Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Programme, Blantyre, Malawi.
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
PLoS One. 2018 Jul 5;13(7):e0198721. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0198721. eCollection 2018.
The role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in health research has attracted growing attention. NGOs are important service providers and advocates in international health, and conducting research can help NGOs to strengthen these service delivery and advocacy activities. However, capacity to conduct research varies among NGOs. There is currently limited evidence on NGOs' research capacity that can explain why capacity varies or indicate potential areas for support. We examined NGOs' capacity to conduct research, identifying factors that affect their access to the funds, time and skills needed to undertake research.
We examined research capacity through qualitative case studies of three NGOs in Malawi, including one national and two international NGOs. Data were generated through interviews and focus groups with NGO staff, observation of NGO activities, and document reviews.
Availability of funding, skills and time to conduct research varies considerably between the case NGOs. Access to these resources is affected by internal processes such as sources of funding and prioritisation of research, and by the wider environment and external relationships, including the nature of donor support. Constraints include limited ability to apply for research funding, a perception that donors will not support research costs, lack of funding to hire or train research staff, and prioritisation of service delivery over research in funding proposals and staff schedules.
The findings suggest strategies for NGOs and for donors interested in supporting NGOs' research capacity. Above all, the findings reinforce the importance of initial capacity assessments to identify organisational needs and opportunities. In addition, the need for time and funding as well as skills suggests that strengthening NGOs' research capacity will often require more than research training.
非政府组织（NGO）在卫生研究中的作用引起了越来越多的关注。在国际卫生领域，非政府组织是重要的服务提供者和倡导者，开展研究可以帮助非政府组织加强这些服务提供和宣传活动。然而，各非政府组织开展研究的能力存在差异。目前，关于非政府组织研究能力的证据有限，无法解释能力差异的原因或指出潜在的支持领域。我们考察了非政府组织开展研究的能力，确定了影响其获取开展研究所需资金、时间和技能的因素。
我们通过对马拉维的三个非政府组织（一个国家非政府组织和两个国际非政府组织）的案例研究来考察研究能力。数据通过对非政府组织工作人员的访谈和焦点小组、非政府组织活动观察和文件审查收集。
案例非政府组织在资金、技能和时间方面开展研究的能力存在显著差异。这些资源的获取受到内部流程的影响，如资金来源和研究优先级，以及更广泛的环境和外部关系，包括捐助者支持的性质。限制因素包括申请研究资金的能力有限、认为捐助者不会支持研究费用、缺乏资金聘请或培训研究人员，以及在资金申请和人员计划中优先考虑服务提供而非研究。
研究结果表明了非政府组织和有兴趣支持非政府组织研究能力的捐助者的战略。最重要的是，研究结果强调了初始能力评估的重要性，以确定组织的需求和机会。此外，还需要时间、资金和技能，这表明加强非政府组织的研究能力通常需要的不仅仅是研究培训。
