The V-RAMP program: Building research administration and management capacity in Nigeria

Abstract

The increasing volume and complexity of research activities in Nigeria necessitates urgent measures to improve research infrastructure in grants administration and management. The Vanderbilt-Nigeria Research Administration and Management Training Program (V-RAMP) seeks to build infrastructure capacity in research administration and management and research ethics at a major teaching hospital in Nigeria. We will perform a mixed methods needs assessment of the administrative and management environment and develop an action plan to address infrastructure needs, prioritize processes, and guide program implementation. We will capacitate a newly established Office of Research Administration and improve the knowledge and skills of research administrators and grant managers via short term in-person trainings in Nashville, Tennessee and in Kano, Nigeria and through remote learning opportunities. We will enhance local administrative efficiency and performance of research ethics operations through training and mentoring of members and staff of the ethics review committee. Systematic processes to streamline protocols, including a Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) protocol tracking database and standard operating procedures in the responsible conduct of research and rigor and reproducibility will also be developed. V-RAMP will enable the creation of a high-quality research administration environment that is knowledgeable, efficient, and compliant regarding the fiscal, management and ethical standards of sponsored research.

National Trauma Registries in LMICs: Long-Overdue Priority; Comment on "Neurotrauma Surveillance in National Registries of Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Scoping Review and Comparative Analysis of Data Dictionaries"

“…In another collaboration between institutions in Nigeria and the United States of America, Aliyu et al outlined the necessary components of building infrastructure capacity for research administration and management in LMICs. 15 The authors pointed out the need for bilateral administrative engagement across institutions as well as community engagement in research conducted by LMIC institutions. Moreover, the report highlighted that building research administration and management capacity must be coupled with adequate research ethics training.…”

“…The salient tenets of establishing and maintaining a high-quality registry in LMICs, as outlined by Aliyu et al, can serve as a template for other regional and global efforts to initiate a sustainable growth of research capacity in LMICs. 15 …”

The Profession of Research Management and Administration in Nigeria

“…The research landscape in Nigeria is expanding, however, with little or minimum impact engendered by inadequate funding, education, training, and research infrastructure (Odeyemi et al, 2019). The evolution of Research Management and Administration (RMA) in Nigeria is an attempt to improve on the inadequate research infrastructure, which has led to the establishment of dedicated offices for RMA in Nigeria (Aliyu et al, 2021).…”

“…One critical focus of all public and private institutions is the improvement of web presence, which was tested for compliance with RMA success parameters (Akindele & Kerridge, 2019). Research success in Health, Social Science, Engineering, and other fields, depends on the viability and involvement of RMA offices in institutions in Nigeria (Aliyu et al, 2021).…”

“…The Nigerian market is not yet a place where RMA is currently a profession (Aliyu et al, 2021). Non-professionals are employed and are informally trained to fit into the job descriptions that are supposed to be taken on by experienced and well-certificated RMA professionals.…”