockholm Fax: +256 41 530481 Blekinge Institute of Technology Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062, Phone: +46 8 790 7330 Email: E-mail: [email protected] SE-371 79 Karlskrona, Sweden KAMPALA, Uganda [email protected] Tel: +46 457 385926 Fax: +25641531048; Dr. Maimuna Nalubega Mobile +46 733 800133 Mobile: +256782017541 Prof. Hans Mattsson Department of Civil Engineering E-mail: [email protected] Email: [email protected] School of Architecture and the Built Public Health and Environmental Engineering Environment Section Dr. Moses Musinguzi KTH - Royal Institute of Technology Lecturer, Department of Surveying Phone: +46 8 790 8617 S.S. Tickodri-Togboa Makerere University P.O. Box 7062, Email: [email protected] Senior Researcher Kampala, Uganda Fax: +25641531048; S. B. Kucel Mobile: +256772511119 Senior Researcher Email: [email protected] Moses Musinguzi Senior Researcher
PhD Students Continuing New Ms. Lydia Mazzi Kayondo-Ndandiko Ms. Lilian Mono Wabineno Mr. Charles Otine Mr. Ronald Ssengendo Mr. Paul Isaac Musasizi
PROPOSAL
Abstract This research theme has been in existence since Phase I of Sida support in 2001. Some of the notable achievements include: capacity building at Makerere University particularly in the Departments of Engineering Mathematics, mechanical Engineering, and Surveying, the establishment of a postgraduate GIS research lab, 135 collaborative links and acquisition of research equipment. To date, there are two PhD graduates and another two will complete by the year 2011. The purpose of this application is to consolidate the gains made so far and ensure sustainability of GIS/ICT research and scholarship in the faculty. To this effect this application proposes additional support for: (1) Two postdoctoral fellowships (2) Additional funding for two on-going PhD candidates (3) Funding for three new 3 PhD students.
Summary of Achievements Graduated 1 PhD and 1 Licentiate. Another PhD is due before the end of the year. Publications: Over 10. Establishment of an ICT Research Centre with broadband VSAT internet connectivity in Arua, Uganda using triple helix methods. Various laboratory equipment has been purchased and more is in the procurement phase. Collaboration linkage. Career growth.
Project Description This project focuses on harnessing GIS/ICT technology to address the tripartite challenge of poverty, ignorance and disease. The following sub-themes will be covered: Spatial Data Infrastructure for Environmental Assessment. Building the ICT Capacity of Rural Female Secondary School Science Teachers in the West Nile Region of Uganda. Evolution, Utilization and Contribution of IT-Based Resources in Public Universities in Uganda. Multipurpose Land Information System as a tool for improved planning, management and control of land resources in Uganda. Geo Spatial Technologies as Decision Support Tools for Road Infra Structure Maintenance in Uganda. Data mining in Health care : HIV patient monitoring in Uganda. Determination of a Geoid model for Uganda using a combination of satellites, airborne and terrestrial gravimetric data.
As a result of Phase I and II, there exists collaboration between Makerere University in Uganda and the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) Stockholm, Sweden, Uppsala University and Blekinge Institute of Technology.
Capacity Objectives Through this project, previous beneficiaries will be able to consolidate the gains made during the course of their doctoral studies through postdoctoral research. This will result in their improved capacity to lecture even at postgraduate level, supervise PhD research and engage in international collaboration. The project will also serve as a prototype for extending ICT benefits to rural communities, having been successfully been implemented in Arua.
1) Geo Spatial Technologies as Decision Support Tools for Road Infra Structure Maintenance in Uganda (L. Mazzi Kayondo-Ndandiko) 2) Data mining in Health care: HIV patient monitoring in Uganda (C. Otine) 3) Determination of a Geoid model for Uganda using a combination of satellites, airborne and terrestrial gravimetric data (R.Ssengendo) 4) Multipurpose Land Information System as a tool for improved planning, management and control of land resources in Uganda (L. Mono Wabineno) 5) Evolution, Utilization and Contribution of IT-Based Resources in Public Universities in Uganda (P. Isaac Musasizi)
136
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by External Reviewer The background of the reviewer is mainly geomatics (including GIS, remote sensing) and physical geography. Activities have been applied (e.g. water management and availability, and HIV) as well as technical (e.g. algorithm/data base development). He also has carried out a number of ICT project in the area of learning, and then especially e-learning. He is/has been active in East Africa (mainly Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania) as well as in other parts of the World.
Below follows comments to the application, starting with the achievements 2000-2009 and general comments, followed by specific comments relating to project 1 – 8.
Achievements 2000-2009: I miss a more detailed description/explanation of the achievements. For example: how many PhD students have been in the program 2000 – 2009? Why has only one graduated? Where have the ”more than 10” publications been published? How much money has been granted? A short description of the ICT research centre would be interesting. I also miss examples of collaboration linkages (apart from Stockholm, Uppsala and Blekinge) and career growth.
Since the attached CVs are very short it is very difficult to assess the competence of the applicants.
The expected results are not specified. In all projects outcomes like “collaborative research”, “journal publication” and “career growth” are mentioned. Unspecified outcomes like that could fit into almost any research project. In order to get an opinion about a proposal, and even more important to produce a good research result, it is good to specify more detailed outcomes. An important area of improvement of the whole application is to specify the expected results.
In relation to the budget (8 800 kkr) a more detailed presentation of the methodology, expected results and research capacity (CVs) is needed. The budgets for the different projects are sometimes a bit confusing/inconsistent. Sometimes overheads are there, sometimes not, sometimes the salary costs are high, sometimes non-existing, sometimes travel is there but not allowance etc. A better specification linking to activities would have been nice.
To have better specified project plans, including milestones and deliverables and also a proposed methodology, generally helps the researchers to fulfil the aims and objectives. This is especially relevant for younger researchers (PhDs and Posdocs) for who the risk of delays otherwise is high.
Project 3: Geo Spatial Technologies as Decision Support Tools for Road Infra structure Maintenance in Uganda This project aims at developing a framework for incorporating geo-information as decision support tool for road infrastructure maintenance. The first research objective is to identify gaps and limitations in the technology. Since this research has been going on for 2 years I am surprised this is not already done. The second aim is to develop a model and the third to develop an algorithmic framework. An obvious question is what models and algorithmic frameworks that already exist. This is closely linked to the (not described) methodology. The expected results are exceptionally vague.
The CVs of the PhD student (Lydia Mazzi Kayondo-Ndandiko) and the Swedish supervisor (Gerhard Bax) are very short. The CV of the Ugandan supervisor contains slightly more information, but all together it is difficult to assess the applicants.
It is noted that the “Travel” and “Allowance fieldwork” costs are high, both for Uga for Uga and Swe for Swe. It would be interesting to know how this money will be used.
This project can be very interesting, but it is very difficult to assess. More information regarding the results during 2007-2009 is needed, as well as a more specified description of the 2010-2011 activities and results.
137
Project 4: Data mining in Health care: HIV patient monitoring in Uganda This project is about developing a framework incorporating data mining in monitoring of AIDS patients. Like in project number three (see above) it would have been interesting to know what has been achieved during the first part of this PhD project. When looking at the activity plan you get an impression that many things are new for the PhD students (e.g. data warehousing and data mining).
My opinion is that this type of project, even if the aim is extremely relevant, is difficult to implement. This makes it even more urgent to better specify the methodology and feasibility. Also more information regarding management and infra structure is of interest in order to assess the possibilities to successfully run this project. Reading the CVs of the PhD student (Charles Otine) and the supervisors (Lena Trojer and Samuel Kucel) does not give me information enough to assess competence.
Project 5: Determination of a Geoid model for Uganda using a combination of satellites, airborne and terrestrial data This is definitely a relevant project, even if it is not very well described in the application. A Geoid model is needed in Uganda, and if this project can contribute to the determination that is a success.
The research objectives are good, but not well defined. The expected result is also acceptable, since the main result is a geoidial model and a PhD thesis.
It is promising that the PhD student (Ronald Ssengendo) will get a Masters in Geodesy from London. Also the Ugandan supervisor (Anthony Gidudu) seems appropriate, even if also his CV is short. There is no CV for the Swedish supervisor, but he is well known by the “geodetic society”.
The budget is big, looks tentative, and needs better specification. The work plan is good. This is in my opinion a good project.
Project 6: Multipurpose Land Information System as a tool for improved planning, management and control of land resources in Uganda The aim of this project is to develop a Land Information System. This is a huge task, and very difficult to achieved as a PhD project. Nevertheless it is definitely needed, and therefore relevant. Focusing on research objectives, only the first one, gauge public‟s perception and analyse needs, is enough as a PhD project. The second one, to analyse the existing datasets, is also very big, as well as number three and four.
The expected results are very vague, so are the activity plan and the budget. The CVs of the PhD student (Lilian Mono Wabineno) and the Ugandan supervisor (Moses Musinguzi) are short and difficult to assess. The Swedish supervisor has a slightly longer CV, and is well known. The conclusion is that this project will be very difficult to run, and that it will be extremely difficult to fulfil aims and objectives. A more specified project plan is definitely needed.
Project 7: Evolution, Utilization and Contribution of IT-Based Resources in Public Universities in Uganda This project is relatively well described. It is highly relevant and feasible. Even if I miss some methodological descriptions and a list of the universities that will be included in the study, the project is convincing. The aim and objectives are good. Like the other projects the expected results are vague, but the main result, the key elements of a Best-Practices framework, is essential. The activity plan should be better linked to the text.
The CVs of the PhD student (Paul Isaac Musasizi) as well as the supervisors (Lena Trojer, Sally Tickodri-Togboa and Samuel Kucel) are too short to be properly assessed. Compared to some other projects the salary costs (Lena Trojer) for Swe for Swe are high. The project is promising and has possibilities to be a success if a more detailed project plan, including e.g. milestones, is elaborated.
138
Assessment by Sida The thematic composition of the proposed research is relevant to the country. However, it seems like the application is written in a hurry, it is not consistent, and parts are missing. Moreover, the research is presented in very general terms, and it is difficult to see what will be done and the methods to be used. The Postdoctoral projects 1 and 2 are redirected to the university central funds. Projects 3 and 4 are continuing doctoral studies and after completing the proposals according to comments of the external review Sida will approve the support. There is a need to improve the proposals of the two new projects (5 and 6) to be supported (see reviewer‟s comments). The project 7 is not approved for support; the proposal is not clear and do not include enough information needed for positive assessment. The budget should be revised and the list of equipment should be specified and presented for approval.
Sida research advisors Sector: Dr. Zinaida Iritz Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson 139
FACULTY OF TECHNOLOGY Sub-Program 7: Development of the Centre for Research in Energy and Energy Conservation (CREEC) at the Faculty of Technology as a centre of excellence in energy in East Africa
Applying Institution: Ugandan Coordinator Collaborating Institution: Swedish Co-ordinator Applying Institution: Ugandan Co-ordinator Dr. Izael P. Da Silva Department of Earth Sciences Faculty of Technology Sub-Department of Engineering Mathematics Uppsala University Makerere University, ICT and GIS in Engineering SE-752 36 Uppsala, Sweden CREEC – Centre for Research in Energy and Faculty of Technology Tel : +46 18 4712514 Energy Conservation Makerere University (project under the office of the Dean) P.O. Box 7062 P.O. Box 7062 Kampala, Uganda Kampala, Uganda
Ugandan researchers Dr. S.B. Kucel Karsten Bechtel Al-mas Sendegeya Dr. Julius Butime
PROPOSAL
Abstract The Centre for Research in Energy and Energy Conservation started some five years ago as a cross cutting institution to do research, training and consultancy in the field of Energy. CREEC has the status as a project under the Dean of the Faculty of Technology, Makerere University and has a Steering Committee formed by the Heads of all Departments in the Faculty chaired by the Deputy Dean. CREEC aims at becoming a centre of excellence in energy for Uganda and the entire East African region. To be able to do that CREEC requires support from Sida mainly on the set up of laboratory facilities in the four research focal areas: Hydropower, Bio-energy, Solar Photo-Voltaic and Energy Management.
