Incorporating operational research in programmes funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in four sub-Saharan African countries

Abstract

Background: The current study builds upon a previous situation analysis of the extent to which grants from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) are being utilized to support operational research and implementation research (OR/IR) activities in recipient countries. The objective of this follow-up study was to identify approaches and pathways to implement an OR component into grants to the Global Fund, in four sub-Saharan African countries. Special focus was given to the Structured Operational Research and Training IniTiative (SORT IT). Methods: The conceptual framework was based on an analysis to identify elements supporting and blocking the integration of OR, called force field analysis, and a behavioural change assessment covering aspects such as opportunity, motivation, capability and triggers to do the integration. Data were collected through online surveys and stakeholder interviews both via telephone/online conference tools and in person in four countries with a high burden of malaria and tuberculosis. These countries were Ghana, Sierra Leone, the United Republic of Tanzania and Zimbabwe. The stakeholders included programme managers, implementation partners, representatives from international organisations, academic and governmental research institutions and other individuals involved in the countries' needs assessment and National Strategic Plan development. Results: We identified opportunities to integrate OR into the countries' programmes during the funding process, the country's needs assessment being the most important one, including the need of OR-related capacity. Both the force field analysis and the behavioural change assessment showed that the necessary elements to integrate OR were present in the countries. Motivation, capability and efficiency were found to be a managerial value omnipresent across stakeholders. However, those elements were influenced by the tendency to favour tangible assets over any abstract ones, such as increasing organisational capacity in OR.

Capacity building in operational research on obstetric fistula: Experience in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 2017–2021

“… 11 Depending on local needs, available resources, and absorptive capacity, programs and countries choose the format that suits their context. 1 , 12 , 13 Apart from Médecins Sans Frontières , whose pioneering role in the popularization of operational research is recognized worldwide 14 , 15 and the more recent Rwandan experience, 9 few SORT‐IT‐like initiatives implemented by non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) have been reported to date, although NGOs contribute to the development and expansion of local operational research capacity in their various intervention settings.…”