The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), established by ten Vice Chancellors in 2004, is a consortium of 113 African universities operating within 38 countries spanning the African continent. RUFORUM is coordinated by a Secretariat hosted by Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. The organisation evolved from its predecessor, the Forum on Agricultural Resource Husbandry (FORUM) program of the Rockefeller Foundation.
Eight Tech was contracted to build an information System together with the Enterprise Architecture of the institution. The Modules within the system (RIMS) include the following:
- Management, administration, and security features. The developer is required to provide for the following management, administration, and security features at the overall System level in an integrated fashion.
- Systems Administration and Management Functions
- Installation, Configuration and Change Management
- Operational Monitoring, Diagnostics, Troubleshooting
- User Administration and Access Control
- System and Information Security, risks audit and Security Policies
- Weekly and monthly back-up plan and Disaster Recovery
- The system should not accept uploading of .exe files
- Source for off- the – shelf software systems from the market where applicable;
- Recommend hosting options including cost and reliability implication
- RUFORUM Grants Module: This
module is expected to effectively manage all the grants in RUFORUM
- Proposal submission and Review-Compliance check, Approved Grant Information
- Grant Database-Calls; PI Information and bio data; Participating Researchers; status of implementation and products/outputs profiles per project, project implementation alerts
- Grant Report Submission and related alerts
- Grant Module interface to Finance, Training & Administration module
- Training and Quality Assurance Module:
This module is expected to enhance the RUFORUM Students training needs and
associated interfaces;
- Student’s bio data base, skills Enhancement courses
- Post –graduate Programme Information
- Relevant Interfaces with other modules
- Administrative modules: This module
is expected to enhance the administrative tasks execution including human
resource management and up to date contact, staff, and member university
databases;
- Contact Database
- Staff Bio-Database
- Archive of official documents
- Leave tracking system, Back to office, Staff Travels
- Calendar Management system, stores Records,
- Vehicle Tracking
- Member universities relevant information
- Institutional Repository Module
- Planning, Monitoring and
Evaluation Module: this module is expected to provide an online work plan
submission interface, back to office reporting and event scheduling;
- System for capturing Work Plans online
- Events Scheduling
- System for Capturing Lessons for
- Database of indicators by strategic objectives
- Back to office online reporting
- Relevant Interfaces to other modules
- Project Management Module: This
module is expected to catalogue project log-frames and budgets including
relevant information in regards to development partners;
- Project Log-frames
- Project budgeting and Information
- Donor Information
- Project reporting
- Project Log
- Scholarship Module: This module
is expected to effectively manage all the scholarships in RUFORUM;
- Applicant (application process and Biodata)
- Student (including program enrolled for at host university and learning)
- Student support (including mentorship details, Health service, educational and career guidance)
- Entrepreneurship
- Field attachment
- Skill enhancement
- Tracking alumni