Brief history of CREEC CREEC started with Dr. Da Silva‟s interest in Energy and Development. He began doing research on ways of powering isolated regions such as Kalangala Island using PV Solar Systems. A very good relationship between Dr. Da Silva and the then head of Mechanical Engineering Department of Makerere University permitted to include in CREEC the field of Bio Energy. Some sponsorship from the World Bank via the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) and GTZ helped CREEC to develop some training courses on small hydro systems. As Dr. Da Silva is a Certified Energy Manager, it was quite natural to start some initiatives on Energy Auditing for industries and also some exercise on this issue was developed in Makerere main campus. Presently CREEC has a coordinating role on the MSc in Renewable Energy sponsored by NORAD/NOMA. It supports 14 students, of which ten are Ugandans. This year six more are being added as a second cohort and an application for support to a third cohort was housed with NOMA.
Mission / Vision CREEC hopes to create capacity and do technologies transfer in the field of Energy and Development to help empowering the energy sector in Uganda. Its mission is to train, do research and consultancy on matters related to energy in Uganda and the entire East African region.
Currently CREEC is headed by Dr. Da Silva as director. The work of the centre is divided into five divisions namely: Hydro, Biomass, Solar PV, Energy Management and ICT.
140
Objectives The long-term goal of CREEC is to become a centre of excellence in energy in Uganda and the East African Region. To reach this goal, efforts in the field of capacity building for the CREEC staff and better equipment are crucial. Furthermore, CREEC is committed to sharpen its strategy and to strengthen its structures, processes and organisation. At the moment CREEC is working to achieve the following targets: To set up a cross cutting laboratory on Energy to be used by Physics and other units. To set up structures related to training, research, consultancy, human resources management, knowledge management, accountability so as to be less dependent on individuals and to strengthen the organisation. To have a steady income so that a budget can be designed to provide sustainability. For that CREEC hopes to start soon training programs to provide income generation. One of the most important lessons learned was to try always to work together with colleagues in the Faculty as well as with other units of Makerere such as Makerere Institute of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Women Studies and Gender, Faculty of Economics and Management, Faculty of Science etc. CREECs goal for the future is to intensify the interdisciplinary collaboration with the other departments at Makerere University.
To reach those targets, various equipment is crucial. Right now CREEC has a test rig for pico hydro testing, a solar coach for PV installation training purposes and a set of equipment for energy auditing. Furthermore CREEC has a basic office infrastructure, although with gaps in the IT-infrastructure.
With Sida support, CREEC is planning to acquire some of the following equipment: A server to establish a central filing system at CREEC in order to improve file sharing, knowledge management and data security. A comprehensive test rig for small hydro turbines/generators with connection to computers so that students and researchers can simulate different pressures, flows and heads. Computers with software to simulate power systems to study load flow, faults, load forecast etc. A small gasifier, a test bench for Compact Fluorescent Lamps, a tester for deep cycle batteries and a current/voltage solar panel output plotter.
To provide sustainability of CREEC‟s mission, CREEC hopes to set up suitable budget for proper equipment maintenance and technicians salaries so that even beyond the Sida support horizon CREEC will be able to continue serving society in the field of energy.
Assessment by Sida As the funds requested from Sida will be used to procure equipment it is crucial that a maintenance and sustainability plan is developed to ensure that the laboratories have the right competence to handle the equipment. Standard operating procedures should be developed for the laboratories and the equipment.
CREEC must revise their budget according to the approved support and it should be submitted to Sida before disbursement can be made for the agreement period July 2010- June 2014. A revised procurement plan should be submitted to Sida as well.
Research officers Sector: Dr. Zinaida Iritz Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson
141
FACULTY OF TECHNOLOGY Sub-Program 8: Regional collaboration
Senior researcher(MU): Senior researcher (UDSM): Senior researcher (UEM): Assoc. Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, Prof. Burton Mwamila, Prof. Jorge Nhambiu Dean, Faculty of Technology, Principal, College of Engineering and Dean, Faculty of Engineering, Makerere University Technology University of Eduardo Mondlane Kampala, Uganda University of Dar es Salaam Maputo, Mozambique e-mail: [email protected] Tanzania E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]
PROPOSAL
Abstract With the support of Sida, Makerere University, jointly with the University of Dar es Salaam and the University of Eduardo Mondlane, has developed interesting collaborative programs over the last 5 years. The main objective of the collaborative program was to develop capacity for collaborative research activities through sharing the scarce resources within the region, both human and physical. The collaboration has been realised through the following thematic research areas: 1. Infra-structure and Land Management; 2. Water Resources and Environmental Engineering; 3. Engineering Materials; 4. Renewable Energy Resources; 5. Food Science and Technology; 6. ICT and GIS for Rural Development
Expected Outputs and Outcomes A critical mass of highly qualified researchers in multi-disciplinary research themes with the capacity to collaborate across borders; Organisation of joint research seminars and conferences; Exchange of staff and students At least 8 issues of Journal for Engineering, the Built Environment and Technology (JEBET); A systematic methodology of dissemination of research results to stakeholders; Capacity created for joint supervision of PhD and Masters students; A culture of multi and cross disciplinary research entrenched; Capacity to apply for and win large research grants enhanced; Capacity for harmonisation of training programs at the three and other universities; A regional consortium of researchers on urban development issues established; Personal incomes enhanced for poor people through the activities of the innovative clusters program. Organising and facilitating a total of 62 cluster initiatives in the three countries under the Innovation Systems and Innovative Clusters Program;
Assessment by Sida Regarding the Regional collaboration Sida will require an analysis of the results and experience of the program during Phase II, particularly on: i) joint supervision and publications, ii) grants won by regional research groups and iii) level of exchange of staff and students between the three different institutions. Funds for the Innovation Systems and Innovative Clusters Program has been approved separately and should not come from the regional collaboration budget.
Research officers Sector: Dr. Zinaida Iritz Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson 142
FACULTY OF TECHNOLOGY Sub-Program 9: Faculty Funds
Applying Institution: Ugandan Coordinator Ugandan responsible unit Faculty Higher Degrees and Research Committee
PROPOSAL
Abstract A Faculty fund to cater for small research projects and research dissemination activities that are selected from Faculty members not supported under the main Sida support is proposed. These funds are awarded on a competitive basis by the Faculty Higher Degrees and Research Committee.
Assessment by Sida Regarding the Faculty funds Sida will require an analysis of the results and experience of the use of the Faculty funds from Phase II, particularly on: i) eligibility criterion of obtaining the funds, ii) what mechanisms will be used to get feedback to the Faculty of the results generated through these grants and iii) proportion of funds to be used for research and for regional and international research co-operation.
Research officers Sector: Dr. Zinaida Iritz Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson 143
ASSESSMENT
FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY 144
FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE National and local responses to transformations for sustainable development
Sub-Program 1: Good Governance and Conflict Sub-Program 2: Livelihoods Improvement and Services Provisioning Sub-Program 3: Health and Emergent Diseases Intervention Sub-Program 4: Faculty Research Fund
Applying Institution: Collaborating Institution: Ugandan Coordinator Swedish Coordinator Prof. Edward K. Kirumira Dr. Margareta Espling Dean Department of Human and Economic Geography Faculty of Social Sciences Göteborg University Makerere University SE- 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden P.O. Box 7062 Tel: +46 31 773 14 03 Kampala, Uganda Fax: +46 31 773 13 98 Tel: +256 41 545040 E-mail: [email protected] Fax: +256 41 530185 E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]
PROPOSAL FROM MAKERERE UNIVERSITY
Abstract The overall topic of this Program deals with the issue of social change and sustainable development. The Faculty‟s third Phase proposal is cognisant of the National Development Plan (NDP), the University 10-Year Strategic Plan and the Faculty of Social Sciences‟ Strategic Plan. Conceptually, the proposed third Phase program support brings to bear on the current transformations in Uganda, where the country is moving away from the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP) model to a NDP, as a guide to lead the country to sustainable development. Social Sciences are increasingly becoming central in the national development process. It is a critical factor in the development process, relating to central societal issues such as equality, equity, empowerment and social security. The Faculty of Social Sciences can therefore contribute to the development of the NDP, focusing on the theme of growth and employment for prosperity. This theme of NDP aims to lift household standards of living and strengthen good governance and human security. The Faculty also hopes to contribute to the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG‟s), with particular emphasis on Goals number one, three and six which focus on poverty eradication, promotion of gender equity and empowerment and combating disease, especially HIV and AIDS. It is also argued in the application that there is a need to empower social scientists, not only to build the capacity for research, but also to feed into and participate proactively in public policy, so that rigorous research findings are used to address social challenges. This requires collaborative skill-building programs at the graduate, postdoctoral, and professional levels as well as network building activities including conferences, trainings, and leadership development. Collectively, the third Phase program support will hopefully increase evidence of what works across multiple sectors of the national development process within the framework of the MDG‟s targets and the National Development Framework. It will also build relationships between academics and local community organizations, and with policy makers and program implementers.
It is against this background that four areas (three thematic) are proposed for Phase III, namely: 1. Good Governance and Conflict Conciliation 2. Livelihoods Improvement and Services Provisioning 3. Health and Emergent Diseases Intervention. 4. Faculty Research Fund. 145
These are in line with the University-wide thematic areas as recommended in the University Concept Note submitted to Sida. Research objectives Presented in individual sub-programs.
Capacity objectives Expected short-term outcomes At least 6 senior researchers with supervisory skills, and 8 PhDs (5 on-going from Phase II and 3 new ones and other collaborating Public Universities candidates as will be identified by and supported through the School of Graduate Studies. At least 20 Masters students partially supported from the Faculty Research Fund (at least 5 students per year) At least two articles in refereed journals per theme; one book publication from the program; Policy briefing papers; and conference papers and proceedings Research reports (by junior and senior researchers arising out of the Faculty Research Fund) Expected long term outcomes Contribute towards PhD supervisory capacity in the Faculty of Social Sciences beyond the program support Enhanced capacity to win and execute research grants An increased volume of research outputs feeding into the national development process thus affecting evidence-based decision making and programme interventions design, monitoring and evaluation.
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by Sida Gender Helpdesk The executive summary defines the output of capacity building in gender-neutral terms such as senior researchers and students. The Faculty has six female and nine male staff members with a PhD, while eight females and fifteen males are currently on their PhD program. For the new PhD program the Faculty has not been able to identify one single female student. The imbalance will therefore increase with this program. The Faculty acknowledges this shortfall and plans to increase the number of female staff accessing the Faculty research funds under the Sida support. More details about this intention are not given. The criteria for selection of students include negative age- discrimination, but not positive gender-discrimination (affirmative action).
The projects are presented with rather short abstracts under headlines of three themes. There are three projects to the first theme, “Good governance and conflict conciliation”. None of these have any reference to gender issues. Given findings of research during the last decade pointing at the crucial important of gender considerations and inclusion of women in any conciliation process, this is rather surprising.
In the second theme, “Livelihoods, improvement and service provisioning” gender has its rightful central place in most abstracts. The first of the three projects look at HIV/AIDS prevention and mitigation, the second project addresses the very important issue of joint ownership to family land. Land has acquired unprecedented monetary value which raises issues on joint ownership and women‟s security. The third project makes a gender analysis of household coping strategies.
The third theme on “Health and emergent diseases intervention”, have three projects all in some respect addressing HIV/AIDS. In the rather short abstract gender issues are not brought up. It might be that selections and other methods are gender-aware, but its exclusion from the abstracts should be an issue of concern.
Assessment by Sida Environment and climate change Helpdesk Strengthening national research capacity and policy improvement on poverty alleviation is an important contribution donors can make to support ownership - and thereby – fulfilment of the MDG‟s. The sub–programs will - if successfully implemented – expand Uganda‟s national knowledge basis for sustainable development and poverty alleviation. It is hoped that the PhDs will remain in Uganda – and not become part of Uganda‟s already severe “brain drain”- and make important contributions to the NDP and provide “an increased 146 volume of research outputs feeding into the national development process thus affecting evidence-based decision making and programme interventions design, monitoring and evaluation” as the proposal states.
Reviewer’s assessment of overall Faculty program The thematic composition of the proposed research – which in part is a continuation of Sida supported research that is ongoing – seems well-thought-out, and it nicely reflects Ugandan realities. Its research training program at Makerere is equally balanced and organically interconnected with the wider research ambition. The composition into three interrelated research themes has great relevance to Uganda in particular but also to the wider region more generally. These themes furthermore function as highly relevant contributions for the development of Ugandan academic institutions, both regarding research and teaching capacities. In other words, the three themes are all relevant for the Ugandan case in particular, and from a wider perspective, they are all examples of needy social science projects. Especially Bwana (theme 1), Muhumuza (theme 1), Kabumbuli (theme 2) and Kirumira (theme 3) are impressive and sometimes provocatively innovative in their grounded outlines. Sensed here is not only an ambition to assess critically Ugandan socio-political realities, but also to take into account the complex roles of international community, including the donor community. It is truly refreshing. Kirumira‟s ambition to revisit and thus to rethink old questions is an admirable approach worth particular mentioning.
