The SRA Symposium - College of Medicine

Papers
on research activity; management of consultancies; and policies on intellectual property, ethics
and research centres were developed but delayed for various reasons until 2005.
1. Development of research policy
A research policy was developed and approved in 2002 (University of Botswana 2002, Studman,
2004). This was written in a format that enabled an evaluation of compliance to be undertaken.
This was given high priority and was developed in harmony with the University’s overall strategic
goals, as recommended by Drummond (2003).
The policy was designed to be straight-forward and relatively short. It established the basic aims
of the university with regard to research, and emphasized those areas where growth was desired.
The policy was then circulated by e-mail throughout the whole university, and went through the
normal university procedures for approval of policies. At the University of Botswana this was a
lengthy process involving several committees, from departmental level to senate. Finally policies
were sent to the university council for approval. This process typically takes around two years for
completion. The research policy was no exception. Therefore it was necessary to utilize the policy
as a working document for decision-making even before approval. The policy included a paragraph,
which indicated that the Office of Research and Development will be responsible for policy
implementation, and that the guidelines will be placed in the university handbook. In this way the
practical aspects of policy implementation could be undertaken simply by using a document that
could be changed relatively easily, without seeking faculty, senate and council approval.
Once approved, attempts were made to familiarise staff with the content. Few academics can be
expected to find time to read a research policy, and it was therefore decided to remind staff continually
about the conditions and aims of the policy. Electronic media, meetings with faculty boards
and faculty executives, individual consultations, and reports to senior management all served the
purpose. It was essential to refer to the research policy frequently in discussions with staff, so that
gradually they became familiar with the terms of the policy.
2. Recovery and utilisation of internal funding through simplified, transparent procedures
The majority of research funds were being allocated to faculties on a per capita basis. Faculties
were using their own procedures for approval and allocation of funds, and in many cases these
were obscure, poorly advertised, and often excessively bureaucratic and complex. As a result most
faculties were stockpiling research funds in internal accounts. With the agreement of deans, early
in 2001 all unused research funds were returned from faculties to a central funding pool. In addition
a review of all existing research projects was initiated, and funds in inactive accounts were
also returned to the central funding pool. In this way almost P3 million (US$800,000) was recovered,
or roughly four years annual internal funding. The per-capita system was abandoned. Some
funds were then re-distributed to faculties: each received approximately 30% more than the total
funding they had allocated in the previous year, making a total of P600 000. The clear message was
given to faculties to use their resources or lose it. Subsequently Faculty funds were allocated first
on the basis of their allocations, but later the allocation was based on reported research outputs,
both moves proving to be unpopular with some deans.
The remainder of the available money was allocated through a series of university wide funding
rounds. In complete contrast to the previous system, deadlines were set for applications for funds,
a simplified application form was drawn up, and the funding rounds were advertised throughout
the university. Initially several funding rounds were advertised, including rounds which focused
on specific topics such as HIV/AIDS, or were limited to specific areas (e.g., new staff, or large projects).
The initial response was moderate. After 12 months trial, this was changed to two rounds
260 2005 Symposium Proceedings Book