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Mentorship may be conceptualised in terms of the form it takes, function it serves or it's learning centred nature which makes research in mentoring to receive attention within different disciplines. This article attempts to understand how a mentoring programme can contribute to enhanced research capacity building in the field of Innovation and Development (I&D) studies in Africa. It does this through a qualitative study of an African-oriented research capacity building network (AfricaLics) that aims at building a critical mass of scholars in I&D studies in the continent of Africa. Drawing on theoretical approaches in higher education that support systems of interaction thinking, the paper finds that more systematic and extensive mentorship, and awareness about different types of mentorship can enhance capacity building in the field of I&D studies. The paper recommends that development of an I&D mentorship programme must consider a mix of both structured and unstructured elements that are aligned to the local context. These context-specific elements are critical to building sustainable research capacity building programmes in academic disciplines that are transdisciplinary in nature such as I&D studies.

To ensure its partners have the capacity to implement gender responsive projects, COL introduced an online training programme on gender equality and women's empowerment. This paper reports the methodology and results in measuring the efficacy of this online training at individual and organisational levels. The ability of individuals and organisations to plan and implement transformative actions with a gender perspective require adequate knowledge, skills and a change in attitudes. Given this need, the commonly used Knowledge, Attitude, Skills (KAS) model was used to measure the efficacy of this online training at individual and organisational levels by defining different dimensions of capacities with three learning domains -- Cognitive, Affective, Psychomotor (Bloom's Taxonomy). The baseline and the end line of KAS at the individual level on the six core gender capacities was established for comparison. Two questionnaires were designed to assess the learning achievements of the participants and to measure the efficacy of the training. An analysis of the study registers a clear trend of positive outcomes at the individual level regarding improved knowledge, attitudes and skills on gender equality that could be applied in their work. Furthermore, the paper reports that the organisations demonstrate an enabling environment for more gender equal policies, structures and practices and proposes ways to convert the success of this training by integrating it into the broader gender equality strategy of these organisations.

African PhD fellows who are interested in completing (part of) their research in Europe cannot always afford to leave their place of residency for prolonged periods of time. Yet, young researchers from African countries might be searching for particular guidance from experts in their field that might not be accessible in their home countries. Consequently, both PhD fellows and universities and postgraduate research institutes require more flexible educational formats that cater for these circumstances. With the growing availability and potential of online tools and methodologies, it is possible to choose from a range of options for PhD education. Communities of Learning (CoL) have emerged as an approach to support the exchange of knowledge and experience among participants on the Internet. Participants can collaborate in developing research skills, while at the same time creating a feeling of belonging, which helps individuals to establish personal ties and relations. The paper introduces the research and educational project: Community for Learning for Africa (CoLA). It was designed to help participating actors from Africa and Europe to get and to stay connected online, to collaborate in joint training activities and projects, as well as to openly exchange ideas and thoughts, all in relation to underlying PhD research trajectories via the Internet. The paper offers results from a needs assessment undertaken in spring 2015, among PhD fellows and supervisors in Africa on what they would need CoLA to include, as well as template of what CoLA could include.

The medicines regulatory landscape in Africa is undergoing transformation with at least two countries having National Medicines Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) that operate at World Health Organization (WHO) maturity level 3. However, this represents the exception as over 90% of African NRAs have limited capacity to perform core medicine regulatory functions, have a shortage of competent regulatory professionals, have high staff turnover, lack diversity of scientific expertise, and have staffing shortages relative to the high workload. A systematic approach to developing the regulatory workforce is therefore crucial to addressing the existing shortfalls in regulatory capacity, particularly at this time when efforts are underway to operationalise the African Medicines Agency (AMA). In this article, initiatives that are building African NRAs' regulatory capacity and developing their workforce are reviewed in preparation for work to be conducted by the AMA. We found that the African Medicines Regulatory Harmonisation (AMRH) initiative has been at the forefront of capacity building and workforce development mainly through the designation of specialised Regional Centres of Regulatory Excellence and the implementation of medicines regulatory harmonisation initiatives in regional economic communities. In addition, some NRAs within high-income countries and trusted institutions have been supporting regulators in low-income countries with registration assessments and facilitating access to quality-assured medical products through their stringent review procedures (SRPs). Capacity building has subsequently been facilitated through this active involvement of African regulators in SRPs. This article also provides recommendations for further capacity building and workforce development., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Vice chancellors of public universities in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region face a myriad of challenges that require research- and data-driven decision-making. This paper presents a decision-making model for college and university leadership - The Two-Way Practitioner-Researcher Loop. This scholarship of practice has the twin goals of developing a knowledge base for college and university leadership and improving leadership practice in the university. The scholarship of practice comprises two "loops". In the practitioner-to-researcher loop, vice chancellors develop practitioner-defined research agenda to be researched internally by Departments of Institutional Research and externally by members of Higher Education research communities. In the researcher-to-practitioner loop, research findings are communicated back to vice chancellors for immediate application to institutional planning, policy formulation, and decision making. This scholarship of practice develops a knowledge base comprised of both "knowledge for practice" and "knowledge in practice" at the level of university leadership. To build capacity for vice chancellors to craft research agenda and questions emanating from their "knowledge in practice", we identify internal mechanisms and external associations, training programmes and other forums that provide leadership development and support for these university executives.

This study compares an ideal model of a sustainable research institution and the dominating model used by Sida. It uses a complementary capacity building (CCB) model aimed to promote an improved research culture for strengthening the sustainability of research partnerships in economics and management disciplines. This study uses bibliometric data to show post-graduation publication results from graduated Ph.D. students from the Sida supported research partnership in Rwanda and data from public records to show results from the implementation of the CCB model in the same country. The results show an increased publication activity among a significant proportion of the faculty members targeted by the CCB model and its contribution to improved research culture. Based on the evidence, the paper provides some recommendations to induce improvements in outcomes, including activities promoting a more active research culture in research partnerships with sub-Saharan African institutions.