Judging from the enclosed CVs, all the proposed agendas seem to be reflecting a sound scientific quality; generally lacking however, besides a few exceptions, is a more prolific effort to disseminate research findings to the wider international academic community.
The presentation of the proposal, finally, shows that the applications are well-versed with relevant Ugandan realities. The proposed research, in other words, is most relevant and can play an important role for development in Uganda more generally. If carried out according to the proposed plans, it will contribute in the establishment of a coherent agenda for research and research training in Uganda, which furthermore will be important in the development of domestic training in Uganda.
There is no doubt the applicants have the competence needed to carry out the proposed research. Especially worth mentioning are Prof. Kirumira and Associate Prof. Höjer, two senior academics with impressive international publishing records. Most of the other applicants have written many seemingly relevant reports and papers/presentations, but again, it is somehow puzzling to see how little of all this that has reached a wider audience beyond the Swedish (Sida) and Ugandan (Makerere) contexts. The research themes suggested are certainly worth a wider distribution, being of potential relevance to the global scholarly community.
The proposed methodology, including the feasibility of the proposed research, is sound and well-chosen. There is a natural link between the proposed research and planned (as well as ongoing) research training programs.
An important network, including technical infrastructure (e.g., computers and library resources), has been created over the past years of funding. Needed now is a more long-term planning to ensure that these important investments are maintained, something that is also pointed out in the proposal. Existing and additional proposed equipments are essential in the capacity building effort at Makerere, but long-term commitment of maintenance is equally important to support, even if less attractive in the eyes of most supportive agencies.
When it comes to the “softer” infrastructure of human resources, there are also great achievements from the previous phase of funding. It is clear that, from the Makerere side, efforts are done to bring the numerous funding agencies and their individual agendas together, but this is really something that the Swedish counterparts could work more with.
The proposed research is well-integrated with Makerere University policy and strategy documents. Thus the proposed research not only nicely taps in to the general development plans of Makerere University as an academic instruction, but more it can play a crucial role in the promotion of the social sciences in Uganda more generally. The Ugandan academics behind the proposal indeed hold the competence to manage the proposed project including its proposed sub-projects. Again, if the Swedish counterparts were to build a wider research network in Sweden (and 147 perhaps even more generally, in Scandinavia), the Ugandan counterparts could benefit tremendously from being connected to such an environment, especially if they could be granted longer stays in Sweden.
If carried out according to the plans, the proposed continuation of an already ongoing research effort, including its capacity building dimensions, will encourage the building of a critical mass of researchers and academics at Makerere University. Here it is absolutely essential that both senior and junior researchers from Makerere are given a real opportunity to conduct research, but also, as noted in the proposal, to write up their findings. Besides fieldwork, this is really the hard work of the social scientist that needs more encouragement in the form of time, that is, proper funding.
The proposed research is an important contributor to all this, even if more must be done from a much longer time perspective, to build and ensure the continuation of the academic quality, both regarding research and teaching, of the social sciences at Makerere University. The proposed project presents well-planned strategies and grounded suggestions on how such a capacity can be built.
Assessment by Sida The program contains a package of different research projects highly relevant for the understanding of various developmental challenges confronting the Ugandan society. The composition into three interrelated research themes has great relevance to Uganda in particular but also to the wider region more generally. These themes furthermore function as highly relevant contributions for the development of Ugandan academic institutions, both regarding research and teaching capacities.
Nonetheless, as stated in the above review from the Sida Gender Helpdesk, the executive summary defines the output of capacity building in gender-neutral terms such as senior researchers and students. The Faculty has six female and nine male staff members with a PhD, while eight females and fifteen males are currently on their PhD program. For the new PhD program the Faculty has not been able to identify one single female student. The imbalance will therefore increase with this program. This is clearly not satisfying from Sida‟s point of view. The Faculty acknowledges this shortfall and plans to increase the number of female staff accessing the Faculty research funds under the Sida support. More details about this intention are not given. Sida would also like to have seen Gender issues addressed more thoroughly in the two sub-programs “Good governance and conflict conciliation” and “Health and emergent diseases intervention”. The relative lack of Gender issues raises many problems due to the fact that these two areas affect the lives and livelihoods of women. On an overall level the programs merit is in its intention to build on the experiences from the sub-programs and formulate a specific approach to tackle the issue of poverty alleviation, health/HIV, issues of livelihood and issue of governance. Part of the intention is also to follow up how the MDG‟s are being realised, on a national and local level as well as to feed in to the processes of realising the MDG‟s in relation to the NDP. In particular, it is important to assess how policies are affecting different groups, classes, gender and geographical regions in the country. Though this relative lack of Gender focus, the proposed research is deemed relevant and can play an important role for development in Uganda more generally. If carried out according to plan, it will contribute in the establishment of a coherent agenda for research and research training in Uganda, which furthermore will be important in the development of domestic training in Uganda, and it should therefore be supported by Sida. However, Sida urges the Faculty to consider to comments offered by the Sida Gender Helpdesk referred to above.
The focus on good governance and conflict resolution is very much in line with the Swedish objective of the Research cooperation in Uganda that includes “improved analytical capacity in areas of importance to poverty reduction, democratic governance and peaceful resolution of internal armed conflicts”.
Focus of the support should be research capacity building i.e. human capacity building with emphasis on PhD and Post doctoral training. However, research funds for Post doctoral fellows will have to be applied for in competition. The Post doctoral fund will be administrated by the School of Graduate Studies and direct funding for Postdoctoral research should not be included in the Faculty program budget. If Post doctoral fellows are involved in supervision of PhD students and to some extent MSc students, cost for supervising student field work and travel to Sweden to meet with Swedish supervisors can be included in the budget.
148
Subsistence grants will be disbursed directly through the Swedish Institute. The level for this post should be calculated per student in a separate column named “Swedish Institute”. Cost per month per student is to be calculated as 13 000 SEK (includes subsistence allowance, insurance, activities and administration).
The Faculty of Social Sciences and all sub-programs must revise their budget according to the approved support and it should be submitted to Sida before disbursement can be made for the agreement period July 2010- June 2014.
Budget Faculty of Social Jan–June Science 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Total Total Requested 2 652 885 3 691 024 2 664 867 3 250 987 0 12 259 763 1. Good Governance and 540 000 500 000 500 000 500 000 270 000 2 310 000 Conflict 2. Livelihoods Improvement and 420 000 500 000 500 000 500 000 260 000 2 180 000 Services Provisioning 3. Health and Emergent 540 000 500 000 500 000 500 000 270 000 2 310 000 Diseases Intervention 4. Faculty 800 000 1 200 000 800 000 1 200 000 0 4 000 000 Research Fund Total Approved 2 300 000 2 700 000 2 300 000 2 700 000 800 000 10 800 000
Sida research officers Sector: Dr. Peter Green Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson 149
FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE Sub-Program 1: Good Governance and Conflict
Applying Institution: Collaborating Institution: Ugandan Coordinator Swedish Coordinator Dr. Charles N. Bwana Dr. Anders Nilsson Lead Senior Researcher Växjö University
Assoc. Prof. William Muhumuza Co-Researcher
Faculty of Social Sciences Makerere University P.O. Box 7062 Kampala, Uganda Tel: +256 41 545040 Fax: +256 41 530185
PhD Students: Continuing: Sarah Kamya Supervisors: Dr. Charles N. Bwana and Assoc. Prof. Murindwa Rutanga. Igeme Katagwa Supervisors: Dr. Charles N. Bwana and Assoc. Prof. Murindwa Rutanga. New: Firminus Mugumya Supervisors: Assoc. Prof. William Muhumuza and Dr. Narathius Asingwire
PROPOSAL
Abstract This theme has been researched with the support of Sida since 2001. In the first Phase research addressed conflict in areas of insurgence in Uganda. Generally Uganda was taken to be a developing country with two different forms of development within. On the one hand, there were areas that were developing very fast and on the other hand there were areas that were not developing due to the numerous conflicts such as the ADF war in Kasese, Kony war in Gulu, and cattle rustling in Karamoja. It was therefore feared that the slow growth in the conflict areas would affect the other fast growing regions (for more details see for example the works of Gingyera-Pinycwa (2003).
In the second Phase however, there was intention to move away from the conflict phase to look at the causes of the conflict which were socio-economic, marginalization and exclusion which affect specific areas in terms of regions, tribes and political inclination just like was done in Sri Lanka. Overall, the causes of the conflict were related to poverty since areas that were marginalized also tended to be poor and used violent means to resolve the conflict such as in Kabarole, Bundibugyo, Kaberamaido, Kitgum and Nebbi. It was also realized that the marginalized status of areas led to exclusion and poverty, which subsequently translated into violence.
Since the second Phase looked at the causes of the conflict which apparently is ending in these regions, it is proposed that the third Phase looks beyond the causes of conflict. It will focus on what is being done to prevent the re-occurrence of the conflict, and the outcomes of the ongoing negotiations to solve some of these conflicts like the Northern Uganda. Secondly, this phase seeks to establish what government is doing at the moment and 150 whether the interventions are significantly addressing the causes of the conflict like marginalization, lack of state infrastructure, and the extent to which, if at all, these are all being reflected in the proposed NDP.
Research Objectives In summary, the Phase III activities, both for the Senior researchers and the PhD students, will focus on the strategies to address the root causes of conflict using good governance models like: Institutional Rebuilding: which include rebuilding traditional structures like Local Government Institutions, Traditional chiefdoms and traditional forms of justice. Building local government structures where resources are currently being diverted directly to the grassroots. There is need to assess how this is generally working. Political inclusions at the national level especially in the era of multiparty dispensation, university district quota systems and women quota system to participate in the local level governance. Civil society organizations like: NGOs, churches, etc; especially on how they are involved in peace building and development at the local level
Research Objectives . Dr. Charles N. Bwana: Title: Developing Local Conflict Conciliation frameworks for Durable Peace and Sustainable Development in the post conflict areas of Uganda . Associate Prof. William Muhumuza Title: Rebuilding Community in Post-Conflict Kasese and Bundibugyo in Uganda . Firminus Mugumya (new PhD student) Title: Partnerships and Service Utility: A study of Social Development Interventions for Orphans and other Vulnerable Children in Post Conflict Settings
Assessment by Sida Sida refers to the general assessment of the whole program above, in the case of all sub-programs within the program. 151
FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE Sub-Program 2: Livelihoods Improvement and Services Provisioning
Applying Institution: Collaborating Institution: Coordinator Uganda Coordinator Sweden Dr. Consolata Kabonesa, Dr. Margareta Espling Lead Senior Researcher Department of Human and Economic Geography Göteborg University Dr. Robert Kabumbuli, SE- 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden Co-Researcher Tel: +46 31 773 14 03 Fax: +46 31 773 13 98 Faculty of Social Sciences E-mail: [email protected] Makerere University P.O. Box 7062 Kampala, Uganda Tel: +256 41 545040 Fax: +256 41 530185
PhD Students: Continuing: Catherine Anena Supervisors: Prof. Grace Bantebya Kyomuhendo and Dr. Consolata Kabonesa New: Zephania Kyalisiima Supervisors: Dr. Robert Kabumbuli and Dr. Sarah Ssali
PROPOSAL
Abstract Government of Uganda continues to recognize and pay particular attention to livelihood problems and access to social services by the poor, and the centrality of gender in national development. The government has put in place programs and strategies for poverty eradication under the PEAP, with programs such as Plan for Modernisation of Agriculture (PMA) and National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS). While there has been some improvement in varied sectors, for example poverty line declined from 38% to 31%, (between 2003 and 2007) and growth rates averaging over 7 percent in real terms for almost a decade, other social welfare indicators such as retention in education, employment, access to safe water have remained poor. The health system has continued to suffer from poor service delivery and inefficiency, mismanagement, and drug stock-outs in health centres. Under-five mortality ratio and infant mortality rate remain at 137 and 76 per 1000 live births between 2005 and 2007. Agriculture (crop and livestock) production and productivity at household level likewise declined with the share of agriculture to total GDP reducing from 25% in 2004/05 to 21% in 2007. Several of the livelihood approaches such as the increasing use of firewood and charcoal continue to be rudimentally and damage the environment.
