Resilience of research capacity strengthening initiatives in Africa during crises: the case of CARTA during COVID

Figures & data

Box 1: Conceptualisation of CARTA.

The conceptualisation of CARTA was catalysed during a meeting convened by the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), in response to a ‘Wellcome Trust African Institutions Initiative’ Call. Institutions that were interested and able were invited to determine the overall purpose of CARTA, its management structure, including the lead institutions, and its accountability mechanisms. The African institutions were further invited to be part of the consortium. Those that responded and met the basic requirements for the Call were incorporated into the consortium. The consortium subsequently invited and incorporated non-African partners with whom they had previous mutual beneficial research relationships to join in. The consortium established a full-time secretariat, based at APHRC, which was also be the legal entity for CARTA.

Figure 1. CARTA partner institutions and governance structure.

Box 2: How CARTA works.

Each member institution has at least one designated CARTA focal person. These focal people are nominated by the Vice Chancellor or institutional head of research institutions. Through the focal people, institutions are represented at the annual Partners Forums where the performance and progress of the programme are monitored and new strategies, initiatives, policies and annual plans are discussed. Proposals from the Partners Forum are passed on to the Board of Management (BoM), which takes responsibility for strategic and policy-related decisions of the programme. The Consortium also holds regular meetings with the Vice Chancellors or institutional heads of research institutions. The day-to-day work of CARTA is carried out by a secretariat, located at APHRC, and is managed by the Executive Directorate, which comprises the heads of the two lead institutions and the head of research capacity building at APHRC.

Figure 2. Fellows’ progression milestone [12].

Box 3: CARTA’s Theory of Change.

CARTA’s Theory of Change (ToC) is hinged on inter-generational transfer of skills and culture, and a critical mass of change makers within each university. It prioritises skilled early career researchers, established research teams, conducive training and research environments, and quality scientific and engagements as outcomes that influence research leadership and strengthened sustained training and research.

Table 1. Variables extracted from the correspondence and documents produced by CARTA.

No.	Variables
1	Date of occurrence of the events.
2	Type of correspondence – extracts from documents, minutes of meetings, electronic correspondence, or reports.
3	Source from where the information was obtained – all stakeholders, secretariat, Executive Directorate, institutional focal persons, vice chancellors, Board of Management, coordinators and facilitators of interventions, fellows, funders, travel agency, digitisation consultant and APHRC leadership.
4	Target groups for the information - all stakeholders, secretariat, Executive Directorate, institutional focal persons, Board of Management, coordinators and facilitators of interventions, fellows, funders, travel agency, hotels and APHRC leadership.
5	Brief summary on the type of content area of the information.
6	Experiences encountered, including challenges, and responses elicited.

Table 2. Scheduled 2020 CARTA programmatic activities and adjustments made amidst the pandemic.

Implications of COVID on the CARTA 2020 scheduled activities
Scheduled Activity	Scheduled Dates	Venue	COVID-related adjustments
JAS 1 for Cohort 10 JAS 4 Cohort 7	March 2 -26	Makerere University, Uganda	Shortened the face-to-face residential sessions to enable the participants travel back to their countries before boundary restrictions Held online sessions for the remaining sessions
Vice Chancellors’ Meeting	Not scheduled for 2020	Virtual meeting	Held an emergency virtual Vice Chancellors’ meeting in April 2020 to
			establish how each institution had been affected by the pandemic determine how each institution was responding to the situation at hand determine the progress being made to provide support to post-graduate research programs identify how CARTA-funded PhD students and post-doctoral fellows continue with their work.
21^ST CARTA Board of Management Meeting	March 26	Makerere University, Uganda	Held virtually
Faculty and Administrators Workshop	June 22 - 25	University of Malawi, Malawi/APHRC, Nairobi	Held as a mini virtual workshop that focused on strengthening only one research-support functionary area (grant management) in partner institutions rather than the entire spectrum of functionary areas including library, enrolment, financial and accounts, Information, Communication and Technology (ICT), and research management support.
JAS 3 Cohort 8	August 3 - 28	University of Ibadan, Nigeria	Rescheduled to be held in 2021 adopting a blended learning approach that comprised virtual, in-country residential, and clinic (one-on-one diagnostics) sessions, and spread over longer durations of time, as compared to the regular four-week face-to-face sessions
4^th Focal Persons Forum	September 21	APHRC, Nairobi	Rescheduled to August 2020 as a virtual meeting to:
			apprise on institutional experiences resulting from COVID brainstorm on how to maximize the utilization of resources and ensure accounting of funds before close up of projects, and the way forward on how to enhance the gains of the program in institutions.
11^th CARTA Partners’ Annual Forum	September 22-23	APHRC, Nairobi	Held virtually with a focus on the implications of COVID-19 on the CARTA program and the new normal.
22^ndCARTA Board of Management and Funders’ Meetings	September 24	APHRC, Nairobi	Held virtually with a focus on the implications of COVID-19 on the CARTA program and the new normal.
CARTA 10 YEARS Scientific Conference	September 25-26	APHRC, Nairobi	Re-programmed as 10 years over a six-month period (from July to December 2020) in 2020. Included social media, articles on news outlets, webinars and a scientific conference.
JAS 2 Cohort 10	November 2-26	University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa	Offered in two parts The first part 2 was offered virtually for four weeks in November 2020 and included virtual sessions and in-country based residential sessions that provided the fellows with protected time to focus of the deliverables of the training sessions. The second part was re-scheduled to take place in 2021 with a focus on virtual clinics.
Supervisors’ Training	November 19-25	University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa	Rescheduled to be held in 2021.

