THE NATIONAL RESEARCH CLEARANCE PROCESS

Oversight of research is done first at the institutional level by Research Ethics Committees (RECs), Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUCs), Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), National Forest Authority (NFA) and any other authorized lead agencies then second at the national level by the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST) in collaboration with Uganda National Health Research Organization (UNHRO). UNCST liaises with the rese arch secretariat, Office of the President to obtain security verification and clearance for the researcher. An additional requirement with regard to clinical trials is for the researcher to obtain a certificate from the National Drug Authority (NDA) in respect of a trial drug.

Step one:

Submission is made to a local Research Ethics Committee (REC)/ Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUCs)/Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA)/National ForestryAuthority (NFA)/National Biosafety Committee (NBC) for scientific assessment and ethical approval.

For submission to the REC, please contact the accredited committee at your institution of affiliation or obtain contacts via the UNCST website at the following link: https://www.uncst.go.ug/research-ethics-committee-accreditation/. The proposal and all data collection tools including consent forms (where applicable) should be submitted for review. 

After identification of the appropriate REC or IACUC, the researcher may go ahead and create an account and fill out the appropriate requirements for review in the National Research Information Management System (NRIMS): https://nrims.uncst.go.ug/ .

Step two:

Once approval is obtained, just with a click of a button the submission is made to the UNCST. The Principal Investigator (PI) should have soft copies of the documents below ready before making a submission:

1. Letter of introduction/recommendation from the organization of affiliation in Uganda (for foreign investigators only). The letter should mention the names of the foreign investigators and it should be addressed to the Executive Secretary, UNCST.
2. An administrative clearance letter from the head of the organization where the research is going to be conducted. This should be addressed to the PI or Executive Secretary, UNCST.
3. Admission letter for academic research (this applies to only East African students)
4. CVs for each investigator on the study team. The CVs should be dat ed a nd signed or initialed on each page.
5. Proof of payment of research administration and clearance fees for the study. The fees are as follows:
   

Step three:

UNCST makes submission of RS6 forms on behalf of the researcher to the Research Secretariat, Office of the President for security clearance to study districts.

Note: An institution that wishes to  export and  import plant  or  animal  specimen  for  further investigations, must obtain an export and import permit from the UNCST.

NB: Uganda National Council for Science and Technology reserves the right to reject any research proposa.

For any further information, please contact:

Beth Mutumba
Tel: 0414 557 025/ 0755 423 321
Email: b.mutumba@uncst.go.ug

Samuel Barasa
Tel: 0414 557 021/ 0779 452 441
Email: s.barasa@uncst.go.ug