In this article we address the debate on regional skills formation systems in Africa. We draw on the social ecosystems model (SEM) developed by Hodgson and Spours to analyse data from four case studies that reflect the complexities of African economies, rural and urban, formal and informal. The SEM model helps us focus on the three dimensions of a strong skills ecosystem: collaboration between a range of actors, key institutions and system leaders within the region (the horizontal); top-down policies, regulations, and funding streams that enable or constrain the regional skills ecosystem (the vertical); and the points where these two interact, often through mediation activities. In the case of the last of these three, our cases point to the importance of nurturing organisations which can provide SEM leadership, particularly in more fragile ecosystems. Yet, in none of the cases, are public vocational institutions playing the strong anchor role envisaged in the model. The significance of the paper lies in three ways it develops the SEM in relation to regional skills ecosystems. First, we problematise the notion of a facilitatory state and place it within wider national and global webs of power. Second, we insist that the local or regional is always embedded in and networked into myriad national and international levels. This requires a more complex understanding of how social skills ecosystems operate. Third, the notion of an anchor institution requires further elaboration. In most social ecosystems these institutions need to be built or strengthened and a clearer understanding is required of the processes of institutionalisation and what mechanisms make it possible to build this capacity and sustain it over time.

For decades, the lack of high‐quality empirical economic research on the state of Africa's agriculture and rural economies has been an important factor impeding the formulation of evidence‐based policy on the continent. The Structural Transformation of African Agriculture and Rural Spaces program aims to build a critical mass of early career African scholars and policy research through an emphasis on mentorship and professional development to help remedy that deficiency. This paper explains the motivations, origins, and outcomes to date of the program, and offers lessons learned for others wishing to create research capacity development opportunities for under‐represented groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) utilizes training as a major component of the support it provides to its member countries in Africa. In the past, stand-alone training events targeting individual actors were the norm. However, an external evaluation indicated that this type of training scores low in terms of sustainability. The FAO has recently adopted a more sustainable approach to training and learning as part of its new corporate approach to capacity development. Drawing on four recent experiences implemented in Africa from 2010 to 2014, this paper discusses the concept of training sustainability as adopted in the FAO's operations, looking at the extent to which both learning results and processes are transferred to country and/or regional organizations. Lessons learned are presented for consideration in the design and delivery of future learning activities in Africa.

New tools are being explored to provide collective and participatory means of governing data to promote the management of data in ways that benefit those from whom data is collected. This paper discusses whether data trusts are feasible structures in an African context by outlining specific considerations that should be prioritised in the development of bottom-up and collective models of data governance on the continent. Making use of international instruments, principles and established values like Ubuntu, the paper analyses the importance of collective decision-making through collective and participatory governance, women's empowerment, and capacity-building, and how the alignment of data trusts to African contexts could help balance historical power differentials, and emphasise heterogeneity as the starting point of all discussions in the digital age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deltas are areas where pressures (e.g. climate change, rapid urbanization, water related shocks and stressors) as well as opportunities (e.g. economic growth, delta-city metabolism, sustainable development) collide to an unprecedented extent. The deltas are considered to become the most vital and critical hotspots in the world for sustainable development. Consequently, immediate acceleration in hands-on knowledge partnerships is required for sustainable low-carbon emission and resilient investments in delta areas. The mission of the Delta Alliance is to improve the resilience of the deltas in the world through knowledge sharing and capacity building. In this paper we elaborate on the various roles that the Delta Alliance has played and how this has been of significance for other developing delta regions in the world. Some of the successes and lessons learned are highlighted, with a particular focus on the African deltas. We argue that increasing investments in knowledge sharing and capacity building among - and with - those working in the deltas for creating equitable and trusted partnerships are a necessary condition for an integrated approach to the challenges in the deltas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heat is one of the most serious hazards in the world as it affects human health and is extremely dangerous to vulnerable populations such as the elderly, people with preexisting cardiovascular or respiratory conditions, and even healthy people with prolonged sunlight exposure during heat waves. As the globe has warmed over the past several decades, extreme heat has become more frequent and intense than ever before, and Africa, especially the Sahel in West Africa, is one of the regions of the world where heat is a major public health concern exacerbated by livelihood activities during the heat season. Yet, there is a major gap in monitoring and forecasting heat waves in Africa. This paper describes NOAA's role in enabling heat–health early warning in Africa, working with meteorological services and health professionals. Emphasis is on real-time heat wave forecasting at week 2, including the postprocessing of the NCEP model outputs, and providing the information to the meteorological services in Africa to serve as guidance in national heat wave forecasts. In addition, the paper describes the end-to-end process of heat hazard outlooks and translating the forecasts into early action and early planning to reduce heat risk to human health. Furthermore, the paper addresses the very important aspect of capacity development tailored at enhancing forecasters' skills to prepare and issue heat wave forecasts and training of a cadre of health professionals to work with meteorologists to coproduce heat–health bulletins and to issue heat–health early warnings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-war development economics drew broadly from an array of different theoretical approaches, including theorizing from the south. Academic economists and policy makers in African countries openly and critically debated alternative possibilities from different theoretical traditions. As the multi-paradigmatic approach was under assault, the great development economist Albert Hirschman reminded us, in 1981, that this transcendence beyond monoeconomics arose out of the 'unprecedented discredit of orthodox economics' from within the economics establishment following the Great Depression and that the reassertion of neoclassical economics was somewhat predictable. The unevenness of the patterns of development provided the opening for the wholesale attack on development economics. Following the crisis of the universities in the 1980s, brought on to some degree by donors like the World Bank, economics departments on the African continent were reconstituted and reshaped in the image of the monoeconomics of the West. Capacity building efforts emphasized a single theoretical paradigm aimed in part at supporting structural adjustment policies. The African Economic Research Consortium, based in Nairobi and founded in 1988, played a key role in transforming the economics