A framework to evaluate research capacity building in health care

Abstract

BackgroundBuilding research capacity in health services has been recognised internationally as important in order to produce a sound evidence base for decision-making in policy and practice. Activities to increase research capacity for, within, and by practice include initiatives to support individuals and teams, organisations and networks. Little has been discussed or concluded about how to measure the effectiveness of research capacity building (RCB)DiscussionThis article attempts to develop the debate on measuring RCB. It highlights that traditional outcomes of publications in peer reviewed journals and successful grant applications may be important outcomes to measure, but they may not address all the relevant issues to highlight progress, especially amongst novice researchers. They do not capture factors that contribute to developing an environment to support capacity development, or on measuring the usefulness or the 'social impact' of research, or on professional outcomes.The paper suggests a framework for planning change and measuring progress, based on six principles of RCB, which have been generated through the analysis of the literature, policy documents, empirical studies, and the experience of one Research and Development Support Unit in the UK. These principles are that RCB should: develop skills and confidence, support linkages and partnerships, ensure the research is 'close to practice', develop appropriate dissemination, invest in infrastructure, and build elements of sustainability and continuity. It is suggested that each principle operates at individual, team, organisation and supra-organisational levels. Some criteria for measuring progress are also given.SummaryThis paper highlights the need to identify ways of measuring RCB. It points out the limitations of current measurements that exist in the literature, and proposes a framework for measuring progress, which may form the basis of comparison of RCB activities. In this way it could contribute to establishing the effectiveness of these interventions, and establishing a knowledge base to inform the science of RCB.

Learning to navigate and enriching the research process by engaging in a collaborative practice research capacity strategy

“…The interview questions and probes were drawn from a previous study and from literature around research capacity building strategies. [1,2,5,6,22] Research personnel conducted, digitally recorded, and transcribed the focus group and/or interview sessions. A series of 7 interviews (note a few had more than one participant) were held to accommodate the issues with scheduling.…”

“…[1][2][3] Over the last decade, several research capacity assessment and strategies have been undertaken. [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] Research capacity is a process of individual and institutional development that leads to higher levels of competencies and capabilities to perform useful research.…”

“…educational programs, fellowships, funding), [6][7][8][15][16][17] nurses and health care professionals continue to report lacking skills and confidence to conduct research due to minimal or no experience and not having enough time to participate in research. [1,6,12,14,[18][19][20][21] In this context, an Academic Health Sciences Center (AHSC) developed and hosted a competitive grants competition with a comprehensive learning approach as part of a larger strategy aimed at building CPBR. Underpinning the CPBR competition was the view that engaging point of care clinicians in research opportunities will motivate them to provide better care to patients.…”

Building research capacity in south-west Sydney through a Primary and Community Health Research Unit

“…Such disciplines have a low research skills base and may lack the research infrastructure needed to develop knowledge for evidence-based practice (Ilott 2004). Further, research in these disciplines is usually self-funded and less likely to be published in peer-reviewed journals (Cooke 2005).…”

Producing policy relevant systematic reviews: navigating the policy-research interface

“…Evidence informed policy making depends on the capacity of policy makers to use such reviews and the capacity of researchers to produce them. That each of these capacities needs the other is apparent for research about both health (Cooke 2005) and international development (Bates et al 2006); and has been shown to be applicable to the production of systematic reviews (Oliver et al 2015a). These capacities need to be matched by timeliness and relevance of evidence to inform policy dilemmas (Oliver K et al 2014;Whitty 2015).…”