1,164 research outputs found
Evaluating health research capacity building: An evidence-based tool
No full textBates and colleagues describe the development of a tool to assess capacity-building programs in health research, which they used in Kumasi, Ghana
Social multiplier effects: academics’ and practitioners’ perspective on the benefits of a tuberculosis operational research capacity-building program in Indonesia
No full textBackground: The Tuberculosis Operational Research Group (TORG) implemented a capacity-building model involving academics and practitioners (i.e. clinicians or program staff) in an operational research (OR) team in Indonesia. Objective: This study explored academics’ and practitioners’ perspectives regarding the benefits of participating in a tuberculosis (TB) OR capacity-building program in Indonesia. Methods: We conducted a qualitative study involving in-depth interviews with 36 academics and 23 practitioners undertaking the TORG capacity-building program. We asked open-ended questions about their experience of the program. Data were analyzed via content analysis. Results: The findings demonstrated the social multiplier effects of the OR capacity-building program. Both academics and practitioners reported perceived improvements in research knowledge, skills, and experience, and described additional individual- and institutional-level benefits. The individual-level benefits level included improvements in understanding of the TB program, motivation for research and self-satisfaction, the development/enhancement of individual networking, receipt of recognition, and new opportunities. The additional benefits reported at an institutional level included improvement in research curricula, in-house training, and program management and the development/enhancement of institutional partnerships. Conclusions: The program improved not only individuals’ capacity for conducting OR but also the quality of the TB program management and public health education. OR should be included in research methodology curricula for postgraduate public health/disease control programs. The capacity-building model, in which academics and program staff collaborated within an OR team, should be promoted
Building local capacity in operational research: a case study in Nepal and India.
No full textA programme of mentor support and training has enabled eye teams in Nepal and India to carry out research to improve their own delivery of eye care services
Opportunity costs of trade-related capacity development in Sub-Saharan Africa
No full textIncludes bibliographical references.Recent studies have documented the impact of institutions and infrastructure development on trade flows. This paper studies these issues in the context 010n90in9 trade-related capacity building initiatives and evaluates the opportunity cost of different trade-related capacity building policy mixes. Trade-related technical assistance and capacity building was recognized in 2001 by the World Trade Organisation Doha Ministerial Declaration as a core element of the development dimension of the multilateral trading system and commitments were set out in those areas. The extentof trade-related technical assistance and capacity building to help developing and least developed countries participate more efficiently in international trade has increased by 50% between 2001 and 2004. The purpose of this thesis is to address the question of whether the weights assigned to different components of trade-related capacity building in existing trade-related capacity building programmes are economically justified. To do this the paper evaluates the opportunity costsof different trade-related capacity building policy mixes with specific reference to Sub-Saharan Africa, excluding South Africa. We use a number of variables from both theoretical and empirical literature to come up with composite indicators for trade-related institutions, infrastructure and human capital. The analysis is also informed by interviews with trade experts in Geneva as well as a review of relevant background documents. In the empirical analysis we use 2005 trade patterns for a data set of 117 countries of which 24 are in sub-Saharan Africa. Making use ofa gravity equation augmented with trade-related capacity building variables we run a series of Heckman's two-step selection regressions and estimate the marginal impacts of these trade-related capacity building indicators on trade as measured by value of total exports. To evaluate opportunity costs. we do policy simulations and estimate how much trade flows will be increased under various policy scenarios with respect to improved trade-related capacity building indicators in Sub-Saharan Africa. We examine scenarios that focus on improved institutions. infrastructure and human capital as they move in the direction of comparability with the rest of the world. The world's average level is used as the baseline for each of these composite indicators in the policy simulations. The results show that trade flows exhibit different levels of sensitivity to different trade-related capacity building policy options with the exporter's infrastructure being the most significant with an average elasticity of approximately 3.0. The findings also suggest that complementing improvements in the quality of human capital and infrastructure will provide the greatest bilateral trade flow benefit to Sub-Saharan Africa; while non-Sub-Saharan Africa countries gain the most from complementing infrastructure and institutions. Such a finding contradicts the current focus of ongoing TReB programmes that put emphasis on human capital development only. Building on both Grossman and Helpman (1991),s trade model and Barro (1990) s' growth model, the paper argues that the theoretical propositions are inadequate to address the dynamics associated with trade-related capacity building policy. The paper further argues that analyzing the impact of rReB using these standard frameworks underestimates the impact since policy dynamics are not addressed in that framework. This could contribute to explaining why there has not been consensus in the trade-growth empirical literature, with some authors finding a positive and significant impact of trade on growth, while others argue that the impact is not significant Hence, the paper proposes improvements in the specification of the standard growth model to take into account policy dynamics, specifically assumptions regarding substitutability among TRee investments
Public private sector partnerships in an agricultural system of innovation: concepts and challenges
No full textThe potential for public private sector partnerships is likely to grow. However, despite a number of high profile success stories, promoting partnerships has proved more difficult than many assumed. This paper argues that such partnerships need to be viewed in the framework of an innovation system and a development scenario where networks of agro-enterprises and intermediary organisations will underpin rural development and poverty reduction. This view helps reveal the importance of embedding public research organizations within these local networks and highlights that constraint to building partnership is usually institutional in nature – i.e. it relates to habits practices and patterns of trust. The paper concludes by suggesting that efforts should be focused on building social capital in agricultural innovation systems and cautions that this should be done in contextually relevant ways.Public private sector partnerships, innovation systems, institutional change, capacity building, social capital
