Makerere University Research and Innovations Fund Round 8 (Mak-RIF 8)
Makerere University Research and Innovations Fund (Government of Uganda)
Makerere University's flagship government-funded research programme is accepting new research and innovation proposals aligned with Uganda's national development priorities.
Last checked 3 October 2026
This call is closed. The deadline was 2 October 2026. This page remains available for reference.
Closing time not stated. Published timezone: Africa/Kampala.
At a glance
- Funding / main benefit
- Applied research responding to Uganda's national development priorities
- Deadline
- 2 October 2026Africa/Kampala
- Duration
- Not stated
- Location / format
- Not stated
- Career stage
- Early-career researcher, Mid-career researcher, Established researcher
- Geographic eligibility
- Uganda
- Call opened
- 31 August 2026
- Applicant sensitisation webinar
- 8 September 2026
- Deadline
- 2 October 2026
About the opportunity
The Makerere University Research and Innovations Fund (Mak-RIF) is a Government of Uganda allocation channelled through Makerere University to fund research and innovation that responds to national development priorities. It is an internal university competition rather than an open international call.
Round 8 opened on 31 August 2026 with UGX 6 billion available and at least 58 awards expected across the round. It is a project grant scheme: teams propose defined pieces of work with users, outputs and a translation pathway, not open-ended academic exploration.
Because the fund is publicly financed, reviewers look for a clearly Ugandan problem and a credible route from findings to policy, service delivery, products or practice. Award categories and ceilings are set in the official Round 8 call document; check them there before you budget.
Is this for me?
Best suited to: Makerere staff with an applied problem, a named user of the results and a plausible route from evidence to policy, service delivery or a product.
Uganda relevance: Uganda based, but eligibility is tied to a qualifying Makerere University appointment rather than to Ugandan nationality alone. The PI and Co-PIs must hold eligible Makerere appointments as defined in the call.
Not suitable if
- You do not hold an eligible Makerere appointment and have no eligible Makerere PI
- The study is descriptive with no identified user of the findings
- The proposal is essentially a personal thesis or publication plan
- The budget or scope cannot fit the category ceiling in the official call
Methods Bench fit considerations
- You hold a qualifying Makerere University appointment that allows you to serve as PI or Co-PI
- Your project addresses a specific Ugandan problem rather than a general literature gap
- You can name the ministry, agency, district, industry or community that will use the results
- You have a realistic translation pathway to policy, practice, a product or a service
- Your team can deliver within the duration set in the official call
Editorial guidance, not an eligibility verdict. Confirm requirements with the funder.
What the opportunity provides
- Applied research responding to Uganda's national development priorities
- Innovation, prototyping and technology adaptation with identified users
- Health and public health research
- Agriculture, food systems and engineering research
- Social science and policy-facing research
UGX 6 billion is available across Round 8 and at least 58 awards are expected. Individual award categories and ceilings are not reproduced here; confirm them in the official RIF-8 call document.
Methods Bench application considerations
The appointment rule. Many strong Ugandan researchers cannot lead a RIF application because they do not hold a qualifying Makerere appointment, so the PI question must be settled first.
Submitting a generic descriptive academic study. Without a clear translation pathway, a technically sound proposal still scores poorly in this fund.
- Do I hold an appointment that allows me to be PI or Co-PI?
- Is my problem statement specific to Uganda?
- Can I name who will use the findings and how?
- Does my budget fit the ceiling in the official call?
- Can my college or school clear the submission before 2 October?
- Have I read the Round 8 call document rather than a previous round?
Eligibility checklist
- Institution: Makerere University. PI and Co-PI eligibility is defined by appointment type in the official call.
- Country: Uganda
- Researchers outside Makerere: Not specified in the published call summary available to us. Confirm collaboration rules in the official Round 8 document before planning an external partnership.
- Career stage: Open to early-career through established researchers holding eligible appointments
What to prepare
Required at this stage
- Proposal submitted through the Mak-RIF process as set out in the official Round 8 call
How to apply
- 01
Check your appointment eligibility
Confirm that you and your Co-PIs meet the PI/Co-PI appointment rules in the Round 8 call.
- 02
Attend or review the sensitisation webinar
Held on 8 September 2026 at 12:00 PM EAT.
- 03
Select a category and confirm the ceiling
Read the funding categories and ceilings in the official call before budgeting.
- 04
Develop the proposal with your intended user
Agree the problem and the use of results with the ministry, agency, district or community involved.
- 05
Submit through the official Mak-RIF process
Follow the submission route and format stated on rif.mak.ac.ug.
Sources and verification
Last checked: 3 October 2026.
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