NORHED workshop at Makerere

Makerere University in Uganda, which has been UiB’s partner for over 20 years, was awarded 12 out of the 47 projects that received funding from the 2013 NORAD call. UiB is involved in eleven NORHED projects, and many of these are in cooperation with Makerere University.

Joint Kick-off

It was decided to hold a kind of joint kick-off for the new NORHED projects at Makerere University. This made it possible for the different project coordinators and administrators to benefit from an exchange of previous experience and examples of good practice, as well as being able to consider the special requirements of the new NORHED programme. The workshop was organized by Edward K. Kirumira, Makerere University’s coordinator for the UiB collaboration. He worked together with coordinators from UiB, Thorkild Tylleskär and Thelma Kraft. In addition to personnel from UiB and Makerere, there were also some project administrators and leaders from our partner at MOI.

Change in Project Leadership

One significant change from previous NORAD programmes is that the South partner, in this case Makerere University is now the main partner and thus responsible for the grant administration, reporting, money transfers and for all contact with NORAD. Edward K. Kirumira and Thelma Kraft invited project economist Øyvind Mørkedal and advisor Ingvild Hope from the Centre for International Health to share some of their experiences in administrating international projects. The workshop focus was on NORAD projects, and the result-based management system that, by definition, the NORHED projects will use.

The workshop presented an overview of the new responsibilities for Makerere as the main partner institution, for each project leader and the new tasks and responsibilities for the various administrations. Mørkedal’s presentation on economy and reporting was especially interesting, as this is a new area for many of the workshop participants, and there were many questions and concerns.

Long-Term Partners in Capacity Building

Elisabeth Bwanga, Makerere’s NORHED-coordinator, led the group through two interesting days that highlighted the ties that bind UiB and Markerere together. In his concluding presentation, Professor Kirumira emphasized that the NORHED projects will strengthen the already substantial cooperation between the two institutions. He underlined that this is an excellent arena for growth and capacity development.