profession in Africa. The paper will map out the institutional dynamics and the consequences of reconstructing economic departments and government agencies in African countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To what extent do colonial ties and knowledge spillovers continue to influence the development of scientific capabilities in sub-Saharan Africa? Using a new database of publication output of 46 sub-Saharan African countries over the period 1976–2016 and a production function approach, this paper gives evidence that knowledge produced in former colonizing countries continues to have a large and persistent effect on publication output in Africa. This relationship is growing stronger over time. Furthermore, the publication output of smaller countries and those at more advanced stages of scientific, economic and political development is more closely related to the publication output of their former colonizer. Overall, these findings have implications for programs and policies aiming to facilitate the development of scientific capacity in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the process for developing, validating and disseminating through a train-the-trainer (TOT) event a standardised curriculum for public health capacity building for points of entry (POE) staff across the 15-member state Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) that reflects both international standards and national guidelines.A five-phase process was used in developing the curriculum: phase (1) assessment of existing materials developed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Africa CDC and the West African Economic and Monetary Union, (2) design of retained and new, harmonised content, (3) validation by the national leadership to produce final content, (4) implementation of the harmonised curriculum during a regional TOT, and (5) evaluation of the curriculum.Of the nine modules assessed in English and French, the technical team agreed to retain six harmonised modules providing materials for 10 days of intensive training. Following the TOT, most participants (n=28/30, 93.3%) indicated that the International Health Regulations and emergency management modules were relevant to their work and 96.7% (n=29/30) reported that the training should be cascaded to POE staff in their countries.The ECOWAS harmonised POE curriculum provides a set of training materials and expectations for national port health and POE staff to use across the region. This initiative contributes to reducing the effort required by countries to identify emergency preparedness and response capacity-building tools for border health systems in the Member States in a highly connected region., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Public libraries and development organizations share many common goals that make them strong potential partners in the Global South. In spite of these commonalities, libraries are often overlooked as development partners. This is unfortunate because these partnerships could allow librarians to more fully and effectively participate in the development of their communities. This paper explores strategies that libraries might employ to make themselves more visible to development organizations. It does so through analysis of interviews with practitioners who have funded or implemented development projects across countries in Africa. We find that these practitioners are open to working more with libraries, but that it will take a lot of work on the part of public libraries to accomplish broad shifts in perception amongst development agencies. Collecting and openly sharing data on the output and impact of public libraries is a first step in this work, but these efforts must also be augmented through increased marketing and networking by libraries. Libraries need to build internal capacity to use data to drive advocacy efforts and attract funding from development donors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Engineering Education Research Network in Africa (EERN-Africa) was created to enable connections between practitioners and researchers with a shared interest in African engineering education contexts. Recognising the importance of developing an African voice in the engineering education research space, the EERN-Africa community has interacted in a dynamic and dialogic way with our own teaching and research practices across diverse African contexts, with an ethical commitment to democratic and inclusive community-building. The objective of this paper is to reflect on the current status of the Community of Practice (CoP), and the challenges and opportunities in sustaining and growing the CoP. A collaborative analysis of perspectives on this emerging identity is presented, using an Appreciative Inquiry (AI) methodology and drawing on collective written reflections and discussions. Six broad themes on the value that the CoP has for both individuals and the group were identified: networking, capacity development, emotional support, impact on professional identity, social and environmental impact, and breaking borders. This paper contributes an approach for collaborative capacity-building in EER through a virtual CoP, underpinned by the spirit of ubuntu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an overview of the effect of research and development (R&D) expenditure and government effectiveness on economic growth. By focusing on R&D expenditure as a measure of innovation, government effectiveness as a measure of governance and GDP as a measure of economic growth, we examined the effect of R&D and government effectiveness on GDP in selected African countries. Four countries were chosen due to the availability of their data from 2000 to 2016. Linear regression and correlated panels corrected standard errors (PCSEs) regression models were used to analyze the data. The result showed that both R&D and governance are important factors in predicting economic growth in Africa. Therefore, only innovation through increasing R&D expenditure and good governance can sufficiently drive sustainable economic growth and development in Africa. Thus, African countries need to strengthen and build their research and development capacity while ensuring the effectiveness of their government to achieve sustainable economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ascend West and Central Africa programme, funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is supporting integrated preventative chemotherapy for up to five neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), including intestinal worms, lymphatic filariasis, river blindness, trachoma and schistosomiasis. The programme is implemented across 13 countries by a consortium of four leading international development partners: Sightsavers, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Schistosomiasis Control Initiative Foundation and Mott Macdonald. This paper presents messages learnt from country assessments that took place prior to the global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). These messages remain relevant post-COVID-19, with greater priority being given to the challenges for national NTD programmes in continuing to deliver mass drug administration (MDA) during the pandemic. Stakeholder coordination from the earliest stages of the pandemic has occurred at two levels: in the first mile with global partners of the NTD Supply Chain Forum and in the last mile with implementing partners in each country. This has been instrumental to manage delayed MDA, including the impact delays have on the shipment of NTD donated drugs and the distribution of stock held in country. The Ascend West and Central Africa programme is supporting countries with the resumption of MDA through a risk assessment and mitigation action (RAMA) process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, expenditure in defence and security has been rising for the past two decades. Many reasons account for this phenomenon. Among them are increasing threats, and economic and geopolitical competitions. In Africa, not a day passes without security incidents which often results in heavy casualties leading to loss of lives and properties. Security has become a huge developmental challenge on the checklist of almost all countries in the world and this is no