Capacity Strengthening for Research
Capacity strengthening is the cornerstone of progress in the world of research, as it equips individuals and institutions with the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to conduct high-impact research effectively. In this community, we come together to collaborate, share knowledge, and focus on empowering individuals and organizations to excel in their research endeavors. Join to be part of a community that understands that strong research capacity is the key to driving innovation, solving complex problems, and making a meaningful impact on the world.
YOUR RESEARCH DESERVES TO BE SEEN, HEARD AND USED!
@all
Join us on November 3 at 4:00 PM (EAT) for an engaging webinar on \"Increasing Research Visibility and Policy Influence\" and discover practical strategies to take your research beyond academic publications and turn evidence into impact.
What you’ll gain:
Strategies to increase research visibility and reach key audiences
Practical approaches to communicating research findings effectively
Tips for engaging stakeholders and building strategic relationships
Insights into strengthening the uptake of research evidence in policy and practice
Ready to amplify your research impact? Register below.
@Nonvicks Ochieng thanks so much. The OCA tool list; the IDRC framework is especially useful for research institutions in LMICs. On keeping self-assessments honest, what has worked for me is anchoring every self-score to a document or data point (e.g.,…
Thank you Nonvicks for this critical question. I want to add a perspective from locally-led and peer-led organizations.Most M&E frameworks measure institutional capacity from the top — budgets, systems, policies. For small locally-led organizations like Purpose Rwanda, long-term capacity is first…
@Rhoda Nakhosi This is a super clear, practical framework for operationalizing long-term M&E! Tiering indicators and shifting funders toward milestone reporting (years 3, 5, 10) makes so much sense for tracking genuine autonomy over quick output metrics.To your question on Organisational…
@Dr. Magoba Thank you, Dr. Magoba, for this comprehensive breakdown. The distinction between counting activities and measuring sustained performance especially through indicators like independent grant management and talent retention really hits the nail on the head.Building on your points regarding funder…
Thank you, @benard This is a useful space to name needs openly. Building on what Francis and Charles have shared, mine fall into three areas:1. Monitoring and evaluation of long term capacity strengthening. As I raised in an earlier discussion,…
Thanks, Nonvicks, and to Dr. Magoba for a thorough response. A few practical additions on how to operationalize long-term measurement:1. Tier your indicators — separate activity outputs (workshops, trainees) from intermediate institutional outcomes (independent funding management, researcher retention at 3–5…
Thank you, Nonvicks, for raising this important issue. From a health systems, monitoring and evaluation, and implementation research perspective, I believe that measuring long-term capacity strengthening requires a shift from counting activities to assessing sustained institutional performance, autonomy, and influence.1.…
@all Most capacity strengthening projects measure short-term outputs such as the number of workshops held or researchers trained rather than long-term systemic impact, such as institutional autonomy or policy reform.
What frameworks or indicators effectively capture long-term, institutional capacity growth over 5–10 years?
How can funders and institutions align on meaningful M&E metrics beyond quick post-workshop evaluation forms?
@guest581@aphrc.org AI holds immense potential to transform APHRC’s operations, particularly in accelerating rapid evidence synthesis, automating complex data cleaning across multi-country cohorts, and streamlining policy translation into accessible briefs for regional stakeholders. In practice, tools like ChatGPT and Claude are already…
@Silungile, you\'ve named the thing everyone else is dancing around. All the use cases in this thread assume people already know how to use these tools well and most of us are self-taught. What would \"taught properly\" look like at…
@Shamim Kowa Talla, your point about combining APHRC\'s findings with real-time government priorities is what I find most interesting, and the most dangerous. Real time priorities shift fast, and an AI tool optimised for relevance could end up telling us…
@Bivon Momanyi, thanks for opening this up, the range of responses already shows how differently people are using \"AI at APHRC.\" Where I think the biggest impact sits is not in any single task but in the connective tissue between them, taking…
AI can strengthen our policy engagement by quickly analyzing large volumes of research data and distilling it into clear, actionable insights for government stakeholders. This would help us translate evidence into policy messages more efficiently.I’ve used Microsoft Copilot to draft…
AI at APHRC is not just about productivity, it is about paradigm. The biggest impact is not automating what we already do, but redefining how evidence shapes policy in Africa. At Purpose Rwanda, we are exploring AI for predictive…
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