From 12 to 16 October 2026, a team from the Science for Africa (SFA) Foundation visited the University of Ibadan (UI), Nigeria, to assess the institution’s research management systems, identify opportunities for improvement and examine the conditions needed to sustain the contribution of the Strengthening Health Systems Capacity in Africa for Pandemic Equity and Responsiveness (SHARPER) Project beyond its funding period.
SHARPER Project is supported by the Africa Pandemic Sciences Collaborative (The Collaborative), a multi-year partnership between the SFA Foundation, the Pandemic Sciences Institute (PSI) at the University of Oxford, and the Mastercard Foundation.
The project seeks to strengthen Africa’s capacity for pandemic preparedness and response, with a focus on research ethics, health data security, and equitable community benefit-sharing. The visit provided an opportunity to examine how stronger institutional systems and policies could support these objectives beyond the lifespan of individual projects.
How SFA Foundation Assessed UI’s institutional capacity and priorities
The SFA Foundation team consisted of Dr Linda Murungi, Senior Programme Manager; Carol Muriuki, the Finance Specialist; Allen Mukhwana and Vincent Nkundimana, Research Management Workstream Officers; and Charles Ogejo and Isaac Leting, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Officers.
The assessment involved meeting with the heads of 14 management and operational units across UI’s main campus and the College of Medicine. Using the Good Research Management Practice (GRMP) framework, the SFA Foundation team interviewed the personnels and reviewed documents, to examine the institutional strengths, operational gaps and opportunities to improve research support systems.
At the end of the five-day assessment, the team debriefed the University of Ibadan’s management, discussing identified institutional assets, including the university’s established Research Management Office, the University of Ibadan Research Foundation, the experienced research community, and standard operating systems. These provide a strong foundation for improving research support and aligning institutional capacity with broader national research priorities.
During the debriefing, the team also highlighted areas requiring further attention. These include strengthening the strategic role and professional development of research management staff, improving coordination across the university’s operational units and exploring a more integrated digital grants management system. Other areas include strengthening legal support for research agreements and clarifying arrangements for intellectual property, data ownership and sharing.
According to the assessment teams, addressing these areas could help the university manage research partnerships more effectively, protect research outputs and data, meet ethical and regulatory requirements, and strengthen its capacity to support complex health research during public health emergencies.
Connecting research management with long-term impact
A key focus of the visit was embedding SHARPER’s objectives within wider institutional and national systems. Hence, discussions with university leadership explored policy engagement and regulatory pathways for sustaining research ethics, health data security and equitable benefit-sharing practices.
The assessment resulted in a couple of formal commitments aimed at research capacity strengthening and sustainability. This aligns with the SFA Foundation’s interest in strengthening research capacity, fostering collaboration and translating scientific knowledge into solutions for Africa’s development.
The activities that will follow include a Good Research Management Practice Training of Trainers programme and further work on research hosting and full-costing tools. These are prospective activities that could support continued capacity development and the adoption of stronger research management practices.
About SHARPER
The Strengthening Health Systems Capacity in Africa for Pandemic Equity and Responsiveness (SHARPER) Project is one of seven consortia supported by the Africa Pandemic Sciences Collaborative. The consortium comprises six partner institutions: the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan (CoMUI), Nigeria; the University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa; the Cameroon Bioethics Initiative (CAMBIN), Cameroon; Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHES), Malawi; Afya na Haki Institute (Ahaki), Uganda; and the Tropical Institute for Community Health (TICH), Kenya.
CoMUI is the lead institution, with Professor Ademola Ajuwon of the Department of Health Promotion and Education serving as Principal Investigator. The broader objective of SHARPER is to strengthen the institutional and policy conditions that enable African research systems to respond effectively to health emergencies, uphold ethical responsibilities and deliver meaningful benefits to the communities whose participation makes research possible.