different in Africa in general and West Africa in particular. Every year countries in Africa invest billions of dollars in security to ensure that lives and properties are protected. These investments are in the procurement of new equipment, training and capacity building, maintenance and materiel, administration and operations. These expenditures are recurrent and often do not yield direct benefits to the country’s Gross Domestic Product as often expressed by the citizenry. Some have argued that though these huge recurrent expenditure on security are worthwhile, concerns have been expressed about the low level of citizen security education in West Africa. This is because some believe that when the citizens are well informed enough about the security threats and what they should do, incidents of security will be reduced. The paper focuses on the roles of government in citizen security education and awareness and explores the ways that citizen security education and awareness can be improved to reduce security threats and harm to the people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy accessibility, reliability and availability are key components of improved quality of life and human development in all spheres. As the United Nations' SDG 7 calls for access to electricity for all by 2030, Africa still has a wide gap to fill as the statistics show that 85% of the population that will not have access to electricity is in Africa. As the world tries to wean itself off non-renewable energy and transition to green through use of renewable energy sources, hydropower energy remains at the heart of Africa for this venture. With majority of the rural population in Africa lacking electricity, there is need for a low-tech system that utilizes river flow to generate just enough energy for normal operation in these regions. Micro-hydrokinetic river turbine technology (µ-HRT), which offers less intermittency, can potentially contribute to sustainably electrifying Africa rural areas. The technology has been adopted by few countries worldwide, with limited comprehensive study in Africa even though the technology seems viable for use in African rivers. This paper reviewed the status of the µ-HRT applications in Africa and some of the barriers to its development. The study found out that the technology has not been vastly developed in Africa. Despite numerous barriers, the technology is simply a low-tech technology that requires the use of local resources and capacity building for its sustainability in terms of construction, operation and maintenance requirements. It is therefore recommended that R&D and field trials be conducted for its possible adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Research is essential to identify and prioritize health needs and to develop appropriate strategies to improve health outcomes. In the last decade, non-academic research capacity strengthening trainings in sub-Saharan Africa, coupled with developing research infrastructure and the provision of individual mentorship support, has been used to build health worker skills. The objectives of this review are to describe different training approaches to research capacity strengthening in sub-Saharan Africa outside academic programs, assess methods used to evaluate research capacity strengthening activities, and learn about the challenges facing research capacity strengthening and the strategies/innovations required to overcome them. Methodology: The PubMed database was searched using nine search terms and articles were included if 1) they explicitly described research capacity strengthening training activities, including information on program duration, target audience, immediate program outputs and outcomes; 2) all or part of the training program took place in sub-Saharan African countries; 3) the training activities were not a formal academic program; 4) papers were published between 2000 and 2013; and 5) both abstract and full paper were available in English. Results: The search resulted in 495 articles, of which 450 were retained; 14 papers met all inclusion criteria and were included and analysed. In total, 4136 people were trained, of which 2939 were from Africa. Of the 14 included papers, six fell in the category of short-term evaluation period and eight in the long-term evaluation period. Conduct of evaluations and use of evaluation frameworks varied between short and long term models and some trainings were not evaluated. Evaluation methods included tests, surveys, interviews, and systems approach matrix. Conclusions: Research capacity strengthening activities in sub-Saharan Africa outside of academic settings provide important contributions to developing in-country capacity to participate in and lead research. Institutional support, increased funds, and dedicated time for research activities are critical factors that lead to the development of successful programs. Further, knowledge sharing through scientific articles with sufficient detail is needed to enable replication of successful models in other settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article deals with the challenges of harnessing agricultural research, technology and innovation in Africa. In particular, it focuses on the ways in which development assistance could adapt to improve impact. A historical review of evolving research methods illustrates the way in which increasing interest in innovation has reframed the research approach. This form of research practice is increasingly being referred to as research for development. While the contours of this approach are still emerging, this paper outlines key practices and principles and suggests how these could be implemented. This styalized view of future practice is then used to discuss the implications of this for the role of different actors in the research, innovation and development assistance landscape. Concluding observations include the lament that despite the large diversity in the types of projects and research practice, there is little consensus on what works and what does not. This lack of systematic efforts to critically assess the performance of different approaches hampers learning and capacity building and holds back more effective deployment of agricultural science technology and innovation in the continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capacity building programmes for African regulators should link education, training and research with career development in an approach that combines an academic base and experiential learning aligned within a competency framework. A regulatory ecosystem that engages with a broad range of stakeholders will mean that expertise in the ever‐expanding field of regulatory science filters into teaching and research in a symbiotic way. In this way capacity development interventions will be a collaborative approach between the learning context (academic and training institutions) and the performance context (regulatory agencies and industry), which will ultimately best serve the patients. Monitoring and evaluation of capacity development interventions will be essential to show value of investments and ultimately guide continued funding and sustainability. This paper reviews the skills and human capacity gaps, reports on regulatory assessment pathways used in Ghana, South Africa and Zimbabwe and outlines a staged tactical approach for Africa that builds on previous efforts to strengthen African regulatory ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective knowledge sharing and community engagement can be major enablers in the pursuit of socially relevant benefits from ecological restoration and rehabilitation. Focusing on two ecological restoration and rehabilitation practitioner organizations and their workers, this paper evaluates perceptions of the extent to which short‐term knowledge exchange contributes to social goals in ecological restoration and rehabilitation in South Africa through (1) stakeholder engagement and awareness of community well‐being, and (2) knowledge enrichment. Data collected through impact questionnaires, participatory site visits, practical work exchange, focus group discussions, and a workshop are analyzed using thematic analysis framed by the International Principles and Standards for the Practice of Ecological Restoration #1 and #2. We