In recognition of the above, government has continued to put in place programs to bring about equity and to improve social well-being. For example, to increase productivity, there are plans for promoting access to production resources such as land acquisition fund and Prosperity for all. Production and human development is among the 6 priorities of the 2007/08 budget, and were key pillars in the PEAP, which has now evolved into the NDP.
152
Phase III proposes to look at the new government policies and programs in this area that are trying to address livelihood and service provision needs of the population. Secondly, the phase will compare the previous and new program and the arising social implications including gender equity in access to livelihood sources and social services. This theme recognizes that people in Uganda have diverse livelihoods with different opportunities and threats to their well-being as individuals and/or households. This is because of variations in access to resources vis-à-vis their roles and responsibilities and variations in the contexts where they live. The variations have effects and implications on the government attempts towards poverty eradication and lead to considerable socio- economic differentiation.
Social Sciences must of necessity engage this inconsistency where the country has registered a remarkable macro-economic progress, yet people struggle to live and access the social services. Development cannot be sustainable if it is built on policies that lead to exclusion of some sections of the population. This theme therefore will address the question of how we can have a sustainable development process that addresses poverty alleviation by harmonizing the economic values of production as well as the social and the human values.
The proposed theme builds on two themes of Phase II of the Sida support, namely sub-program four on Strategies for Poverty Eradication and Local Responses to Transformation to Sustainable Development, and sub-program two on Public Policy and Changing Gender Relations. In Phase II, research on poverty was carried out in Mbarara, Mpigi, Kamuli, Iganga, Mbale, Soroti and Katakwi. Research on Gender relations was conducted in Kabale, Mukono, Iganga, Wakiso and Hoima. The two themes have generated good findings which need to be disseminated and translated into policy briefs to contribute to national development. The new theme in the Phase III will address the two previous themes, as well as collecting additional and more focused data to inform the transformation for sustainable development process.
Research objectives The Phase III activities, both for the Senior researchers and the PhD students, will focus, but not be limited, to examining the following critical factors of livelihood improvement and services provisioning: Economic values: poverty in general at local and national levels; livelihoods strategies, and trends in livelihood and service access at national and local levels; variation including gender; trends; geographical variations in livelihoods and service provisioning and access; rising economic indicators in falling social welfare indicators. Human Values: values of human agency, self respect and self esteem and women empowerment are so often missing in top-down development programmes. The theme will focus on how such human values can be enhanced or restored through more participatory and inclusive development initiatives. Social values: social values are embedded in the social and network relationships that underpin the development process. It is essential to examine the social values that arise from gender and equity concerns, as well as issues of exclusion and marginalization, and how these influence and are influenced by the development process.
. Dr. Consolata Kabonesa Title: Health Sector Reforms, Social Provisioning and Gender Relations: A case study of HIV/AIDS prevention and mitigation in Hoima and Kabarole Districts . Dr. Robert Kabumbuli Title: The Dynamics of Joint Ownership of Family Land: Assessing the challenges, policy and livelihood implications in Uganda . Zephania Kyalisiima (new PhD student) Title: A Gender Analysis of Household Coping Mechanisms in the Wake of Agricultural Credit: A case of Luwero and Kayunga districts.
Sida Assessment by Sida Sida refers to the general assessment of the whole programme above, in the case of all sub-programs within the program. 153
FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE Sub-Program 3: Health and Emergent Diseases Intervention
Applying Institution: Collaborating Institution: Coordinator Uganda Coordinator Sweden Prof. Edward K. Kirumira Assoc. Prof. Staffan Höjer Lead Senior Researcher Gothenburg University
Dr. Peter R. Atekyereza Co-Researcher
Faculty of Social Sciences Makerere University P.O. Box 7062 Kampala, Uganda
PhD Students: Continuing: Fred Bateganya Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. C.B. Rwabukwali Swizen Kyomuhendo Supervisor: Prof. Edward K. Kirumira New: Anthony Mugeere Supervisors: Dr. Peter R. Atekyereza and Dr. Stella Neema
PROPOSAL
Abstract This theme has been central to the Faculty research agenda since 2001. It deals with emergent diseases and diseases related with conflict and gender. Diseases tend to emerge or be exacerbated during situations of conflict. Women tend to suffer more than men during situations of conflict. There are normally no services during conflict situations e.g. doctors and equipment not available, breakdown of social structures such as family (Atekyereza and Kirumira, 2004).
Socio-cultural changes also have an impact on diseases e.g. changing life styles, life in camps, destruction of environment and encroachment on natural resources. These disrupt the ecological balance which causes new diseases. Poor health tends to exacerbate poverty because poor people are less productive since they are weak. Government expenditure and the GNP is in turn adversely affected by the emergent diseases. This must be factored into the NDP.
In the first Phase, the focus was on impact of HIV/AIDS on society at society level and at institutions of higher learning, but in PhaseII the emphasis was on interventions especially programs at higher institutions of learning and also the use of new technologies like ARVs at societal level.
The third Phase shall have a wider focus to include looking at health broadly e.g. policy, and health care reforms. It will also examine how the links to the NDP to achieve poverty eradication. It shall also examine the links with economic and social issues like gender and risk behaviour.
The Faculty shall need multidisciplinary teams comprising of Social Sciences, biomedical and health policy disciplines to get more insights into the areas enumerated above. The cultural-critique approach will be used 154 because it combines macro-level political factors with the micro-level social cultural factors in the understanding of health issues.
Research objectives . Prof. Edward K. Kirumira Title: Re-visiting Uganda‟s HIV&AIDS National Response: A retrospective analysis of policies, approaches and intervention performance for prospective programme planning. . Dr. Peter R. Atekyereza Title: Defining Social Service Framework for Livelihoods at Risk: the Case of HIV&AIDS service provisioning for Chainsawers in Uganda. . Anthony Mugeere (new PhD student) Title: Perspectives on Communication for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases in Rural Areas: A comparative study of Iganga and Bundibugyo districts
Assessment by Sida Sida refers to the general assessment of the whole program above, in the case of all sub-programs within the program. 155
FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE Sub-Program 4: Faculty Funds
Applying Institution: Faculty of Social Sciences Makerere University P.O. Box 7062 Kampala, Uganda Tel: +256 41 545040 Fax: +256 41 530185
PROPOSAL
Abstract These funds will be utilized mainly to broaden the research capacity building and academic milieu in the Faculty through the support for competitive novice and multidisciplinary research grants and support for Faculty and Departmental training workshops and paper presentation (e.g. lunch-time seminars and public lectures). The proposed budget for the Faculty Research Fund is based on our experience with the current Capacity building component.
Results from these funds in the on-going program have been very positive. These have included: Seven junior and ten multi-disciplinary studies have been completed; An updated (2008) Faculty research inventory is near completion; Departmental seminars supported in the Departments of Social Work and Social Administration, Sociology, and Women and Gender Studies One Methodology workshop and two supervisory skills workshop
From the experience of Phase II, it is proposed that current percentage distribution of the funds be maintained; that is approximately 63% of the total budget for the Faculty Research Fund will go to direct research activities. Another 15% will go towards skills training for research including data analysis programs. About 3% of the total budget is proposed towards efforts of strengthening institutional collaboration and shared activities with ongoing projects/programs. The remaining 22% will go into administration of the fund.
As is in the current program support, the funds will be administered by the Faculty Higher Degrees & Research Grants Committee that has at least two representatives from each Department of the Faculty, with a mandate to co-opt members depending on additional expertise required. The funds will be accessed on a competitive basis and in line with the overall objective of the Program support. As has been the practice, the Committee will issue periodic calls for proposals from members of staff other than those directly funded under the Program. The proposals will be vetted by the committee and by an external reviewer before funds are allocated. For each interdisciplinary research grants call, a theme will be identified under which umbrella the individuals will compete to assure a critical mass of research projects to create impact.
Again, each grantee will be required to present their findings in a Faculty seminar and in addition to the research report, to produce a position paper (either policy or programme related). The results will also be posted in a summarised form on the Faculty website.
Assessment by Sida The administration costs of the Faculty Research Funds are too high and should be reduced. 156
ASSESSMENT
FACULTY OF ARTS
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY
157
FACULTY OF ARTS “Enhancing capacities and capabilities in the humanities for sustainable livelihoods”
Sub-Program 1: Media and Communication Development in Support of Democracy and Sustainable Livelihoods. Sub-Program 2: Ethics and Integrity in Governance for Sustainable Livelihoods. Sub-Program 3: Strengthening Geographical Sciences for Improved Environmental Management and Climate Change Adaption in Uganda
Applying Institution: Coordinator, Sweden: Faculty of Arts Prof. Stig Arne Nohrstedt Makerere University, Department of Humanities (Media and PO Box 7062 Communication Studies) Kampala, Uganda Örebro University Tel: +256 772-459821 SE-701 82 Örebro, Sweden Tel: +46 193 03068 Email: [email protected]
Coordinator, Uganda: Assoc. Prof. Hannington Sengendo, Dean. Prof. Petter Pilesjö Faculty of Arts, Makerere University, University of Lund PO Box 7062 Kampala P.O.Box 118, Tel: +256 772-459821 SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden Email: [email protected] Visiting address Sölvegatan 10 Tel: +46 46 222 96 54 / +46 222 0000 Fax : +46 222 8391 E-mail: [email protected]
Robert Ayine Department of Geography Gulu University. PO Box 166 Gulu, Uganda Tel:+256 782 266 929 / +256 471 329 21 Fax: +256 471 320 94 Email: [email protected]
PROPOSAL
Abstract Environmental degradation is a serious threat to livelihoods, and it is widespread and believed to be increasing in Uganda. The State of Environmental Reports from the National Environmental Management Authority (2000, 2002, 2004, 2006) have consistently indicated that natural resources in various parts of the country are degraded as manifested through the loss of agricultural productivity, loss of forest cover, water pollution, encroachment of wildlife and wetlands, unprecedented runoff and soil loss rates emanating from both natural processes and anthropogenic activities.
If strengthened, the humanities have the potential to contribute to improved spatial and temporal understandings and monitoring of environmental processes, and to provide intervention strategies and policy options for sustainable livelihoods, thus enhancing the adaptive capacities of the communities to global environmental and social challenges. However, development cannot be considered sustainable if it is pursued in ways that violate ethical and human rights principles. Knowledge of these principles should not remain with the institutions of higher learning that generate it but should inform policies designed for the good governance of the country. 158
This program aims to take a comprehensive view of the issue of sustainability, from the facts on the ground, addressed in the sub-program proposed by the department of geography, through the possible and many times necessary inclusion of human rights issues and ethics in environmental policy and politics (as suggested in the Department of Philosophy sub-program), over to how environmental risks and facts of the state of the environment are described and reported in national media (as suggested in the Department of Mass Communications sub-program). Innovative and evidence-based ways of communicating environmental and sustainable development issues and public policies in general are needed in order to improve people‟s understanding of the factors that shape their livelihoods. The many and extensive links between these fields of research are investigated within the programme.
The Faculty of Arts (FOA) program is built on three Departmental sub-programs.
Each sub-program within the general program frame is guided by a unique sub-theme, they all reflect FOA‟s common theme of “Enhancing capacities and capabilities in the humanities for sustainable livelihoods”. The sub- programs and related sub-themes are:
1. Mass Communication: “Media and Communication Development in Support of Democracy and Sustainable Livelihoods.” 2. Philosophy: “Ethics and Integrity in Governance for Sustainable Livelihoods.” 3. Geography: “Strengthening Geographical Sciences for Improved Environmental Management and Climate Change Adaptation in Uganda.”
These sub-programmes are then organised around eight projects, described in each sub-program section.
Capacity Objectives 1. To strengthen staff capacity in the humanities and priority areas of research, training and supervision at Master‟s, PhD, post-doctoral, and senior researcher levels. 2. To improve the quality of education through curriculum development and improvement to address the changing learning needs. 3. To build and strengthen partnerships for collaborative research, training, supervision, and sharing of resources and knowledge between staff and students at Makerere and at Swedish institutions and other Ugandan public universities. 4. To contribute to public knowledge and policymaking by disseminating the results of research in the priority areas through public and policy forums. 5. To raise the quality of education by setting up modern facilities and infrastructure for teaching, research, materials production, skills training and e-learning. 6. To optimize the utilization of the University‟s expertise by developing and offering university-wide and cross-cutting courses for staff at Makerere and other public universities.
