When the Regional Centre for the Quality of Health Care (RCQHC) was set up in 1999, it was agreed that it would be temporarily hosted and administered by Makerere University in Uganda. However, when this arrangement continued for over ten years, the underlying institutional arrangements were perceived as not being “fit for purpose”.
Wasafiri was accordingly called upon in August 2011 to assist RCQHC in making some fundamental decisions about the purpose of its existence, and its structure and ways of working. The ultimate aim was to generate a set of recommendations on a possible legal autonomous model that would enable the Centre to operate at optimum capacity.
During preparations for the assignment, and especially when carrying out the diagnostic phase, Wasafiri’s guiding principle was that of giving our undivided attention to the client, listening with deep respect and without any sense of judgement. The views and reflections of the various stakeholders who were consulted on the type of institutional arrangements that would enable the RCQHC to function even more effectively were captured faithfully and analysed.
The draft report produced by Wasafiri, within the space of around 10 days, presented a range of feasible options. Responding to the draft report, the Director of RCQHC wrote to Wasafiri praising it as a “truly a professional job” and remarking “You are experts at helping organisations”.