explore participants' perceptions of knowledge exchange benefits and discuss implications for future collaboration in establishing long‐term knowledge exchange. Findings show that knowledge exchange is perceived to result in enhanced teamwork engagement, and strengthened knowledge on restoration techniques through mutual learning, inspiration, and a strengthened sense of community. Findings suggest that sustained knowledge exchange and engagement activities between different practitioner organizations is key to realize and transform short‐term perceived benefits into long‐term applied socioecological impacts across landscapes in dryland Africa. There is a need to progress from short‐term, horizontal learning, to long‐term (horizontal and vertical) knowledge exchange, to inform restoration project design and implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Household surveys remain the major source of official statistics for monitoring development policies particularly in developing countries. In the context of rapid developments in data needs, extensive methodological work, data processing and use at national and international levels and a remaining capacity gap despite efforts for statistical capacity building in last decade, it is critical for training centers to keep up to speed with international best practices. This paper show that the approach of the Centre for Development Data Training initiative (C4D2 Training Initiative) is highly effective and stand to have a long-term impact on household survey capacity in Africa region. It is made of several components all of which aim to bolster capacity development in the region. It harmonizes and improves the quality and sustainability of training on household surveys through increased local capacity and greater dissemination of best practices, creates a network among participants and trainers to facilitate knowledge exchange on best practices as well as survey harmonization across countries. Taking advantage of benefits, the initiative should endeavor other regions subject to their interest and embrace the use of virtual and web-based training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Alma Ata and Astana Declarations reaffirm the importance of high-quality primary healthcare (PHC), yet the capacity to undertake PHC research-a core element of high-quality PHC-in low-income and middle-income countries (LMIC) is limited. Our aim is to explore the current risks or barriers to primary care research capacity building, identify the ongoing tensions that need to be resolved and offer some solutions, focusing on emerging contexts. This paper arose from a workshop held at the 2019 North American Primary Care Research Group Annual Meeting addressing research capacity building in LMICs. Five case studies (three from Africa, one from South-East Asia and one from South America) illustrate tensions and solutions to strengthening PHC research around the world. Research must be conducted in local contexts and be responsive to the needs of patients, populations and practitioners in the community. The case studies exemplify that research capacity can be strengthened at the micro (practice), meso (institutional) and macro (national policy and international collaboration) levels. Clinicians may lack coverage to enable research time; however, practice-based research is precisely the most relevant for PHC. Increasing research capacity requires local skills, training, investment in infrastructure, and support of local academics and PHC service providers to select, host and manage locally needed research, as well as to disseminate findings to impact local practice and policy. Reliance on funding from high-income countries may limit projects of higher priority in LMIC, and 'brain drain' may reduce available research support; however, we provide recommendations on how to deal with these tensions., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Introduction: There are significant investments in health research capacity development in the 'global-south'. The monetary value of contributions from institutions running these programmes is not known., Methods: Using the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) as a case study we estimate in-kind contributions made by consortium members. We measured unpaid hours of labour contributed by consortium members and converted this to full-time equivalents. We assigned a monetary value to the time contributed by staff based on salaries by seniority and region. We estimated the monetary value of the contribution made by the African institutions that hosted CARTA events by comparing the difference in cost between university-hosted events with those held in commercial venues. We calculated the foregone overhead costs associated with hosting the CARTA secretariat. We excluded many costs where data were difficult to verify., Results: Annually, CARTA member institutions committed a minimum of 4.3 full-time staff equivalents that are not funded by the grants. CARTA's annual in-kind contribution represents at least 20% of total annual donor expenditure. African institutions accounted for 82.9% of the in-kind labour contribution and 91.6% of total in-kind contribution., Conclusion: The consortium's institutions and academic and non-academic staff make significant contributions to ensure the effective implementation of donor-funded programmes. This is not unique to CARTA. These contributions are usually not counted, often not recognised at institutional level nor remunerated through grants. Knowing these costs would allow for sustainability appraisals and cost-benefit assessments. This paper offers a method of how to measure these contributions and begins a discussion around this., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Implementation research is increasingly being recognised as an important discipline seeking to maximise the benefits of evidence-based interventions. Although capacity-building efforts are ongoing, there has been limited attention on the contextual and health system peculiarities in low- and middle-income countries. Moreover, given the challenges encountered during the implementation of health interventions, the field of implementation research requires a creative attempt to build expertise for health researchers and practitioners simultaneously. With support from the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, we have developed an implementation research short course that targets both researchers and practitioners. This paper seeks to explain the course development processes and report on training evaluations, highlighting its relevance for inter-institutional and inter-regional capacity strengthening., Methods: The development of the implementation research course curriculum was categorised into four phases, namely the formation of a core curriculum development team, course content development, internal reviews and pilot, and external reviews and evaluations. Five modules were developed covering Introduction to implementation research, Methods in implementation research, Ethics and quality management in implementation research, Community and stakeholder engagement, and Dissemination in implementation research. Course evaluations were conducted using developed tools measuring participants' reactions and learning., Results: From 2016 to 2018, the IR curriculum has been used to train a total of 165 researchers and practitioners predominantly from African countries, the majority of whom are males (57%) and researchers/academics (79.4%). Participants generally gave positive ratings (e.g. integration of concepts) for their reactions to the training. Under 'learnings', participants indicated improvement in their knowledge in areas such as identification of implementation research problems and questions., Conclusion: The approach for training both researchers and practitioners offers a dynamic opportunity for the acquisition and sharing of knowledge for both categories of learners. This approach was crucial in demonstrating a key characteristic of implementation research (e.g. multidisciplinary) practically evident during the training sessions. Using such a model to effectively train participants from various low- and middle-income countries shows the opportunities this training curriculum offers as a capacity-building tool.