Expected Outputs (short- and medium term) At least one third of enrolled students are female At least 70% of proposed PhDs completed At least 90% of proposed post-doc projects completed At least 70% complete doctoral studies within 4 years 2 proposed curricula introduced At least 5 formal research networks created with Swedish and Ugandan public universities At least 16 workshops/seminars conducted At least 30 policy briefs produced At least 1 media campaign At least 8 press conferences/briefings held Academic conferences held 1 Remote Sensing & Cartography Lab established 1 cross-cutting course on Fundamentals of Ethics 159
Research Objectives Presented in individual sub-programs and projects
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
External reviewer’s assessment The application includes proposals for different PhD projects, all relevant for both the country and the host university. The application is well written and the choice of study object is well justified. The application is of a high theoretical standard and the fact that the results can be transformed into practical action strengthens the relevance of the proposals. The applicants possess adequate skills to carry out the proposed research projects, and the Swedish colleagues at Örebro University have years of experience of similar research projects and since they will work as advisors there is no reason to doubt that the projects will reach completion. The projects will be carried out at a department that has conducted similar work in the past, which means that the applicants will be in an environment that promotes and stimulates research.
All of the applications provide a good description of how the empirical material will be gathered and analysed. Choice of methods is theoretically supported and the project will use methodological triangulation. While the methods in and of themselves are not particularly innovative or original, this does not make them any less appropriate. Completion of all of the projects within the proposed time period is fully feasible, and the proposed projects do not require much technical equipment and approval of the requested items such as camera, tape recorder, etc is entirely reasonable. While the application deserves a positive evaluation on its own, collaboration with Örebro University is sure to result in new theoretical considerations and fine-tuning of measurement instruments.
The description of the university and the department gives the impression of competent research management and the application candidly describes the need for new doctors within the field in order to achieve the university‟s long-term goal of filling available vacant positions, which is a prerequisite to further improve the research environment and increase the quality of both undergraduate and graduate education.
The application indicates that the few researchers, who have earned PhD degrees, including some researchers at Swedish universities, often have a heavy teaching load at undergraduate level, which in the long term causes research to be neglected. However, the application indicates that the department and university administration want to change this situation. The proposed projects will educate doctoral candidates primarily in the field of media and communication studies. The application provides an excellent explanation for this approach and outlines the significance of democratic media and functioning communication between those in power and those whom they control, for developments in Uganda and East Africa as a whole. The three proposed research projects are all independent, but the researchers will be able to collaborate and share ideas through events such as workshops and seminars. Together with the other researchers at the department, they will achieve the critical mass needed for a stimulating research environment in the long term.
The description of the university‟s and department‟s operations is convincing, indicating full awareness of both the institution‟s merits and its shortcomings. Collaboration with the Swedish university appears to work well and can provide several positive synergistic effects for both the Ugandan and the Swedish researchers. The proposed research projects promise to be of a high theoretical standard and the choice of study object is well justified based on Uganda‟s needs. The choice of method for gathering empirical data, likewise, is well justified and all three projects are fully feasible. It will be possible to apply the research findings in practice and therefore the research will benefit developments in Uganda and probably even in other, similar countries.
Based on the above I support the application in its entirety and recommend that it be approved. The budget as presented appears to be completely reasonable.
160
Assessment by Sida This program addresses research areas of high relevance for Uganda and other low-income countries. The reviewer is convinced that the project have great scientific potential as well as high relevance for both the host country of Uganda, as well as for East Africa in general. The many connections between the areas of research also contribute to inter-disciplinary research of value for the Faculty of Arts as a whole.
The reviewer chooses not to comment on the specific sub-programs and their projects. Therefore, the description below of the sub-programs and their projects does not contain specific reviews. The general comments of the reviewer concerning the whole program are valid in each of the sub-programs and projects presented below.
If the many objectives in the program are achieved, and the expected outcomes are reached, the third phase of the collaboration in form of the proposed program will certainly strengthen institutional capacity at the Faculty in many respects, not least raising the level of teaching staff with PhD‟s.
The budget is very reasonable, and the equipment budgeted are certainly necessary in order to be able to peruse program goals.
Focus of the support should be research capacity building i.e. human capacity building with emphasis on PhD and Post doctoral training. However, research funds for Post doctoral fellows will have to be applied for in competition. The Post doctoral fund will be administrated by the School of Graduate Studies and direct funding for Postdoctoral research should not be included in the Faculty program budget. If Post doctoral fellows are involved in supervision of PhD students and to some extent MSc students, cost for supervising student field work and travel to Sweden to meet with Swedish supervisors can be included in the budget.
Subsistence grants will be disbursed directly through the Swedish Institute. The level for this post should be calculated per student in a separate column named “Swedish Institute”. Cost per month per student is to be calculated as 13 000 SEK (includes subsistence allowance, insurance, activities and administration).
The Faculty of Arts and all sub-programs must revise their budget according to the approved support and it should be submitted to Sida before disbursement can be made for the agreement period January 2010 – June 2014
Budget Jan–June Sub-program 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Total Requested 2 014 133 1 408 749 1 297 675 1 072 904 0 5 793 461 1. Media and 500 000 500 000 600 000 500 000 200 000 2 300 000 Communication 2. Ethics and 300 000 350 000 350 000 350 000 150 000 1 500 000 Integrity 3. Geographical 500 000 350 000 350 000 350 000 150 000 1 700 000 Sciences Total Approved 1 300 000 1 200 000 1 300 000 1 200 000 500 000 5 500 000
Sida Research Officers Sector: Dr. Peter Green Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson
161
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ARTS Sub-Program 1: Media and Communication Development in Support of Democracy and Sustainable Livelihoods.
Project 1: Communication and Media Strategies for Mitigating and Adapting to the Effects of Climate Change in the Lake Victoria Basin. Project 2: Promoting Participatory Communication in Public Health: The Case of Malaria Control in Uganda Project 3: When Battlefields Becomes News Rooms: The Use of Words, Images and Symbols in Covering Ugandan Civil Wars.
Ugandan Senior Researchers Swedish Senior Researchers Dr. George Lugalambi Stig Arne Nohrstedt Senior Lecturer, Head Department of Humanities Department of Mass Communication (Media and Communication Studies) Makerere University Örebro University P.O. Box 7062 Kampala SE-701 82 Örebro, Sweden Tel:0414-543919 Tel.:+46-19303068 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]
Proposed PhD students Ms. Aisha Nakiwala Mr. Ivan Lukanda
PROPOSAL
Abstract By collecting and relaying vital information to the public, the media and other communication processes can provide the knowledge needed to improve the livelihoods of the population and to ensure participatory policymaking. Strategic/development communication is especially critical in reaching the communities most affected by poverty and those most vulnerable to threats to their environment, health and economic productivity.
Hence, professional and democratic media delivering well-researched information are essential to the fight against poverty, the building of strong public institutions, and constructive civic engagement. Coupled with an efficient communication infrastructure, informed debate, transparency, and the active participation of citizens, the media can contribute significantly to the shaping of policies, attitudes, and behaviours that are needed to support sustainable livelihoods. The development of such capacity in Uganda and in East Africa will, in addition, contribute to improved capacity to support the research community in public universities to disseminate their research.
Project 1. Communication and media strategies for mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change in the Lake Victoria basin.
Dr. Goretti Nassanga (Senior Lecturer/Principal Researcher), Department of Mass Communication, Makerere University; Dr. Peter Berglez (Co-researcher), Media and Communication Studies, Örebro University; Prof. Stig Nohrstedt (Co-researcher), Media and Communication Studies, Örebro University.
Project 2. Promoting participatory communication in public health: The case of malaria control in Uganda.
Ms. Aisha Nakiwala - PhD Candidate, Department of Mass Communication, Makerere University. 162
Supervisors: Prof. Leonor Camauer, Örebro University Dr. Monica Chibita, Makerere University
Project 3. When the battlefield becomes the news room: The use of words, images and symbols in covering Ugandan civil wars.
Mr. Ivan Lukanda - PhD Candidate, Department of Mass Communication, Makerere University.
Supervisors: Prof. Stig Nohrstedt, Örebro University Dr. George W. Lugalambi, Makerere University
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Refers to the comments by the reviewer above.
Assessment by Sida The sub-program is presented in a focused way. It is well in line with the general proposal. Refer to the overall program assessment by Sida above for more detailed assessment.
Sida Research Officers Sector: Dr. Peter Green Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson
163
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ARTS Sub-Program 2: Ethics and integrity in governance for sustainable livelihoods
Project 1: Metagovernance and the global conscience: Ethical responsibility and development in Eastern Africa. Project 2: The ethics of poverty policy discourse: A case of neo-liberal versus engendered.
Ugandan Senior Researchers Swedish Senior Researchers Assoc. Prof. Wamala Edward Prof. Anders Nordgren Head Centre for Applied Ethics Department of Philosophy Linköping University Makerere University Key building P. O. Box 7062 SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden Kampala, Uganda Email: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Tel: + 46 13 282221 Tel: +256-414-530212, +256-772-962082 Webpage: Webpage: http://arts.mak.ac.ug/phil.html http://www.liu.se/cte/english/index.htm
Proposed PhD students Mr. Kanakulya Dickson Mr. Kizito Michael George
PROPOSAL
Abstract The overall title of the program is: Ethics and Integrity in Governance for Sustainable Livelihoods. The department proposes to enlist two PhD projects, and one post-doctoral Research team with the latter having as its major output, the designing and generating teaching material for a cross-cutting course on the fundamentals of ethics. The program will be coordinated by the Head of department, though each project leader will act as the sub-sub-coordinator of that particular aspect. There are three projects presented all together i.e. two PhDs and one post-doctoral Research team. If approved for funding, this program is expected to develop and increase the research capacity of the department in the area of ethics and governance.
Objective The main purpose of this project is to improve the departmental research capacity for generation and dissemination of knowledge towards the integration of ethics and integrity in the governance and development discourse in Uganda for the improvement of sustainable livelihoods.
Post-doctoral research team: Leader: Assoc. Prof. Wamala Edward Other Members: Dr. Wilfred Lajul and Dr. Kasozi-Mutaawe Ferdinand Title: Ethics and integrity in promoting good governance and observance of human rights for sustainable livelihoods
PhD projects: 1. Mr. Kanakulya Dickson Title: Metagovernance and the global-conscience: Ethical responsibility and development in Eastern Africa. Proposed Supervisor: Assoc Prof. Wamala Edward, Faculty of Arts, Makerere University Proposed Co-Supervisor: Prof. Anders Nordgren, Centre for Applied Ethics, Linköping University
2. Mr. Kizito Michael George Title: The ethics of poverty policy discourse: A case of neo-liberal versus engendered rights based approaches to poverty reduction in Uganda. 164
Proposed Supervisor: Dr. A.B .Rukooko, Ass. Dean, Faculty of Arts, Makerere University
Expected output To train 2 PhD candidates within the next four years. To design a cross-cutting course on the fundamentals of ethics. To develop materials for teaching a cross-cutting course on the fundamentals of ethics.
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Refers to the comments by the reviewer above.
Assessment by Sida The sub-program is presented in a focused way. It is well in line with the general proposal. The development of a cross-cutting course on the fundamentals of ethics is commended. However, it is important that such a course directed to Masters and/or PhD students is developed in close collaboration with the School of Graduate Studies that act as host for the exciting Cross-cutting course curriculum. Refer to the overall program assessment by Sida above for more detailed assessment.
Sida Research Officers Sector: Dr. Peter Green Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson
165
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ARTS Sub-Program 3: Strengthening geographical sciences for improved environmental management and climate change adaption in Uganda
Project 1: Development of a remote sensing facility at Makerere University Project 2: Enhancing disaster risk reduction and management Project 3: Environment, natural resources degradation analysis and sustainable11
Ugandan Senior Researchers Swedish Senior Researchers Head Petter Pilesjö Department of Geography University of Lund Makerere University P.O.Box 118 Tel: +256 414 531 261/ +256 414 542 265 SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden E-Mail: [email protected] Visiting address: Sölvegatan 10 Tel: +46 46 222 96 54/+46 46 222 00 00 Fax : +46 46 222 83 91 E-mail: [email protected]
Collaborating Ugandan Scientists Head Department of Geography Gulu University PO Box 166, Gulu Tel: +256 782 266 929/+256 471 329 21 Fax: +256 471 320 94 E-Mail: [email protected]
Proposed PhD students Jamiat Nanteza Jerome Sebadduka
PROPOSAL
Abstract Environmental degradation is a serious threat to the livelihoods and economic development of Uganda. Environmental degradation is widespread and believed to be increasing in the country. This raises concerns of sustaining the rapidly growing population and the capacity of the country to realize its national development targets and the millennium development goals, as well as related international obligations which are heavily premised on environmental resources. Various State of Environmental Reports (SoER), (NEMA, 2000; NEMA, 2002; NEMA, 2004 and NEMA, 2006), indicate that natural resources in various parts of the country are degraded as manifested through the loss of soil productivity and forest cover, water pollution, encroachment on protected areas for wildlife conservation and drainage of wetland. The reports further reveal unprecedented runoff and soil erosion rates emanating from both natural processes and anthropogenic activities leading to declining agricultural productivity. It is quantitatively estimated that Uganda loses approximately US$625 million equivalent annually due to environmental degradation and according to the UNDP, Uganda is already failing to meet its MDG targets on the environmental. The state of environmental degradation is likely to be exacerbated by the intertwined contemporary threats of climate change and climate variability, coupled with natural disasters. These phenomena undermine Uganda‟s poverty reduction efforts contained in the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP) and the National Development Plan (NDP), National Adaptation Plan of Action (NAPA) and its capacity to meet its global obligations, especially the Millennium Development Goals (MDG‟s).
