Data Systems

Building Systems for Data Management at ULCHS through Collaborative Learning and Adaptation

Since 2018, the University of Liberia College of Health Sciences (ULCHS) has steadily expanded its academic offerings, adding Public Health and Midwifery programs to the long-standing Schools of Medicine and Pharmacy. With this growth came the realization of a pressing need to migrate from a mostly paper-based data collection to a robust data management system supporting the college's burgeoning research and administrative demands.

ULCHS has used REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) for BRIDGE-U: Liberia data since the 2021 onset of the project. In 2022, ULCHS began leveraging REDCap for financial and administrative systems.

(ULCHS Data System Team) from left front: Susan T. Kleeme-MEL Officer,

Julateh K. Mulbah-Data Systems Coordinator, Ernest M. Kiazolu, Jr.-Data Systems Director, David O.T. Lamah-MEL Coordinator & Sidney Williams-MEL Officer

The first administrative REDCap project - a database of all ULCHS faculty - faced challenges in obtaining survey responses from busy faculty, many of whom were not accustomed to digital systems. However, after reflection and engagement with faculty and staff, the team adopted a new process of involving academic leadership and obtained increased faculty engagement through tailored support and outreach (including by phone and text in addition to email), frequent updates, and collaboration with department heads.

This approach paid off as faculty participation rose, and ULCHS succeeded at building a faculty database which is not used to track faculty completion of relevant trainings and to document faculty research interests, facilitating outreach related to grant opportunities and research career development.

REDCap continued to be applied in other areas of the college’s operations. The Human Resources department, challenged with manual timesheets and complex effort accounting, collaborated with the Data Systems team to launch the “Timesheet Project,” allowing more efficient data entry, approval, and record keeping across the College. The data systems team rovided ample and flexible training tp staff and created user-friendly guides including a video tutorial, paving the way for widespread adoption of the system. The success of the timesheet project opened the door for additional initiatives. ULCHS now manages all of its procurement requests and procurement documentation in REDCap, along with financial processes such as advance request, liquidation, and reimbursement.

As ULCHS continues to embrace REDCap and refine its data management strategies, it is positioning itself as a 21st-century leader in higher education in Liberia, demonstrating that innovation and collaboration can revolutionize systems even in the most challenging environments.