Guidance and conceptual tools to inform the design, selection, and evaluation of research capacity strengthening interventions

International development donors and governments have strengthened their commitment and spend on research capacity strengthening (RCS) initiatives in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) in recent years1. RCS support in a development context is provided on the basis that greater research capacity leads to socioeconomic growth through evidence-informed policy and practice, improvements in human capital and pro-poor products/technologies2. Despite increasing investment, the evidence-base pertaining to the design, selection and evaluation of RCS interventions in LMICs is limited at present confounding informed decision-making3.. There are few robust outcome or impact evaluations of RCS interventions or agreed evaluation frameworks with standardised metrics, and the body of RCS literature that is available is highly fragmented4-7. The current state of the RCS evidence-base reflects, in part, the inherent complexity of the RCS endeavour which may be characterised as a multifaceted, long-term, continuous process subject to a diverse range of influences and assumptions5. Yet it remains the case that there is not yet sufficient evidence to reliably inform which types of intervention, in which combinations, with which focus and in what proportion, are required to build research capacity effectively and sustainably in LMIC settings.