11 There seem to be a word missing in the title of this project. 166
The Government of Uganda (GoU) is committed to addressing poverty and improving livelihoods of its population. This commitment if reflected through various policies, plans and strategies such as the Plan for modernization of Agriculture (PMA), the Poverty Eradication Action Plan, the National Development Plan and the Prosperity for All (PFA). The success of all these initiatives hinges on a significant reduction of environmental degradation in the country. GoU recognizes the importance of the Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) in the provision of necessities for the economic transformation of the country to create wealth for the population and enhance development. Government efforts however must be anchored on empirical research and human resource development to steer a sustainable development process.
Concerted efforts are therefore needed to build human and physical capacities to address the degradation of environmental resources, natural disasters, climate change and climate variability in the country. We thus seek Sida support to strengthen geographical sciences as a basis of contributing to improved environmental management and adaptation to climate change and variability in Uganda. At macro level, this initiative underpins Uganda‟s poverty reduction efforts, while at micro level, the project is in line with the Makerere University strategic plan. Our subcomponent, will fit within the Makerere University proposed and prioritized research themes of; Environment and Natural Resources Management ICT Disaster Management Crosscutting issues in gender and agriculture
Post-doc project Project leader: Bob Nakileza, Department of Geography, Makerere University Collaborators: Yazidhi Bamutaze, Department of Geography, Makerere University Paul Mukwaya, Department of Geography, Makerere University Prof. Petter Pilesjö, Centre for Geographical Information System, Lund University Title: Harnessing remotely sensed Geo-Data for assessing land use and land cover change impacts on water resources and livelihoods in fragile ecosystems in Uganda
PhD Projects 1. Student: Jamiat Nanteza Local Supervisors: Prof. Majaliwa Mwanjalolo and Dr. Lwasa Shuaib Swedish Supervisor: Dr. Petter Pilesjö Title: Improving flood management using satellite-based data in Eastern Uganda
2. Student: Jerome Sebadduka Local Supervisor: Prof. Kansiime, Makerere University Swedish Supervisor: Dr Thomas Hickeler, Lund University Title: Integrating geospatial techniques in monitoring biophysical responses of palustrine wetlands to catchment- wide anthropogenic activities in the Lake Victoria basin, Uganda.
The envisaged outputs and outcomes of this initiative are; a remote sensing facility for gathering of real time environmental and disaster data and one postdoctoral research project two doctoral research projects
The initiative will be implemented in collaboration with Gulu University in Uganda and Lund University in Sweden.
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Sidas Climate Helpdesk (comments on project 1 only) 167
Project One is a good example of a program that will help GoU to build human and physical capacities to address the degradation of environmental resources especially in the climate change context. For example Uganda is heavy reliant on coffee exports for national prosperity, a rise in global temperatures of two degrees might mean a sudden reduction in available land for coffee (only the summits of the highlands might stay cool enough). If Sida‟s support for this project could mean better monitoring of this unfortunate development much is to be gained and hopefully mitigation measures can be applied early.
It is also generally commendable that capacity for monitoring climate change is strengthened in countries of the South. It increases the availability of, and access to data for scientists on this contentious issue and means that the discourse and debate can obtain a better national “ownership” if other voices than those of Northern scientists are heard in the debate.
Land Use and Land Cover Change (LULC) is recognized as a major environmental force that is increasing in the fragile montane ecosystems in Uganda It is of particular interest to analyze changes in the vegetation patterns and status of ecosystems on Mt. Elgon which is an important watershed both for the Lake Victoria Basin and the Nile Basin as well as one of the key ares of Uganda‟s coffee and tea cultivation: “Harnessing Remotely Sensed Geo-Data for Assessing Land Use and Land Cover Change Impacts on Water Resources and Livelihoods in Fragile Ecosystems in Uganda” (annex 6 in Faculty of Arts proposal) seems therefore like a very relevant initiative to enable sustainable management of these important ecosystem services.
Floods are likely to increase, both in magnitude and frequency, in the tropics due to climate change. In Uganda, floods were particularly experienced over the Northern-Eastern parts during 2007 These led to destruction of crops, animals and property as well as outbreak of diseases. Monitoring floods is a serious challenge to governments since they are associated with great effects to human life and property. Reliable information on recent, current and future precipitation is vital for making accurate and timely forecasts for floods. Uganda has apparently lacked adequate forecasting systems for this natural hazard and “Improving Flood Management Using Satellite-Based Data in Eastern Uganda” (Project 2 in annex 6) seems as an ample approach to address this deficiency.
Assessment by Sida The sub-program is presented in a focused way. It is well in line with the general proposal, and as can be seen from the comments from the Sida Helpdesk on Climate, it is also endorsed there.
However, Sida would like to add that in relation to project 1, the Development of a remote sensing facility at Makerere University, the sub-program should establish a close collaboration with the established GIS-laboratory at the Faculty of Technology, but also other GIS-laboratories around campus. Sida expects that the supported Faculties find ways to cooperate that will enhance the use and output from the existing GIS-facilities and the proposed new remote sensing facility in a mutually beneficial way.
The sustainability of a new facility at the Faculty of Arts is an important concern, that has to be taken into consideration.
Sida Research Officers Sector: Dr. Peter Green Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson
168
ASSESSMENT
FACULTY OF VETERINARY MEDICINE
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY 169
FACULTY OF VETERINARY MEDICINE, MAKERERE UNIVERSITY Capacity building in livestock biotechnology, production & ecosystem health towards improving livelihoods in Uganda’s cattle corridor and northern region
Sub-Program 1: Improving health and productivity of dairy and beef cattle economic cluster Sub-Program 2: Improving health and productivity of pig economic cluster Sub-Program 3: Improving health and productivity of goat economic cluster Sub-Program 4: Improving Uganda‟s wildlife tourism in western Uganda
Applying/Cooperating Institution Collaborating Institution Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences Makerere University Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SLU P.O. Box 7062 P.O. Box 7084 Kampala, Uganda SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
Coordinator Uganda Coordinator Sweden Prof. John David Kabasa Prof. Ulf Magnusson Dean, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Vice Dean, Research and International Cooperation Makerere University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences P. O. Box 7062 Phone: +46 18 672324 Kampala, Uganda Fax: +46 18 673545 Tel: +256 41 4554 685/+256 772 499 027 E-mail: [email protected] Fax: +256 41 4554 685 E-mail: [email protected]
PROPOSAL FROM MAKERERE UNIVERSITY
Abstract This proposal aims to enhance the health, productivity and competitiveness of animal-based / livestock economic clusters (cattle, pigs, goats, wildlife tourism) as traded commodities in Uganda‟s poorest region i. e. Northern Uganda and its associated cattle corridor. To attain the goal, this program plan to: 1) Enhance graduate training capacity at MU and partner universities in livestock biotechnology, production and eco-system health; 2) Build multidisciplinary research teams for improving priority traded livestock commodities through problem- solving research; 3) Establish networks of cooperation between MU, local universities, and Swedish partner institutions; 4) Build capacity to provide knowledge and competences for community and policy development; 5) Improve the terrain of female staff at the Fac. of Veterinary Medicine and other partner institutions in Uganda.
The initial research will map priority diseases (parasitic, bacterial and viral) and livestock productivity within the broad framework of socio-economic innovations systems. Joint technical (laboratory, epidemiological, socio- economic and temporal-spatial/GIS) studies and capacity building engagements will follow. This proposal is guided by the Millennium Development Goals (MDG‟s), Uganda‟s 2030 strategic vision: “prosperous nation, beautiful country, and harmonious people” and the National Development Plan (NDP: 2009- 2014) whose Theme is: Growth, Employment and Prosperity for All. Guided by the Makerere University strategic plan (2008/09-2018/19), and within the defines of the Makerere goals and objectives of enhancing research capacity towards poverty alleviation and sustainable national development, the FVM proposed work aims to contribute towards alleviating poverty for the people in Northern Uganda and the Cattle Corridor. In the understanding that this region has still got the lowest Human Development Index (< than 0.5%) in the country and is lagging behind most of the MDG‟s achievements because it has been gripped in two decades of civil war, insecurity and civil strife, leading to lost education opportunities for children, increased HIV/AIDS prevalence and loss of cattle, their main source of livelihood.
170
Capacity Objectives In the next four-year phase of Sida funding starting January 2010 the following objectives have been set: An academically strengthened Faculty of Veterinary Medicine; An empowered northern Uganda community availed with packages for: 1) effective control of herd and public health 2) disease prevention 3) livestock policy development and implementation 4) production and productivity improvement, and 5) conservation of indigenous breeds amidst varying climatic change scenarios.
Research Objectives Presented in individual sub-programs.
Expected outcomes The expected outcomes of the Sida support include: At least 4 PhDs of which at least 2 will be women At least 4 multi-disciplinary research teams in 4 tradable livestock commodities At least one Uganda-Swedish livestock research and training network New knowledge and competence for teaching and learning Research results dissemination and communication through: • Community & stakeholders‟ engagements • Innovative and popular versions of outputs such as books, manuals, videos, and models • Scientific publications • Feedback workshops and policy briefs
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by External Reviewer The PhD training planned in this proposal would significantly strengthen the competence of the academic staff at FVM, and contribute to a better situation regarding training of students at all levels at FVM. In order for this development to be sustainable, though, it is extremely important that the brain drain experienced during recent years can be stopped. This is an institution in rapid development, and a considerable widening of its teaching responsibilities and research program has taken place over a short period of time. This underlines the need of a continuously increased number and improved competence of staff in order to meet the needs both for teaching at a high academic level and for performing research of sufficiently high scientific quality. All in all, the relevance of the four themes is high, and although the quality of the proposed projects varies to some extent are all of sufficiently high quality to motivate support, especially against the background that FVM needs strengthening and training of staff over a wide array of disciplines.
Assessment by Sida Environment and climate change Helpdesk The project has a strong poverty alleviation focus and will provide for: - better health status of livestock which reduce the need for antibiotics etc in cattle rearing of which residues can contaminate environment and food; - a more efficient and sustainable management of Uganda‟s livestock will decrease the pressure for feed and water resources to sustain the overly large numbers of cattle that threatens to deplete the biodiversity of the country, especially in Northern Uganda which is an important reservoir for natural products.
Assessment by Sida Gender Helpdesk It is perceived that the program is well gender mainstreamed: “Where necessary, affirmative action will be done to target females at the faculty and the field”. Especially the investigation and understanding of the intra-household gender dynamics related to the keeping of cattle seems like an interesting topic.
171
Assessment by Sida The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine has previously not received Sida support within the Research collaboration with Makerere University. The proposal from FMV is well structured, although somewhat brief as concerns the scientific methods to be used in the nine research projects. It addresses a number of issues of high relevance for economic and social development in Uganda. The focus on Northern Uganda is very much in line with the Swedish cooperation strategy with Uganda. It is pointed out in the proposal that research grants would be one measure to counteract the fairly high “brain- drain” from the FVM. However, the proposal indicates that the faculty receives support from a number of different research funders, which raises the questions why these funds have not been sufficient and in which way the additional funds applied for from Sida would contribute to motivate the staff and skilled staff retention at FMV. Generally, the methods to be used in the different projects are not very detailed, which has sometimes made it difficult for the external scientific reviewers to make proper assessments of the quality of the proposed projects. Minor comments: As for the proposal there seems to be some minor error in the sum of the budgets for the different sub-programs. It would have been helpful if the budgets of the different sub-programs had been presented in one table, instead of a budget (p. 4) showing the different budget items.
