How to improve research capacity strengthening efforts: learning from the monitoring and evaluation of four research consortia in Africa

Recent efforts to shift the control and leadership of health research on African issues to Africa have led to increased investments for scientific research capacity strengthening (RCS) on the continent and a greater demand for accountability, value for money and demonstration of return on investment. There is limited literature on monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of RCS systems and there is a clear need to further explore whether the M&E frameworks and approaches that are currently used are fit for purpose. The M&E approaches taken by four African RCS consortia funded under the Developing Excellence in Leadership, Training and Science in Africa (DELTAS) I initiative were assessed using several methods, including a framework comparison of the M&E approaches, semi-structured interviews and facilitated discussion sessions. The findings revealed a wide range in the number of indicators used in the M&E plans of individual consortium, which were uniformly quantitative and at the output and outcome levels. Consortia revealed that additional information could have been captured to better evaluate the success of activities and measure the ripple effects of their efforts. While it is beneficial for RCS consortia to develop and implement their own M&E plans, this could be strengthened by routine engagement with funders/programme managers to further align efforts. It is also important for M&E plans to consider qualitative data capture for assessment of RCS efforts. Efforts could be further enhanced by supporting platforms for cross-consortia sharing, particularly when trying to assess more complex effects. Consortia should make sure that processes for developmental evaluation, and capturing and using the associated learning, are in place. Sharing the learning associated with M&E of RCS efforts is vital to improve future efforts. Investing and improving this aspect of RCS will help ensure tracking of progress and impact of future efforts, and ensure accountability and the return on investment. The findings are also likely applicable well beyond health research

How to improve research capacity strengthening efforts: learning from the monitoring and evaluation of four research consortia in Africa

Recent efforts to shift the control and leadership of health research on African issues to Africa have led to increased investments for scientific research capacity strengthening (RCS) on the continent, and a greater demand for accountability, value for money and demonstration of return on investment. There is limited literature on monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of RCS systems and there is a clear need to further explore whether the M&E frameworks and approaches that are currently used are fit for purpose. The M&E approaches taken by four African RCS consortia funded under the Developing Excellence in Leadership, Training and Science in Africa (DELTAS) I initiative were assessed using several methods including: a framework comparison of the M&E approaches; semi-structured interviews; and facilitated discussion sessions. The findings revealed a wide range in the number of indicators used in the M&E plans of individual consortia, which were uniformly quantitative and at the output and outcome level. Consortia revealed that additional information could have been captured to better evaluate the success of activities and measure the ripple effects of the efforts. While it is beneficial for RCS consortia to develop and implement their own M&E plans, this could be strengthened by routine engagement with funders/programme managers to further align efforts. It is also important for M&E plans to consider qualitative data capture for assessment of RCS efforts. Efforts could be further enhanced by supporting platforms for cross-consortia sharing, particularly when trying to assess more complex effects. Consortia should make sure that processes for developmental evaluation, and capturing and using the associated learning, are in place. Sharing the learning associated with M&E of RCS efforts is vital to improve future efforts. Investing and improving this aspect of RCS will help ensure tracking of progress and impact of future efforts, and ensure accountability and the return on investment. The findings are also likely applicable well beyond health research

Extension-Market Linkages on Banana Commercialisation Among Smallholder Farmers in Meru Region, Kenya

The study examined the effect of extension-market linkages on banana commercialization among smallholder farmers in the Meru region, Kenya. The study adopted a pragmatic paradigm and a cross-sectional survey design, sampling 370 and 30 farmers proportionately from 269,499 and 19,303 smallholder banana farmers in Meru and Tharaka-Nithi Counties of Kenya, respectively. The Tobit model was used to analyze the effect of extension-Market linkages on banana commercialization. The results revealed that sources of the Marketing information (Coef. -.0676939) had a negative influence on farmers commercializing banana production. The result showed that the Reliability of local extension service provider in enabling farmers access to market information (Coef. 0.037) had a positive influence on farmers commercializing banana production. The findings also showed that users of marketing information in commercializing banana business (Coef. 0.636157) had a positive influence on farmers commercializing banana production. It is recommended that the government should create and implement more policies that will favour and encourage farmers to commercialize banana. This will help farmers increase their income

Extension-Market Linkages on Banana Commercialisation Among Smallholder Farmers in Meru Region, Kenya

The study examined the effect of extension-market linkages on banana commercialization among smallholder farmers in the Meru region, Kenya. The study adopted a pragmatic paradigm and a cross-sectional survey design, sampling 370 and 30 farmers proportionately from 269,499 and 19,303 smallholder banana farmers in Meru and Tharaka-Nithi Counties of Kenya, respectively. The Tobit model was used to analyze the effect of extension-Market linkages on banana commercialization. The results revealed that sources of the Marketing information (Coef. -.0676939) had a negative influence on farmers commercializing banana production. The result showed that the Reliability of local extension service provider in enabling farmers access to market information (Coef. 0.037) had a positive influence on farmers commercializing banana production. The findings also showed that users of marketing information in commercializing banana business (Coef. 0.636157) had a positive influence on farmers commercializing banana production. It is recommended that the government should create and implement more policies that will favour and encourage farmers to commercialize banana. This will help farmers increase their income

Extension-Market Linkages on Banana Commercialisation Among Smallholder Farmers in Meru Region, Kenya

The study examined the effect of extension-market linkages on banana commercialization among smallholder farmers in the Meru region, Kenya. The study adopted a pragmatic paradigm and a cross-sectional survey design, sampling 370 and 30 farmers proportionately from 269,499 and 19,303 smallholder banana farmers in Meru and Tharaka-Nithi Counties of Kenya, respectively. The Tobit model was used to analyze the effect of extension-Market linkages on banana commercialization. The results revealed that sources of the Marketing information (Coef. -.0676939) had a negative influence on farmers commercializing banana production. The result showed that the Reliability of local extension service provider in enabling farmers access to market information (Coef. 0.037) had a positive influence on farmers commercializing banana production. The findings also showed that users of marketing information in commercializing banana business (Coef. 0.636157) had a positive influence on farmers commercializing banana production. It is recommended that the government should create and implement more policies that will favour and encourage farmers to commercialize banana. This will help farmers increase their income

Extension-market linkages on banana commercialisation among smallholder farmers in Meru Region, Kenya

The study examined the effect of extension-market linkages on banana commercialisation among smallholder farmers in the Meru region, Kenya. The study sampled 400 farmers from a target population of 288,802 from the Meru region. The Tobit model was used to analyse the effect of extension-market linkages on banana commercialisation. The results revealed that sources of marketing information (Coef. -0.06) had a negative influence on farmers commercialising banana production. The result showed that the reliability of local extension service providers in enabling farmer’s access to market information (Coef. 0.04) had a positive influence on farmers commercialising banana production. The findings also showed that users of marketing information in the commercialisation banana business (Coef. 0.63) had a positive influence on farmers commercialising banana production. The study concludes that there was an association between extension marketing linkages and banana commercialization among smallholder farmers in Meru region, Kenya. Government should create and implement more policies that will favour and encourage farmers to commercialise bananas. This will help farmers increase their income