Figure 3. Trend in the number of CARTA PhD graduates by year (2013 to 2020).

Table 3. Thematic areas of CARTA responses to the pandemic.

Thematic Areas	CARTA Responses
Policy and resource management	Call for a moratorium on the release of funds Development of guidelines for remote working for CARTA Secretariat Development of mitigation plans, including remote working plans, weekly catch-up meetings, regular project monitoring plans and budget and activity re-adjustments, reprogramming of activities Institutional development of policies, guidelines and code of practice for online delivery of academic programs, presentation of students’ work and research supervision
Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation	Assessment of implication of the pandemic on programmatic, fellowship and institutional activities and budgets Regular project monitoring activities Meetings to assess the situation and brainstorm on the way forward Reports on the impact of the pandemic on fellows and institutions and pandemic Status reports on the program, fellows and institutions
Communication Management	General updates to stakeholders on the status and implications of COVID-19 on the program Sensitization of the CARTA community on containment of the pandemic, including dissemination of health protocol guidelines Reassurance to stakeholders on measures being taken to stay afloat Holding meetings with CARTA stakeholders, including with vice chancellors, focal persons, fellows and funders to assess the situation and brainstorm the way forward including on institutional and fellowship activities, budgetary projections, the use of virtual platforms and re-scheduling for training and other programmatic activities Communication with fellows and institutions on program activities including cancellations, rescheduling and readjustment of activities and budgets, internet allowances Correspondences to funders on the implications of the pandemic, and soliciting guidance and consideration of extensions, bridging grants, and reprogramming and rescheduling of activities Soliciting of guidance from stakeholders on how to move forward
Supplementary investments	Procurement of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and supplies for fellows in research activities Enhanced access to e-learning resources Enhanced online learning infrastructural support at institutional level, including Setting up of smart classrooms to aid training sessions and online examinations Enhancement of internet support infrastructure including zoom licences, modems and internet allowance support. Strengthening of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) capacity of staff members at partner institutions through training sessions
Execution of appropriate interventions	Adjustments to programmatic, institutional and fellowship activities, to: embrace virtual learning and academic activities, including ethical approvals, thesis defences and project supervision; consider fellowship leave of absence and project re-programming and extensions; and adapt virtual data collection techniques. Consideration of fellowship leave of absence and project extensions at fellowship, institutional and programmatic levels. Transition to virtual learning space, including the development of guidelines for virtual training, the commencement of virtual training sessions and the engagement of an e-learning expert to support the transition to virtual learning

Table 4. Summary of the monthly thematic responses in CARTA in 2020 during the pandemic period.

Thematic Response Areas	February 2020	March 2020	April 2020	May 2020	June 2020	July 2020	August 2020	September 2020	October 2020	November 2020	December 2020
Policy and Resource Management	X	X	X
Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation	X	X	X	X	X		X	X	X
Communication Management	X	X		X		X	X	X	X	X	X
Supplementary investments			X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Execution of appropriate interventions		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X

Ezeh AC, Izugbara CO, Kabiru CW, Fonn S, Kahn K, Manderson L, et al. Building capacity for public and population health research in Africa: the consortium for advanced research training in Africa (CARTA) model. Glob Health Actionquery. 2010;3:3. doi: 10.3402/gha.v3i0.5693

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