Focus of the support should be research capacity building i.e. human capacity building with emphasis on PhD and Post doctoral training. However, research funds for Post doctoral fellows will have to be applied for in competition. The Post doctoral fund will be administrated by the School of Graduate Studies and direct funding for Postdoctoral research should not be included in the Faculty program budget. If Post doctoral fellows are involved in supervision of PhD students and to some extent MSc students, cost for supervising student field work and travel to Sweden to meet with Swedish supervisors can be included in the budget.
Subsistence grants will be disbursed directly through the Swedish Institute. The level for this post should be calculated per student in a separate column named “Swedish Institute”. Cost per month per student is to be calculated as 13 000 SEK (includes subsistence allowance, insurance, activities and administration). The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine must revise their budget according to the approved support and it should be submitted to Sida before disbursement can be made for the agreement period January 2010 – June 2014.
Budget Jan–June Sub-program 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Total Total Requested 2 740 400 2 132 600 2 295 800 2 036 000 0 9 205 800 SEK 1. Improving health and productivity of 550 000 550 000 550 000 550 000 250 000 2 450 000 dairy and beef cattle economic cluster 2. Improving health and productivity of pig 700 000 650 000 700 000 650 000 300 000 3 000 000 economic cluster 3 Improving health and productivity of 400 000 400 000 400 000 400 000 200 000 1 800 000 goat economic cluster 4. Improving Uganda‟s Wildlife 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tourism in western Uganda Total Approved SEK 1 650 000 1 600 000 1 650 000 1 600 000 750 000 7 250 000
Sida Research Officers Sector: Dr. Ros-Mari Bålöw Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson 172
FACULTY OF VETERINARY MEDICINE, MAKERERE UNIVERSITY Sub-Program 1: Improving health and productivity of dairy and beef cattle economic cluster
Project 1: Evaluation of impact of breeding technologies on beef cattle and household productivity in the Lake Kyoga basin. Project 2: Influence of reproductive and udder health management on productivity of dairy farms: A comparative study of Lake Victoria and Lake Kyoga crescent of Uganda (PhD project). Project 3: Investigation of brucellosis and leptospirosis in urban and peri-urban cattle in Uganda: studies for improved livelihood and public health. Project 4: Identification of strategies for smallholder livestock farmers to cope with a changing climate and climatic extremes.
Ugandan Senior Researchers Swedish Senior Researchers Dr David Owiny Prof. Ulf Magnusson Dept. of Surgey and Reproduction Fac. of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SLU Makerere University P.O. Box 7084 P O Box 7062 SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden Kampala, Uganda Tel: +256 772 443 658 Fax: +256 414 554 685 E-mail: [email protected]
Ugandan collaborators Dr. Maria Goretti Nassuna-Musoka Dr James Okwee-Acai Dr. Sam G Okech Dr. Florence Kyazze
Proposed PhD student Dr. Benon Kanyima
PROPOSAL
Abstract In the Lake Kyoga basin, cattle keeping have been the principal source of livelihoods. However, for more than two decades, the basin which is located in Northern Uganda has witnessed civil war and cattle rustling making it one of the poorest regions in Uganda. Various attempts at cattle restocking have not been coordinated leading to indiscriminate breeding and poor adoptability of offspring to the ecosystem. Anecdotally, the zebu which is the predominant breed in the basin is even getting smaller in size and weight today than they were two or so decades ago. In other words, productivity of livestock in the region is getting poorer, yet livestock production is being viewed by the Ugandan Government and her development partners as the key pillar for poverty alleviation in this region. Project 1 aims at enhancement of cattle productivity in the Lake Kyoga basin through testing and validating the applicability of various breeding technologies. Project 2 is a study to establish morbidity of herd infertility and udder health in the peri-urban dairy production systems in the Lake Victoria and Lake Kyoga crescent. Project 3 will determine the prevalence of brucellosis and leptospirosis in cattle and to identify risk factors for transmission as well as to characterize brucella and leptospira organisms causing the diseases. Project 4 aims to identify strategies for smallholder livestock farmers to cope with changing climate and climate extremes, particularly spread of infectious diseases.
173
Capacity Objectives To improve research and teaching in applicability of breeding technologies and livestock diseases at Faculty of Veterinary Medicine; To contribute to creation of environments that motivate staff and contribute to skilled staff retention; To involve and train farmers in cost effective and affordable mitigation methods for udder ill-health and infertility of livestock at diary farms in the Lake Victoria and Lake Kyoga crescents; To increase capacity among livestock farmers about strategies to cope with changing climate and climatic extremes. To train one PhD student; To strengthen capacity for PhD supervision.
Research Objectives Project 1 Analyze/characterize/establish the production parameters of zebu cattle in Lake Kyoga basin; Characterize the breeding practices for zebu cattle production in Lake Kyoga Basin; Test suitability of various Assisted Reproductive Technologies (oestrous cycle manipulation, artificial insemination, Multiple Ovulation Embryo Transfer) for genetic improvement of the zebu cattle; To determine the socio-economic implications of using assisted reproduction technologies on Small East African zebu in the Lake Kyoga Basin; To test and validate applicability of breeding technologies and their adaptability for improved productivity of Zebu cattle in Lake Kyoga basin.
Project 2 Conduct baseline survey of infertility and udder health incidences in the different management systems; Diagnostic testing and confirmation of causes of udder ill-health; Diagnostic testing and confirmation of causes for cow infertility; Diagnostic testing and confirming the of causes male-factor infertility; Multivariate regression analysis models on selected farms/cows.
Project 3 To determine the prevalence of brucellosis and leptospirosis in indigenous and imported cattle in urban and peri-urban areas in Uganda; To identify the associated risk factors for transmission of brucellosis and leptospirosis in cattle in these areas; To characterize brucella and leptospira organisms infecting cattle in the study areas; To disseminate research information to the various stakeholders so as to initialize mitigation strategies for these zoonoses. Project 4 To determine the prevalence of brucellosis and leptospirosis in indigenous and imported cattle in urban and peri-urban areas in Uganda; To identify the associated risk factors for transmission of brucellosis and leptospirosis in cattle in these areas; To characterize brucella and leptospira organisms infecting cattle in the study areas; To disseminate research information to the various stakeholders so as to initialize mitigation strategies for these zoonoses.
Expected results Project 1 Feasible methods for the improvement of productivity of SEAZ cattle identified and tested. A manual will be produced stipulating the protocols for improvement of breeding and productivity of SEAZ animals for educating the farmers and training of local technical persons to sustain the introduced technologies.
174
Project 2 Losses due to infertility and udder ill-health quantified and articulated. Cost effective and affordable mitigation methods developed and packaged in an operational manual. Farmers will be availed the manual, educated and a participatory development of adoption will be developed with all stakeholders. Project 3 Sero-prevalence of brucellosis and leptospirosis in urban and peri-urban cattle in Uganda determined. Types and serovars of brucella and leptospira organisms affecting cattle in urban and peri-urban livestock in Uganda determined. Key management and environmental drivers of brucellosis and leptospirosis persistence and spread in Ugandan cattle in urban and peri-urban areas determined. Gender dynamics important in interventions in urban and peri-urban livestock farming in Uganda determined. Farmers‟ perspectives on livestock diseases and their control determined. A working manual will be developed based on the above information and stipulating management approaches to mitigating these conditions by the farmers. Additionally, data from the study will be used to identify appropriate vaccines for control of the diseases. Education of farmers will be carried out and the control approach will be developed in a participatory manner with all stakeholders.
Project 4 Based on the database risk factors for reduced livestock production and ensuing deteriorated human livelihood will be identified. Coping strategies for livestock smallholders will be modelled and packaged in a manual for adoption
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Reviewer’s assessment Project 1 concerns the impact of breeding technologies on beef cattle and household productivity in the Lake Kyoga basin. The productivity of livestock in the region has declined, and the predominant zebu cattle breed has even decreased in size. The intention is therefore to characterize production parameters and breeding practices and then to test and validate different breeding technologies (oestrous cycle manipulation, Artificial Insemination, Multiple ovulation Embryo Transfer) for improving the productivity of zebu cattle. The project description is rather broad, and few details of the intended experiments are given. The approach seems more to be descriptive than hypothesis driven research. Very important information is going to be collected, but there is no indication that data on nutritional status/body condition of the animals will be described. These are of fundamental importance for reproductive success and without this information it can be questioned if the project will be successful. Advanced techniques such as MOET will probably be of minor importance for overall increasing of productivity, but may be valuable for teaching purposes, and for breeding of elite animals. This project does not include training of a PhD-student. The project is of moderate scientific quality. The nutritional status/body condition of the animals ought to be included in the traits studied, because it can be anticipated that the declining productivity of the animals to some extent is related to poor nutrition. Advanced breeding technologies will be of little use if the animals are in poor nutritional status.
Project 2 is a PhD-project and concerns the influence of reproductive and udder health management on productivity of dairy farms. The study aims to establish morbidity of herd infertility and udder health in peri-urban production systems to quantify production losses, and to design reproductive herd health models for mitigation of losses, also aiming to improve human livelihood. The project states clear objectives, and although the description of methods to be used is very limited it seems to be a project of sufficient quality and quantity to be suitable as a PhD-project.
175
Project 3 aims to determine the prevalence of brucellosis and leptospirosis in cattle and to identify risk factors for transmission as well as to characterize brucella and leptospira organisms causing the diseases. The methods are clearly described and it can be concluded that the quality of the project is good.
Project 4: This is a descriptive project and it is indicated that it will include training of a PhD, but this student is not named, CV is not provided, and this is not listed as PhD-project in the application overview. This project is of moderate scientific quality.
Assessment by Sida The sub-program seems to be a set of not very closely related projects although they all address management of cattle. The proposal indicates that “Animal health, productivity and value chains” is one of the six thematic areas that FVM has focused on and the sub-program may be seen in this context. It is recommended that the principal investigators takes into consideration the comments by the external reviewer. Focus should be on quality and PhD training and therefore projects 2 and 3 should be prioritised. The budgets have to be revised to fit into the approved amounts presented below.
Sida Research Officers Sector: Dr. Ros-Mari Bålöw Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson 176
FACULTY OF VETERINARY MEDICINE, MAKERERE UNIVERSITY Sub-Program 2: Improving health and productivity of pig economic cluster
Project 1: Improvement of the health and productivity of village pigs in Uganda through the control of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli neonatal and post weaning diarrhoea (PhD project) Project 2: Investigation of African swine fever in wild and domestic swine and development of appropriate control strategies in Uganda (PhD project)
Ugandan Senior Researchers Swedish Senior Researchers Dr Joseph Erume Prof. Claes Fellström Dept. of Veterinary Parasitology & Microbiology Dept. of Clinical Sciences Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SLU Makerere University P.O. Box 7084 P O Box 7062 SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden Kampala, Uganda
Ugandan collaborator Swedish collaborator Assoc. Prof. George Nasinyama Prof. Mikael Berg, SLU Assoc. Prof. Michael Ocaido Dr. Karl Ståhl, SVI Prof. F. Ejobi
Proposed PhD students Ikwap Kokas Dr. Denis Muhangi
PROPOSAL
Abstract Pigs are among the key livestock contributing significantly to improving the livelihoods of the resource-poor peasant farmers in Uganda. Moreover piggery production has been favoured as the most viable enterprise in the poverty eradication programs in Uganda rural folks, especially women and children. Notwithstanding, several diseases undermine the productivity of these animals. Among these diseases is swine colibacillosis, caused by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli organisms, which is disastrous to the Uganda village pig industry since most of the piglets born to sows die due to neonatal and post weaning diarrhoea. Thus, the Uganda government‟s efforts to improve livestock productivity, the major pathway out of poverty, are being frustrated by colibacillosis. Although, colibacillosis is known to be endemic and a big problem inflicting high mortalities in domestic pigs, no comprehensive studies on its epidemiology, the genetic diversity of the etiologic agents as well as its socio- economic impact in Uganda have been done and neither are there any control programs in place. This research is focused on delineating the factors behind the dynamics and persistence of colibacillosis in village pigs in Uganda, characterizing the E. coli virulence determinants and assessing other enteric pathogens of pigs. Additionally this work will investigate intra-household gender dynamics relating to control of colibacillosis and improving pig productivity. It is anticipated that data from this work will be used to develop and initiate a control program for colibacillosis in village pigs in Uganda. In project 2, which is an epidemiological study the main objective is to investigate why African swine fever (ASF) outbreaks occur in different pig production systems in Uganda. Spatial and quantitative modelling methods will be used to identify the risk factors, after which novel ASF control strategies will be suggested.
