# Technology Transfer & Capacity Building

In capacity building, does the inclusion of explicit technology transfer and training objectives in African trial protocols indicate a validated model for building sovereign research capacity? This audit searched 23,873 African trial descriptions on ClinicalTrials.gov for technology transfer, laboratory development, and investigator training keywords through March 2026. An estimated eighty trials explicitly incorporated capacity building into their core protocols, representing less than one percent of total African registrations. The 203 trials with community engagement and the 452 cluster-randomised trials showed the highest rates of embedded capacity building. These regenerative models transform the extractive research paradigm by permanently elevating local laboratory, bioinformatics, and regulatory capacity beyond the individual trial duration. South Africa and Uganda hosted the largest number of capacity-building trials reflecting their mature institutional partnerships. These findings provide a blueprint for ethical funding mandates requiring embedded infrastructure development as a condition for international research partnerships. Interpretation is limited by keyword-based identification of capacity building objectives.

## References

1. Alemayehu C, et al. "Behind the mask of the African clinical trials landscape." Trials. 2018;19:519.
2. Drain PK, et al. "Global migration of clinical trials." Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2018;17:765-766.

## Note Block

- Type: research
- App: https://mahmood726-cyber.github.io/africa-e156-students/governance-justice/dashboards/tech-transfer.html
- Code: https://github.com/mahmood726-cyber/africa-e156-students/blob/master/governance-justice/code/tech-transfer.py
- Data: ClinicalTrials.gov API v2
- Date: 2026-04-05