What are key principles related to research capacity building?

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Key Points

• Research capacity building (RCB) is the process by which institutions, and the individuals who work within them, improve their ability to develop, implement, and sustain high-quality research efforts which can be translated into practice in order to improve outcomes.
• RCB is particularly needed in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and in other contexts where there are fewer resources in terms of funding, tools, and skills.
• Research capacity building is also sometimes called capacity strengthening or capacity development.
• This virtual library intends to provide RCB resources that are particularly relevant to human health-related research, based in hospital, clinic, or community settings.

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Helpful Links, Videos and Online Courses

Overview

• ESSENCE on Health Research has prepared three “good practice documents” that provide an overview of RCB:
  • Planning, monitoring, and evaluation framework for capacity strengthening in health research (Revised in 2016)
  • Five keys to improving research costing in low- and middle-income countries (Revised in 2020)
  • Seven principles for strengthening research capacity in low- and middle-income countries: Simple ideas in a complex world (2014)

Videos

• Strengthening clinical research capacity in LMICs
  • The Academy of Medical Science and InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) for Health produced this 2:30 minute video which provides a brief overview of the topic and summarizes 7 key recommendations for RCB in LMICs. A detailed report of the workshop mentioned in this video, which was published by the United Kingdom-based Academy of Medical Sciences and IAP can be downloaded from this link.

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Relevant Publications

• Franzen, S.R.P., Chandler, C., & Lang, T. (2017).Health research capacity development in low and middle-income countries: Reality or rhetoric? A systematic meta-narrative review of the qualitative literature. BMJ Open, 7, e012332

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