CIRIMO

Centralized Institutional Research and Innovation Management office (CIRIMO)

With financial support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Makerere University (MU) as a change agent is partnering with other Universities in Uganda to improve medical education and research through the Medical Education for Equitable Services to all Ugandans (MESAU) consortiums. Section 4.2 of the MUÔÇÖs research and innovations policy emphasizes the need to enhance MUÔÇÖs Research and Innovations Management (RIM) in units that exist under the universityÔÇÖs decentralized governance system. Makerere University College of Health Sciences (MakCHS) - one of 8 such units, has four schools: Medicine, Public Health, Biomedical Sciences, and Health Sciences.Governed by the above and other MU policies, a MakCHS centralized RIM mechanism is being developed, to serve as an integral part of the Directorate of Research and Graduate Training (DGRT) which is MUÔÇÖs Centralized Institutional Research and Innovation Management office (CIRIMO).

By strengthening the college-based RIM functions like; grants and contracts management, finance and procurement functions, innovations and intellectual property management and other research administration functions; the MakCHS CIRIMO will act as a bottom-up catalyst to create regional and University-wide transformation. The MakCHS CIRIMO aims to influence MU├ö├ç├ûs policies and guidelines to more ably address the research support needs of its (MU├ö├ç├ûs) eight constituent colleges. As the lead institute in the iRIM-MESAU consortium, MakCHS CIRIMO hopes to generate similar transformations in research support systems at other research institutes in the country and the region as a whole.  Through strategic meetings with partnering research institutes; bottlenecks and gaps to enhancing research shall be identified and mitigation measures will be collectively derived. 

Goal
To develop/strengthen Centralized Institutional Research and Innovation Management office (CIRIMO)
Vision
 To be a leading consortium in research administration and management in Africa.  
Mission
 To ensure success and integrity in all aspects of the research enterprise from pre-award to post-award and to translation of research and innovations into benefits for the public by strengthening institutional research and innovation offices and developing a cadre of competent research administration professionals.
AIMS

  • To strengthen a CIRIMO at MESAU institutions with enhancement of infrastructure, policies and staff that will support faculty and students in applying for and managing research grants
  • To develop a Ugandan network of CIRIMOs that facilitates collaboration between them & RAs
  • To develop through training workshops and mentoring a cadre of competent professionals in research administration that can address current and future NIH and other funding agencies├ö├ç├û research grants policies.
  • Assess progress of the CIRIMOs including prospects for sustainability and contribution to capacity building.