PartiSim: A multi-methodology framework to support facilitated simulation modelling in healthcare
No full textDiscrete event simulation (DES) studies in healthcare are thought to benefit from stakeholder participation during the study lifecycle. This paper reports on a multi-methodology framework, called PartiSim that is intended to support participative simulation studies. PartiSim combines DES, a traditionally hard OR approach, with soft systems methodology (SSM) in order to incorporate stakeholder involvement in the study lifecycle. The framework consists of a number of prescribed activities and outputs as part of the stages involved in the simulation lifecycle, which include study initiation, finding out about the problem, defining a conceptual model, model coding, experimentation and implementation. In PartiSim four of these stages involve facilitated workshops with a group of stakeholders. We explain the organisation of workshops, the key roles assigned to analysts and stakeholders, and how facilitation is embedded in the framework. We discuss our experience of using the framework, provide guidance on when to use it and conclude with future research directions
An examination of administrative capacity to implement development programmes in South Africa
No full textThesis (Ph.D. (Political Studies))--University of Cape Town, 2008.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 227-241).Library also has copy on CD-ROM.This thesis examined the concept of administrative "capacity", which has been employed to critique the ability of public administrations to implement development programmes in South Africa. References to administrative capacity in South African academic discourse have generally treated the term as a concrete item, often translated as public sector organisations lacking the ability/capacity to respond to the increasing scale of development needs which accompanied the country's recent political transition. This emphasis has in turn raised questions about whether these bodies possess the requisite or sufficient capacity to carry out development activities, and where this is judged not to be the case, that efforts should be directed at acquiring this capacity, i.e. capacity building or strengthening. This thesis argued that this prevailing twofold interpretation of capacity was too narrow, because it did not adequately capture how the organisational and operational circumstances under which public sector bodies functioned, might influence their ability (in other words, capacity) to implement development programmes
The path to impact of operational research on tuberculosis control policies and practices in Indonesia
No full textBackground: Operational research is currently one of the pillars of the global strategy to control tuberculosis. Indonesia initiated capacity building for operational research on tuberculosis over the last decade. Although publication of the research in peer-reviewed journals is an important indicator for measuring the success of this endeavor, the influence of operational research on policy and practices is considered even more important. However, little is known about the process by which operational research influences tuberculosis control policy and practices. Objective: We aimed to investigate the influence of operational research on tuberculosis control policy and practice in Indonesia between 2004 and 2014. Design: Using a qualitative study design, we conducted in-depth interviews of 50 researchers and 30 policy makers/program managers and performed document reviews. Transcripts of these interviews were evaluated while applying content analysis. Results: Operational research contributed to tuberculosis control policy and practice improvements, including development of new policies, introduction of new practices, and reinforcement of current program policies and practices. However, most of these developments had limited sustainability. The path from the dissemination of research results and recommendations to policy and practice changes was long and complex. The skills, interests, and political power of researchers and policy makers, as well as health system response, could influence the process. Conclusions: Operational research contributed to improving tuberculosis control policy and practices. A systematic approach to improve the sustainability of the impact of operational research should be explored
Building first-year university scriptwriting student creative risk taking capacity
No full textIn this study, the author investigates the key pedagogic challenge of encouraging creative risk- taking among first-year university scriptwriting students as part of a teaching and learning research cohort across various disciplines of the Creative Industries. To date, there have been limited studies investigating creative risk-taking as perceived and experienced by teachers and commencing students across different disciplines in a tertiary environment. Employing an action research methodology, we found that students perceive creative risks as happening across multiple aspects of their experience from the challenges of undertaking the unit or course in the first place to presenting what is perceived to be an unrefined idea to a large audience. By comparing and synthesising common themes regarding students’ perceptions of and responses to creative risk-taking, we have identified three key opportunity areas in which new teaching and learning strategies for scriptwriting can be implemented to better encourage creative risk-taking among students: \ud
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i) overcoming challenges of voicing ideas in a collaborative group context; \ud
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ii) building resilience and a sense of self-efficacy to remain agile and flexible to spontaneous or unexpected changes, and; \ud
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iii) balancing creativity capacity building with technical competency to address practical concerns around realising and communicating creative concepts with minimum limitations of technologies and resources
Strengthening capacity to improve nutrition
No full textA major premise of this paper is that the failure—or limited achievements—of many large-scale nutrition programs is very often a function of insufficient sustainable capacities within communities and organizations responsible for implementing them. Following a brief review of the various rationales for an intensified focus on capacity and capacity development, the paper examines the linkages between nutrition programming and capacity development processes before proposing a new approach to assessing, analyzing, and developing capacity. The ensuing sections then focus in more detail on the ingredients and influences of capacity at the levels of the community, program management, supporting institutions, and the government. Finally, the implications of a more proactive focus on strengthening nutrition capacity for donor modes of operation and support priorities are discussed.FCND ,Nutrition programs ,Capacity ,Sustainability ,
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