General

RUFORUM: Institutional Capability Statement

Published

6 years ago

on

February 17, 2020

By

Mark Wamai

The RUFORUM Secretariat, Plot 151, Garden Hill, Makerere University Main Campus, Kampala Uganda.

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The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) is a network of African universities. Until 2004, the Network had operated as a programme of the Rockefeller Foundation beginning in 1992 known as Forum for Agricultural Resource Husbandry (FORUM). FORUM focused on capacity building to enhance food and nutrition security, working with faculties of agriculture in 10 Universities in five countries (Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda and Zimbabwe).

RUFORUM is now registered in Uganda as an International Non‐Governmental Organisation (NGO) with a membership of 126 universities in 38 countries across the African continent. Membership to RUFORUM is open to African postgraduate degree-awarding institutions with faculties, schools, institutes or equivalent units in the field of agriculture and related sciences and those offering science, technology and innovation programmes.

Why RUFORUM exists

Institutionally, RUFORUM aims to:

Foster integration of African universities into the national agricultural innovation systems (NAIS).
Provide a platform for training quality graduates to support development processes in Africa.
Rationalise resource use and enhance economies of scale and scope.
Provide a platform for networking, resource mobilisation and advocacy for agricultural higher education, science, Technology and Innovation in Africa

To achieve the above aims, RUFORUM developed its Vision 2030 Strategy through a wide‐ranging consultative prioritization and consensus building process among the member universities and other actors from within and outside Africa for implementing the three strategic goals.

Inclusiveness – by promoting both a balance in the gender of researchers (faculty, student and partner agencies) and in the inclusion of a gender perspective in the project proposals;
Social responsibility – by promoting links with, and understanding of, conditions in rural areas and to expose students and faculty to the rewards of service through the projects supported;
Long-term change – through a focus on systemic change and capacity building;
Sustainability – through awareness of the environmental impact of the proposed research
Diversity – by recognizing and valuing differences and similarities in perspectives, by ensuring an appropriate balance between generic and disciplinary approaches to problem solving;
Creativity – by providing faculty and students with opportunities to develop innovative solutions both in addressing the problems faced by smallholder farmers, and in managing research projects in remote areas;
Collaboration – through the multi-agency teams encouraged through the CARP and to a lesser extent the GRG. Through these teams RUFORUM is dedicated to the emergence of pro-active networks and better communication which is further consolidated through the establishment of a National Forum;
Excellence – through an independent selection of the best proposals and a mentoring and monitoring system to ensure quality in its programs and awards, through encouraging such systems in all member faculties, and through building the reputation of the research and networking that emerges from the CGS;
Equity – by investing in the member institutions which are under-represented in grant awards so that they may compete effectively in the future; and,
Enhanced human capital – by encouraging timely graduation and commitment to serving African development