Capacity Objectives To improve research and teaching in livestock diseases at Faculty of Veterinary Medicine; To contribute to creation of environments that motivate staff and contribute to skilled staff retention; To train two PhD students; To strengthen capacity for PhD supervision. 177
Research Objectives Project 1 To isolate and characterize E. coli and other enteric pathogens from neonatal and post weaning pigs from different regions in Uganda; To determine the prevalence of fimbriae and toxin genes among E. coli strains isolated from neonatal and post weaning diarrheic pigs as well as from their healthy counterparts of the same age in order to obtain information on the distribution of different virulence factors in E. coli responsible for diarrhoea in piglets; To identify, characterize and quantify the key management and environmental risk factors of colibacillosis persistence and spread in Ugandan pig production systems; Investigate and understand the intra-household gender dynamics as they relate to the control of colibacillosis, and improving the success of pig productivity; To develop and initiate a control program for colibacillosis in domestic pigs in Uganda.
Project 2 Understand dynamics of transmission of ASF in domestic pig production systems; Understand the role of wildlife (wild pigs and soft-ticks) in transmission of ASF; Assessment of genetic variability of ASF virus isolated from different hosts and placesonduct baseline survey of infertility and udder health incidences in the different management systems.
Expected results Project 1 Enterotoxigenic E. coli and other enteric pathogens of domestic pigs in Uganda determined. Types and prevalence of fimbrial and enterotoxin genes underlying the virulence of ETEC in pigs in Eastern and Central Uganda determined; Key management and environmental drivers of colibacillosis persistence and spread in Ugandan pig production systems determined, key data to be passed to stakeholders for development of control strategies; Gender dynamics important in interventions in pig farming determined; Farmers‟ perspectives on pig diseases and their control (including ethno-veterinary products) determined; A working manual will be developed based on the above information and stipulating management approaches to mitigating this condition by the farmers. Additionally, data from the study will be used to identify appropriate vaccines for control of the disease; Education of farmers will be carried out and the control approach will be developed in a participatory manner with all stakeholders. Project 2 The factors underlying the persistence of ASF including the role of wildlife and soft ticks in Uganda will be availed. Additional epidemiological insights of the disease will be obtained from molecular epidemiological analysis of virus isolates. Based on the data so obtained, control strategies will be modelled and packaged in an operating manual for Uganda. The farmers and other stakeholders will be sensitized and educated and a participatory development of mitigation measures will be enacted for this endemic disease.
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Reviewer’s assessment Sub-program 2 comprises two research projects, both of them PhD-projects. The theme can be considered as very relevant, and the research projects address important health problems that may jeopardize the economic outcome of pig production. Project 1 concerns the control of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli neonatal and post- weaning diarrhoea, which may cause a high rate of mortality in pigs and hence decrease productivity. Clear objectives are stated and the research methods are sufficiently well described. The anticipated outputs of the project suggest a good progress in the understanding and control of this problem. The project is of good scientific quality and suitable as PhD-project. Project 2 is an epidemiological study aiming to investigate why African swine fever (ASF) outbreaks occur in different pig production systems in Uganda. Because of the wildlife reservoir (warthogs, bush pigs, giant forest 178 hogs) the disease is extremely difficult to combat, and among domestic pigs the mortality rate may be 100%. The project description is clear and interesting, objectives, research questions and methodology and expected outcomes are clear, suggesting that this is a project of high scientific quality, and a project that is likely to be a successful PhD-project.
Assessment by Sida The sub-program is well structured and the two projects addresses problems of high relevance in relation to the national plan for modernisation of agricultural in the country. The budgets have to be revised to fit into the approved amounts presented below.
Sida Research Officers Sector: Dr. Ros-Mari Bålöw Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson
179
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF VETERINARY MEDICINE Sub-Program 3: Improving health and productivity of goat economic cluster
Project 1: Prioritization and evaluation of indigenous plant derived bio-compounds for appropriate treatment of goat helminthosis (PhD project) Project 2: Investigation of ethno-veterinary antihelmintics potential of Moringa oleifera, pumpkin and acacia leaves for control of Haemonchus contortus in goats
Ugandan Senior Researchers Swedish Senior Researchers Prof. Akiiki Rubaire Prof. Johan Höglund Dept. of Veterinary Parasitology & Microbiology Dept. of Biomedical Sciences and Veterinary Public Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Health Makerere University Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SLU P O Box 7062 P.O. Box 7036 Kampala, Uganda SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]
Ugandan collaborators Assoc. Prof. Olila Deogratius Dr. Kennteh Okello Dr. Justine Nambi-Kasozi Dr. Samuel Okello Dr. Mathias Wasswa Luboyera
Proposed PhD student Dr. Immaculate Nabukenya
PROPOSAL
Abstract Project 1: Livestock are central to the livelihood strategies of 570 million poor people in the developing world and offer an important opportunity for poverty alleviation. Goats are very important to the poor in all the corners of the world. Generally goats contribute to the household assets in a number of ways: financial, social, natural and human. High mortality in goats and low fertility are major constraints to profitable goat production. Diseases continue to cause significant losses especially helminthosis. Helminthosis is a disease caused by nematodes, cestodes and trematodes affecting goats of all ages. The gastrointestinal parasites cause poor weight gains, poor production, severe weight loss or direct mortality especially in ruminants in resource-poor farming communities. In Uganda, helmithosis is among the most debilitating livestock conditions costing farmers millions of Uganda shillings through lost production and control efforts. Helminths control among goats in Uganda is mostly through use of modern anthelmintics by modern farmers and indigenous technical knowledge such as herbs by the resource poor farmers. The costs for modern anthelmintics are prohibitive making them out of reach for most rural communities. Use of indigenous plant preparations as livestock dewormers offers an alternative and sustainable method readily available to rural communities. Anthelmintic resistance is still poorly understood, thus a need to estimate its level and that of anthelmintic use among goat farmers. In addition, the study will prospect for herbs as an alternative for control of helminthosis. Project 2: The abomasal worm H. contortus, is the most pathogenic parasite considered a major threat to goats. The increasing emergence of drug-resistant strains of H. contortus in goats presents a formidable challenge to the poor rural farmers due to the high cost of the conventional anthelmintics and to the fact that H. contortus has a very high biotic potential and can build up to dangerous levels within a short time. This research will investigate the potential of ethno-veterinary plants such as Moringa oleifera, pumpkin and acacia leaves as an alternative to control H. contortus. It is envisaged that anthelmintic feed supplement of the aforementioned ethno-veterinary plants will be developed to control haemonchosis in goats.
180
Capacity Objectives To improve research and teaching in livestock diseases at Faculty of Veterinary Medicine; To train one PhD student; To contribute to creation of environments that motivate staff and contribute to skilled staff retention.
Research Objectives Project 1 To identify phytochemical properties, their seasonal and plant stage variations in T. vogelii and V. amygdalina; To characterize antibacterial, antioxidant, antifungal and anthelmintic activities in T. vogelii and V. amygdalina extracts; To isolate and characterize the anthelmintic compounds in T. vogelii and V. amygdalina; To evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of extracts and isolated bio-compounds from T. vogelii and V. amygdalina; To assess the level of antihelmintic use and anthelmintic resistance in goats in Uganda. Project 2 To the investigate the responses of feeding ethno veterinary plants such as Moringa, pumpkins and acacia leaves on weight gains and carcass values of goats infected with drug-resistant strains of H. contortus; To determine how much of ethno veterinary plant with the most anthelmintic effect on goats infected with drug-resistant strains of H. contortus should be fed as supplement.
Expected results Project 1 Plant bio-compounds with antihelmintic potential identified. Effective dose regimens evaluated. Manual developed for training and adoption. Farmers sensitized and educated on the appropriate product use. Mechanisms set up for continued supply and marketing of the products Research capacity developed through the PhD training Project 2 Plant bio-compounds with antihelmintic potential identified. Effective dose regimens evaluated. Manual developed for training and adoption. Farmers sensitized and educated on the appropriate product use. Mechanisms set up for continued supply and marketing of the products.
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Reviewer’s assessment Sub-program 3 comprises two projects concerning the improvement of health and productivity in goats; Project 1 aims to evaluate treatment of goat helminthosis by indigenous plant derived biocompounds. The intention is to validate plant preparations which are used by farmers to control helminthosis, and to assess the antihelmintic resistance status in goats. The proposal poses relevant research questions and describes clear objectives. The methodology is to some extent lacking in detailed specification of methods, but that might be caused by space limitations. The project is of good quality and suitable as PhD-project. Project 2 aims to develop antihelmintic feed supplements from ethno-veterinary plants to mitigate drug resistant Haemoncus contortus infection in goats in order to increase productivity. This is a rather small on-station project with interesting aspects. Among expected outputs it is indicated that a PhD will be trained in the project, but this is not listed as a PhD project in the application overview. It seems unlikely that this project provides enough data to support a full PhD. The project is of moderate scientific quality.
Assessment by Sida Project 2 in this sub-program seems to have a fairly limited scope are and it is recommended that this project is either given low priority or integrated into project 1. of this sub-program when the budget for the sub-program is revised to fit into the budget approved by Sida. 181
Sida Research Officers Sector: Dr. Ros-Mari Bålöw Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson
182
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF VETERINARY MEDICINE Sub-Program 4: Improving Uganda’s wildlife tourism in western Uganda
Project 1: Developing early warning system against zoonotic viral diseases amongst primates in Western Uganda
Ugandan Senior Researchers Dr John Bosco Nizeyi Dept. of Wild Animal Resources Managament Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Makerere University P O Box 7062 Kampala, Uganda
Ugandan collaborator Dr. Denis Karuhize Byarugaba Prof. Christine Dranzoa Dr. Innocent Rwego Assoc. Prof. Michael Ocaido Assoc. Prof. F. Ejobi Dr. Benon Asiimwe
PROPOSAL
Abstract Tourism in Uganda is the second foreign exchange earner, contributing close to 2.35 % of the GDP. Tourism is the number one industry that offers the largest multiplier effect in any economy. In Uganda the European Development Fund (EDF) has assisted the development of this sector since 2003 and improvement of rural livelihoods has began to be realized around protected areas (PAs) due to increased tourism investments, community based tourism initiatives and revenue sharing schemes from park revenue. These efforts can easily be slowed or completely terminated because tourism is very sensitive to security, biosafety and economic uncertainties. Uganda depends very much on nature-based tourism clustered in the west of the country where there is a serious threat from emerging zoonotic diseases due to the presence of a highly diverse primate species population and other reservoirs in the rich biodiversity of the Albertine Rift. This is exacerbated by the current trend in tourism request for “unique” adventures that deliver a meaningful experience. Increasingly, human and wildlife contact are manifesting in a variety of clinical conditions that may be overlooked by both human health and veterinary professionals. It is imperative that the health and eco-health professionals generate data and establish models to inform and guide decision makers if human life and the tourism industry on which they depend have to be saved in Uganda.
Capacity Objectives To improve research and teaching at Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. Research Objectives Determine the exposure of primates and people to important potential zoonotic viral pathogens; Understand the ecology of those potential zoonotic pathogens and their reservoir hosts in the study area; Identify risk factors for cross-species transmission of those potential zoonotic pathogens;
Expected results Potential zoonotic viral pathogens in primates will be identified and their risk factors and ecology understood. Development of an early warning system to predict occurrence of potential epidemics that can enable timely prevention and response measures to be put in place; and Use the information generated to run a sensitization campaign and evaluate its impact.
183
REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSAL
Assessment by external reviewer Sub-program 4 concerns Uganda‟s wildlife and aims to develop an early warning system against zoonotic viral diseases among primates. Considering the great economic importance of wildlife tourism in Uganda the protection of primates against zoonotic viral diseases is an important task. The sub-program is interesting and may be a good starting point for an intensified wildlife research at Makerere University. The quality of the project is good.
Assessment by Sida The wildlife fauna of Uganda is an asset both in relation to the tourism sector, as well as in terms of biodiversity. However, the sub-program has the character of a project which is not attached to the rest of the program. Furthermore, as there is no PhD training included the project will not be supported.
Sida Research Officers Sector: Dr. Ros-Mari Bålöw Country: Dr. Cristina de Carvalho Eriksson