OBJECTIVE: To describe strategies used by an HIV prevention research project in Malawi to maximize research capacities for both collaborating partners.
BACKGROUND: In any research collaboration, the institutional partners and individual researchers will differ in their research capacities bring different specific skills. Sharing knowledge and skills maximizes the research capacities of both institutions and all participating researchers.
SETTING: These examples come from a collaborative program of research testing the efficacy of an HIV intervention for different groups and settings in Malawi. The main collaborating partners are schools of nursing at the U. of Malawi and the U. of Illinois at Chicago. The currently funded project is the second major collaborative project we have undertaken.
CAPACITY-BUILDING ACTIVITIES: To maximize the research capacities of both partners and the collaboration, we emphasize activities that build skills in research design, project management, data collection, management and analysis, and dissemination of findings. Examples of successful efforts in each area will be described. Research design skills were strengthened through meeting to pool the team's expertise prior to writing the proposal. Project management capacities have been strengthened through sharing of budget procedures, and continuous staff meetings at each site and sharing of minutes across sites. Formal data analysis workshops have helped increase data management and analysis capacities, while joint planning of publications and coauthoring, joint identification of stakeholders and planning conferences for local dissemination are ways we have worked to increase dissemination capacities. Mentoring of junior researchers is fostered this through internships and assisting faculty in obtaining further formal schooling. We also discuss our creative strategies for funding and staffing these efforts.
IMPLICATIONS: When collaborative research projects explicitly devote time and resources to sharing skills, partners will further strengthen their research capacities. Maximizing research capacities is a major benefit of global nursing research collaboration.
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