Building Capacity for Research Ethics Committees in Uganda

Timely communication from Research Ethics Committees (REC) to researchers is essential to meet deadlines. We conducted a capacity building program for REC members, REC and research administrators, and researchers from seven RECs in Uganda in order to improve the research regulatory approval cycle. The training was delivered from March 2020 to July 2021. Trainees were evaluated using pre and post-training tests. There was an increase in the average score from 38% to 53% in pre and post-training test respectively for the personal effectiveness and leadership programme for REC and research administrators. There was an increase in the average score of from 53.9% to 70.1% in pre and post-training test respectively for training on emerging and complex study designs. We achieved shift in knowledge and skills in use of the National Research Information Management System. We recommend regular training of REC members and administrators for efficient review of research protocols.