Introduction: Global health initiatives provide exciting opportunities for capacity-building in low- and middle-income countries but data regarding how African clinicians characterize the most effective partnerships are lacking., Methods: We surveyed attendees at two "Breast Cancer in Africa" symposia sponsored through a surgeon-led global breast cancer research collaborative. Respondents ranked their preferences for needs from American global health partnerships., Results: 399 African attendees responded (170 at the 2017 Ghana conference; 229 at the 2018 Ethiopia conference). Physicians comprised 41.1% of respondents; nurses 20.1% and medical students 27.6%. Ancillary hospital staff comprised the remaining 11.2%. Among clinicians, 75.7% ranked educational/training programs or donation of medical supplies as the highest-priority needs compared to only 20.4% ranking direct monetary support as the highest-priority need (P < 0.0001)., Conclusions: Our survey study found that African clinicians prioritize training programs and donation of medical/hospital supplies above direct monetary support as their highest-value needs from global health initiatives., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Health systems in sub-Saharan Africa face multifaceted capacity challenges to fulfil their mandates of service provision and governance of their resources. Four academic institutions in Africa implemented a World Health Organisation-funded collaborative project encompassing training, curriculum development, and partnership to strengthen national leadership and training capacity for health workforce development. This paper looks into the training component of the project, a blended Masters programme in public health that sought to improve the capacity of personnel involved in teaching or management/development of human resources for health. The paper aims to explore factors influencing contribution of training to organisational capacity development., Methods: We chose a case study design. Semi-structured interviews were held with 18 trainees that were enrolled in the training programme, and who were affiliated to health ministries or public health training institutions. We gathered additional data through document reviews, observation, and interviews with 14 key informants associated with the programme and/or working in the collaborating institutions. The evidence gathered were analysed thematically., Results: Thirteen of the 18 training participants stayed in the target institutions and contributed to improved capacity of their institutions in the fields of management, policy, planning, research, training, or curriculum development. Five left for private and international agencies due to dissatisfaction with payment, work conditions, or career prospect. Factors that were associated with the training, trainees, and the institutional and broader context, determine contribution of training to organisational capacity development. These include relevance of newly acquired knowledge and skills set of trainees to the role/position they assume in the organisation; recognition of trainees by employing organisations in terms of promotion or assignment of challenging tasks; and motivation and retention of trained staff., Conclusion: Training, even if relevant and applicable, makes no more than a 'latent' contribution, one which is activated and realised through alignment of clusters of interacting contextual and relational factors related to the target institutions and trained personnel. While not predictable, implementers need to focus more deliberately on the likely interaction and best possible alignments between training relevance, student selection for potential to contribute, recognition and career advancement potential.

This paper presents an international cooperation which has successfully developed research capacities in the scientific disciplines of sun-earth relations and space weather in many countries over the world during the past decades. This success was based on the deployment of scientific instruments in countries that did not have them, on the sharing of knowledge and research tools, on thesis supervision and on the integration of researchers trained in their country. This article will only focus on aspects of training conducted by ICTP, Boston College, ICG, SCOSTEP and GIRGEA. We will highlight what has been enhanced in international cooperation to achieve this success and what remains to be done. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on research, development and capacity building in relation to food and nutrition security (FNS) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It looks at human capacity, education, teaching and learning, women empowerment, research, innovation and technology, research, indigenous knowledge (IK), institutional aspects, infrastructure, information and communication technologies (ICT), policies and finance. Professional bodies exist in many countries and the extent to which they engage in FNS awareness creation differs. Food and nutrition insecurity continues to affect people in Africa's 54 nations where the population is expected to double by 2050 with the expected doubling of food production to keep pace with population growth. Within the continent there is a substantial number of human capacity professionals who are global leaders in food, nutrition and related professions. Some research organisations in the continent directly or indirectly benefit from grants administered by developed economies but a challenge exists with brain drain and ageing of qualified and experienced experts. Increasing educational need, coupled with the growing population necessitates attention to ensuring a sustained supply of highly trained, adequately equipped and qualified professionals in the relevant fields of food and nutrition sciences. Higher educational institutions exist in especially those that fall within the 500 in world universities ranking. Research activities take place in the continent along with the translation of research outputs into commercialisable products. Research towards transforming agriculture for improved livelihoods is taking place in different parts of the continent. Education, governance, gender and rural development are the key challenges. Income growth and the impacts of climate change on food production have contributed to food insecurity. ICTs can play an important role for FNS. Strengthening research, development, capacity building and industry cooperation are critical for FNS in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Agenda 2063 and Agenda 2030, Africa has its major development aspirations defined in the broader global and continental economic development context. Implementation of the two Agendas calls for substantial financial resources at a time when the global development finance landscape is changing, from a model centered on official development assistance and the coverage of remaining financing needs through external debt, to a framework with greater emphasis on the mobilization of domestic resources. This paper looks at the capacity dimensions of domestic resource mobilization, which have received relatively little attention in the development arena and literature. Capacity being the missing link, this paper analyzes the capacity challenges associated with the effective mobilization and utilization of domestic resources in Africa, largely drawing on the 2015 Africa Capacity Report whose focus was on the capacity imperatives for domestic resource mobilization. The analysis finds that capacity challenges in domestic resource mobilization are largely around weak tax administration, inefficient collection of tax in the agriculture and informal sectors, low savings and financial non-inclusiveness, and high levels of illicit financial outflows. The paper recommends soft, human and institutional capacity building at the country, regional, and continental levels in the identified areas. Besides, it suggests the modernization of tax administration, and political will and mindset change at all levels. While the paper calls for concerted efforts by all stakeholders, it also proposes some research areas aimed at supporting the domestic resource mobilization agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

African countries face an economic transformation gap. Given the large and growing Chinese presence on the African continent, a fundamental question is whether Chinese firms contribute to, or hinder, economic transformation in Africa. This article conducts a scoping review of over one hundred sources, examining the pathways through which Chinese firms can affect economic transformation. On balance, the literature points to a positive role of Chinese firms. Africa–China trade leads to mixed results, while Chinese investment and infrastructure construction are found to contribute positively to transformation. Chinese firms are also found to support capacity building, spillovers and innovation in African countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledgeable and motivated policy intellectuals are needed for effective information and communication technology policy and regulation. This article describes a Telecommunication Policy Research Conference (TPRC)–influenced conference and training program intended to develop such policy intellectuals in the Asia Pacific and Africa, which began in 2006 and ended in 2018. It was unique in emphasizing the development of junior scholars. Evidence of research and policy engagement from tracer surveys is presented. The causes of the brevity of CPRsouth's existence are analyzed in relation to EuroCPR and TPRC using a model of knowledge network evolution, including the role of external "subsidies" and the mismatch between potential funders and the scope of the activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health research initiatives worldwide are growing in scope and complexity, particularly as they move into the developing world. Expanding health research activity in low- and middle-income countries has resulted in a commensurate rise in the need for sound ethical review structures and functions in the form of Research Ethics Committees (RECs). The urgent need for continued capacity development in