Laboratory capacity building and skills development for a newly established road research centre

Abstract

Africa Community Access Partnership (AfCAP) is supporting research activities in Africa region. One of the projects supported by AfCAP in research activities was to build capacity and implement a laboratory skills development programme for laboratories of the Local Government Infrastructure and Transportation Research Centre (LoGITReC) in Tanzania. Laboratory capacity building efforts included human resources development, establishment of laboratory quality assurance procedures, basic laboratory work inventory system and equipment procurement. Development of general operational protocols which would provide guidance for the everyday general technical administration of the laboratory. The capacitation of the laboratory was aimed at providing capability to support the execution of the research programme. Staff at the LoGITReC laboratory and three other regional laboratories were the beneficiaries of the capacity building project. The paper highlights experiences as expressed by LoGITReC (the beneficiaries) on the capacity building programme. A positive contribution to skills development is evident and as a result of the establishment of the laboratories, increased access to testing facilities for materials used in rural road works in Tanzania has been realised.