Request for Proposals: Design, Development and Implementation of a Digital Research Ethics Review System for the Rwanda National Research Ethics Committee (RNEC)

Background

The Centre for Impact, Innovation and Capacity building for Health Information Systems and Nutrition (CIIC-HIN), coordinating the TRACE Project in Rwanda on behalf of the Rwanda National Research Ethics Committee (RNEC), invites eligible firms to submit proposals for the design, development, and implementation of a Research Ethics Review System for RNEC and Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) in Rwanda.

The TRACE Project (Trial Regulation and Clinical Ethics Optimization), funded by the Gates Foundation, is supporting Rwanda in strengthening its ethics and regulatory systems through digital transformation and institutional capacity building. RNEC is mandated by the Ministry of Health to oversee the ethical conduct of health research in Rwanda.

The current platform used for protocol submission and review has operational and compliance limitations, while most IRBs in Rwanda operate using manual or semi-digital processes. This has resulted in inefficiencies in submission, review timelines, communication, monitoring, and reporting.

Following a comprehensive needs assessment, RNEC intends to procure a qualified firm to design, develop, and implement a Research Ethics Review System that will support RNEC and IRBs through a shared application portal and a multi-tenant review platform. The new system will improve efficiency, transparency, compliance, reporting, and overall management of research ethics review processes in Rwanda.

Objective of the Assignment

The objective of this assignment is to design, develop, and implement a Research Ethics Review System that will support the submission, review and notification, approval, certification, and monitoring of research protocols for RNEC and IRBs in Rwanda.

The system will provide a single shared online application portal for research protocol submission and review.

Location

Kigali, Rwanda