Africa has necessitated research initiatives to identify existing capacity. This discussion paper describes the mapping of RECs in Africa through MARC (Mapping African Research Ethics Capacity) project, second phase (2012 to date) and discusses the findings. MARC provides a platform and tool on COHRED's Health Research HRWeb, which can be used by RECs and key stakeholders in health research in Africa to identify capacity, constraints and development needs., (© 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Following a knowledge management analysis, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) - a medical humanitarian non-governmental organisation (NGO) - identified significant loss of medical knowledge from the field, owing primarily to the absence of a platform on which to share clinical lessons learned in humanitarian and resource-limited settings (HRLS). Wishing to address these missed opportunities to retain important scientific and pragmatic knowledge, the NGO has begun to actively encourage its clinicians to publish case reports/series that bring new and/or practical insights of benefit to patients and population groups. In parallel, we wished to obtain a clearer understanding of how case reports (CRs)/series can best play their role as 'first-line evidence' from HRLS, especially in areas suffering from a significant lack of data.Methods: We developed a survey with closed and open questions on 'The value of CRs from HRLS' to explore primarily (1) the reasons why this form of evidence from HRLS is often lacking, (2) what makes a case report/series worth sharing with the wider global health community, and (3) how we can ensure that published case reports/series reach their target audience.Results: Over a 6-month period, 1115 health professionals responded to the survey. Participants included clinicians and public health specialists from all over the world, with a majority based in Africa. The main reason cited for the dearth of CRs from HRLS was that practitioners are simply not writing and/or submitting reports (as versus having their papers rejected) due mainly to (1) a lack of skills and (2) time constraints. A large majority of respondents felt the CRs are a valuable tool for HRLS given their ability to discuss how cases are managed with rudimentary means as well as to draw attention to emerging or underestimated public health problems and neglected populations.Conclusion: We conclude that the clinical knowledge gained in resource-challenged settings is being underutilised in the interest of patients and global health. Consequently, clinicians in HRLS need greater access to basic training in scientific investigation and writing in addition to awareness as to the potential value of sharing their clinical experience with a view to broadening evidence production from high-income to low-income settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Research capacity enhancement is needed in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) for improved health, wellbeing, and health systems' development. In this article, we discuss two capacity-building projects, the African/Asian Regional Capacity Development (ARCADE) in Health Systems and Services Research (HSSR) and Research on Social Determinants of Health (RSDH), implemented from 2011 to 2015. The two projects focussed on providing courses in HSSR and social determinants of health research, and on developing collaborations between universities, along with capacity in LMIC universities to manage research grant submissions, financing, and reporting. Both face-to-face and sustainable online teaching and learning resources were used in training at higher postgraduate levels (Masters and Doctoral level). Design: We collated project meeting and discussion minutes along with project periodic reports and deliverables. We extracted key outcomes from these, reflected on these in discussions, and summarised them for this paper. Results: Nearly 55 courses and modules were developed that were delivered to over 920 postgraduate students in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Junior researchers were mentored in presenting, developing, and delivering courses, and in preparing research proposals. In total, 60 collaborative funding proposals were prepared. The consortia also developed institutional capacity in research dissemination and grants management through webinars and workshops. Discussion: ARCADE HSSR and ARCADE RSDH were comprehensive programmes, focussing on developing the research skills, knowledge, and capabilities of junior researchers. One of the main strengths of these programmes was the focus on network building amongst the partner institutions, where each partner brought skills, expertise, and diverse work cultures into the consortium. Through these efforts, the projects improved both the capacity of junior researchers and the research environment in Africa, Asia, and Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engaging in clinical trials in Africa not only enhances researchers' comprehension of local health concerns but also plays a crucial role in tackling global health challenges. In Tanzania, there has been a surge of clinical research for the past 10 years indicating a need to improve ethical and clinical trial regulatory capacity. Several initiatives to address the clinical trial regulatory and ethics challenges have been done. Lessons from such initiatives are important to inform evidence-based decision-making for sustainability. The ASCEND project with the theme of "Moving Tanzania's Clinical Research Ethics and Medicines Regulatory Capacity to the Next Level: Fostering Medicine Quality, Safety and Good Clinical Practice (GCP) on Clinical Trials" was implemented in Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar from November 2020 to December 2023. A thorough review of the project implementation reports and on deliverables was conducted to identify the lessons learned. Inductive content analysis was used to analyze the information. A total of seven lessons were deduced from the reviewed documents. These include capacity building through training on clinical trials review and approval process, research ethics and GCP inspection which cannot be overlooked; engaging the community in reporting adverse drug events is worth considering; digitalization of electronic systems enhances clinical trial control and creates a dynamic regulatory ecosystem; compliance to requirements for clinical trials conduct is enhanced by training of early and mid-career researchers; networking and broad stakeholders' engagement and participation in ethics and regulations governing clinical trials is a cornerstone for strengthening collaboration between researchers and regulators; the need for electronic systems for monitoring and evaluation of the project is inevitable and the need for adhering to project timelines is crucial for successful implementation of the project. Sustainability is the take-home message from the ASCEND project and should inform stakeholders for future improvement. Continuous investment and advancement in research ethics and regulatory oversight across Africa should be prioritized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Between September 2010 and September 2016, the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET) implemented laboratory strengthening initiatives through a cooperative agreement with the International Laboratory Branch of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This project aimed at improving laboratory Quality Management Systems (QMS) towards accreditation in Africa and the Caribbean region and was implemented in 11 countries in the Caribbean and seven African countries. This paper describes the results of a summative evaluation that was commissioned at the end of the project., Methods: The evaluation team comprised an external consultant who led the evaluation design and implementation and AFENET project staff. The evaluation was done in all 11 Caribbean and seven African countries where the project was implemented. We formulated three evaluation questions to focus and guide the exercise: 1) Were project activities implemented as originally intended? 2) Did the project achieve the objectives it was intended to accomplish over its life? 3) Are the impacts of project interventions likely to survive in the long run? We developed 14 sub-questions from the three evaluation questions and obtained data using a set of online questionnaires. We conducted validation visits to six participating countries; four in Africa and two in the Caribbean., Results: Out of 14 sub-questions that were used to evaluate the project, six (43%) were fully achieved, six (43%) were partially achieved, and two (14%) were not achieved. In effect, > 80% of the sub-questions were either fully achieved or partially achieved. The most frequently mentioned success was the introduction of QMS in participating laboratories, which led to quality improvement in laboratory processes, participation in SLMTA (Strengthening Laboratory Management Towards Accreditation)/SLIPTA (Stepwise Laboratory Quality Improvement Process Towards Accreditation) and attainment of accreditation by some of the project laboratories. However, there were neither clear plans nor budget lines to mainstream activities that were supported under the project into regular activities of the ministries of health of participating countries., Conclusion: The evaluation team concluded that there were adequate numbers of laboratorians trained in the FELTP laboratory track but only in Kenya. The DTS testing and biosafety programs were implemented and expanded in participating countries. HIV laboratory networks were strengthened in all participating countries and laboratory information systems were implemented in the Caribbean countries, but the basic laboratory information systems in the African countries were not implemented beyond pilot stages. There were no clear plans and budget lines provided by respective ministries of health to mainstream the activities that were supported under the project. The evaluation team recommended that AFENET develops a new laboratory strategic plan that could leverage the activities that were funded and implemented in the project.

