ISGlobal Conducts a New Workshop on Monitoring and Evaluation of Capacity Building Activities

Twelve researchers from low-income countries —ten of whom from sub-Saharan Africa— have participated in a pilot workshop with the aim of acquiring the appropriate knowledge and skills that allow them to assess the impact of training activities they will deliver in their countries. Organised by ISGlobal in collaboration with TDR, the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, the workshop “Monitoring and Evaluation of Training Activities for Researchers of Low-Income Countries” aims to cover a gap in the training process.

Since 2014, one of the responsibilities of the scholarship holders is to translate the acquired knowledge to their colleagues once they have completed their stay in the host institution and have returned to their research centre. However, the preliminary results of a second evaluation showed that the trainees did not have enough skills to evaluate the impact of this knowledge transfer.

The workshop took place on 3, 4 and 5 April at the headquarters of ISGlobal, in Barcelona, and was given by Joan Tallada and Núria Casamitjana, Director of Training of ISGlobal. "ISGlobal is positioning itself as a reference centre for the implementation of training activities in global health for researchers and active professionals, as evidenced by the renewed collaboration with TDR, with which we are very satisfied," says Núria Casamitjana, who designed the course upon request by TDR.

In fact, this is a second assignment, following a first evaluation performed in 2014-15 together with the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute and whose results were published in 2016.

"The field of monitoring and evaluation is generally more recognized in high-income countries. We aim at disseminating such workshops across our collaborative institutions in low- and middle-income countries and to equip them with the required skills to strengthen their institutional capacities," explains TDR researcher Mahnaz Vahedi, who described the pilot workshop as a "real success".

About TDR

TDR is a global programme of scientific collaboration that helps facilitate, support and influence research efforts to combat diseases of poverty. It is is co-sponsored by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO) and is hosted at WHO.