Färnman Rosanna, Diwan Vishal, Zwarenstein Merrick, Atkins Salla
Department of Public Health Sciences (Global Health/IHCAR), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Department of Public Health and Environment, R.D. Gardi Medical College, Ujjain, India.
Glob Health Action. 2016 Oct 6;9:30522. doi: 10.3402/gha.v9.30522. eCollection 2016.
Increasing efforts are being made globally on capacity building. North-south research partnerships have contributed significantly to enhancing the research capacity in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) over the past few decades; however, a lack of skilled researchers to inform health policy development persists, particularly in LMICs. The EU FP7 funded African/Asian Regional Capacity Development (ARCADE) projects were multi-partner consortia aimed to develop a new generation of highly trained researchers from universities across the globe, focusing on global health-related subjects: health systems and services research and research on social determinants of health. This article aims to outline the successes, challenges and lessons learned from the life course of the projects, focusing on the key outputs and experiences of developing and implementing these two projects together with sub-Saharan African, Asian and European institution partners.
Sixteen participants from 12 partner institutions were interviewed. The data were analysed using thematic content analysis, which resulted in four themes and three sub-categories. These data were complemented by a review of project reports.
The results indicated that the ARCADE projects have been successful in developing and delivering courses, and have reached over 920 postgraduate students. Some partners thought the north-south and south-south partnerships that evolved during the project were the main achievement. However, others found there to be a 'north-south divide' in certain aspects. Challenges included technical constraints and quality assurance. Additionally, adapting new teaching and learning methods into current university systems was challenging, combined with not being able to award students with credits for their degrees.
The ARCADE projects were introduced as an innovative and ambitious project idea, although not designed appropriately for all partner institutions. Some challenges were underestimated from the beginning, and for such future projects, a more structured approach needs to be adopted. ARCADE partners learned that integrating courses into current university systems and awarding students credits are essential.
全球范围内在能力建设方面正付出越来越多的努力。在过去几十年里，南北研究伙伴关系为提高低收入和中等收入国家（LMICs）的研究能力做出了重大贡献；然而，缺乏能够为卫生政策制定提供信息的技术熟练的研究人员这一问题依然存在，尤其是在低收入和中等收入国家。欧盟第七框架计划资助的非洲/亚洲区域能力发展（ARCADE）项目是多伙伴联盟，旨在培养来自全球各地大学的新一代训练有素的研究人员，重点关注与全球卫生相关的主题：卫生系统与服务研究以及健康社会决定因素研究。本文旨在概述这些项目实施过程中的成功之处、挑战和经验教训，重点关注与撒哈拉以南非洲、亚洲和欧洲机构伙伴共同开发和实施这两个项目的关键成果和经验。
对来自12个伙伴机构的16名参与者进行了访谈。使用主题内容分析法对数据进行分析，得出了四个主题和三个子类别。这些数据通过对项目报告的审查得到补充。
结果表明，ARCADE项目在开发和提供课程方面取得了成功，已有超过920名研究生参与其中。一些伙伴认为项目期间形成的南北和南南伙伴关系是主要成就。然而，其他人发现在某些方面存在“南北差距”。挑战包括技术限制和质量保证。此外，将新的教学方法应用于当前大学系统具有挑战性，同时无法为学生授予学位学分。
ARCADE项目作为一个创新且雄心勃勃的项目构想被引入，尽管并非为所有伙伴机构都设计得恰到好处。一些挑战从一开始就被低估了，对于此类未来项目，需要采用更结构化的方法。ARCADE伙伴认识到，将课程融入当前大学系统并为学生授予学分至关重要。