Background: There are many interuniversity global health partnerships with African universities. Representatives of these partnerships often claim partnership success in published works, yet critical, contextualized, and comparative assessments of international, cross-border partnerships are few., Objective: The objectives of this paper are to describe partnerships characterized as higher-value for building the capacity of four East African universities and identify why they are considered so by these universities., Methods: Forty-two senior representatives of four universities in East Africa described the value of their partnerships. A rating system was developed to classify the value of the 125 international partnerships they identified, as the perceived value of some partnerships varied significantly between representatives within the same university. An additional 88 respondents from the four universities and 59 respondents from 25 of the international partner universities provided further perspectives on the partnerships identified. All interviews were transcribed and analysed in relation to the classification and emergent themes., Findings: Thirty-one (25%) of the partnerships were perceived as higher-value, 41 (33%) medium-value, and 53 (42%) lower-value for building the capacity of the four focus universities. Thirteen (42%) of the higher-value partnerships were over 20 years old, while 8 (26%) were between 3 and 5 years old. New international partners were able to leapfrog some of the development phases of partnerships by coordinating with existing international partners and/or by building on the activities of or filling gaps in older partnerships. Higher-valued partnerships supported PhD obtainment, the development of new programmes and pedagogies, international trainee learning experiences, and infrastructure development. The financial and prestige value of partnerships were important but did not supersede other factors such as fit with strategic needs, the development of enduring results, dependability and reciprocity. Support of research or service delivery were also considered valuable but, unless education components were also included, the results were deemed unlikely to last., Conclusion: International partnerships prioritizing the needs of the focus university, supporting it in increasing its long-term capacity and best ensuring that capacity benefits realized favour the focus university are valued most. How best to achieve this so all partners still benefit sufficiently requires further exploration., Competing Interests: The authors have no competing interests to declare., (© 2018 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.)

Since the establishment of the Climate Convention and its recent Paris Agreement, capacity building has been considered as a fundamental prerequisite for achieving the goals of the climate regime. Various institutional architectures have been explored, while the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21) established the Paris Committee on Capacity-Building aiming to address needs and gaps, along with promoting current, emerging, and further capacity-building efforts. Efforts to build capacity have been underway for decades but have largely failed in their objectives as they were not designed from, and rooted in, the local context. Drawing from the author's more than 40 years of personal experience in capacity building in Africa, this paper sheds light on the systemic challenges involved in building capacities. Arrangements that do not entail working on, or being led by, an agenda set by those in capacity needs are not, by definition, capacity mobilization or capacity building efforts. It is argued that capacity is tied to self-reliance and self-determination and thus ability to set and pursue the recipient's own agenda must be at the core of development narratives. Key policy insights Self-reliance and self-determination are at the core of capacity development. Therefore, countries need to set and pursue their own agenda by creating and following a bottom-up and inclusive development narrative. Intellectual, financial, and other important resources need to fall under the control of local leadership. Partnerships and networks of research centres think tanks and similar institutions in the South should be created and maintained to build capacities. Climate change, while a global issue, must be addressed based on a deep understanding of the local and national contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past decade, there has been an increase in genomic research and biobanking activities in Africa. Research initiatives such as the Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) Consortium are contributing to the development of scientific capacity and infrastructure to support these studies on the continent. Despite this growth, genomic research and biobanking have raised important ethical challenges for key research stakeholders, including members of research ethics committees. One of these is the limited ethical and regulatory frameworks to guide the review and conduct of genomic studies, particularly in Africa. This paper is a reflection on a series of consultative activities with research ethics committees in Africa which informed the development of an ethics and governance framework for best practices in genomic research and biobanking in Africa. The paper highlights the engagement process and the lessoned learned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the central ethical tenets of research in developing countries is the sponsor's obligation to benefit host participants and communities. Two known models of benefits provision dominate the ethical discourse of research in developing countries. The first model, known as the "reasonable availability," endorses the obligation to provide interventions proven to be effective at the end of a study. This contrasts with the second model, known as "fair benefits," which endorses other forms of benefits that host communities may deem as fair beyond those derived directly from the study's findings. This paper explores a third benefit model consistent with the writings of the Human Hereditary and Health in Africa (H3Africa) research initiative. The H3Africa-a North-South collaborative initiative predicated by U.S. National Institutes of Health, the Wellcome Trust and the African Society of Human Genetics upholds a benefit model that endorses capacity building as the primary obligation of its research agenda. This is evident by the endorsement of mechanisms to strengthen capacity building in its research projects. While capacity building remains a plausible means of improving the expertise, quality and independence of research in Africa, sustainable measures are needed to realizing the full potential for African-led research on the continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]