Research equity in Uganda

The Challenge

Achieving equity within research and knowledge systems is important to ensure that all research voices can participate in tackling the most pressing challenges and that nobody is left behind. Inequities can be based on factors such as gender, social and cultural factors and institutions that the researchers are based in.

A dialogue event held by the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST) and INASP in 2018 resulted in a vision for a strong Ugandan research system which:

• Works together in a coordinated and collaborative way to deliver research that enables transformation, is resilient and achieves solutions to society’s problems.
• Is based on partnership, gender parity, connectivity and focused on achieving a cohesive goal.
• Is comprised of open and diverse networks that include and nurture all kinds of voices and knowledge systems.
• Is not risk averse or confined to the ways things have been done, but looks to the future – acknowledging how things could be done to achieve growth, change and progress.

To support this vision, INASP worked in partnership with Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST), under the auspices of  the GPEKE project, to strengthen the equity of the research and knowledge system within Uganda.

Our approach

With a focus on the areas of research communication, publishing, and gender equity, INASP worked with UNCST to support research institutions and individuals in Uganda to address key aspects of research capacity, so that research produced in the country can respond more effectively to national needs and priorities.  Key components of the work included:

Research communication

• Collaborating with partners in the development of INASP’s global platforms to better meet the needs of Ugandan researchers
• Adapting, integrating and embedding resources available on INASP’s global platforms into country-level research support programmes.

Academic publishing

• Supporting UNCST to strengthen the quality and credibility of country-level research publishing through national platforms and systems

Gender equity

• Working with UNCST to improve gender equity within the Ugandan research system, supporting the launch and development of the Gender Equity in Research Alliance (GERA) , now a registered NGO and digital platform that works with HEIs, research institutes and senior actors in government to advocate for change at the national level.

Between 2019-2022, INASP has supported GERA to encourage gender mainstreaming in over 62 Ugandan HE and research institutions, training 208 institutional representatives in gender