A Short Guide to Capacity Strengthening
Capacity strengthening elements are important to incorporate into any research proposal. Depending on the funder, the scope and scale of the expected capacity strengthening elements may be specified, but this guide provides an overview of the kinds of things that you should consider.
Different Types of Capacity Strengthening
There are different kinds of capacity strengthening that can be incorporated into a research project. You should consider what is appropriate in the context of your planned activities, what the funded expects, what is feasible and what kind of expertise is needed when developing your approach to capacity strengthening.
Researcher Capacity Strengthening
This may take the form of studentships, post-doctoral researcher training and development, technical staff training and development, and the broader development of researchers. This is often the most common form of capacity strengthening incorporated into proposals.Infrastructure Capacity Strengthening
This may include equipment, capital developments, upgrading of facilities or upgrading the technical capacity of institutions and organizations.Research Ecosystem Capacity Strengthening
This incorporates strengthening the wider capacity of institutions and people to deliver and manage research projects. This may include training of management or administrative staff, or sharing policies and processes for the strengthening of broader systems.Engagement Capacity Strengthening
This is becoming increasingly common and focusses on strengthening the capacity of non-academic stakeholders to engage with researchers and the different entities in the research pipeline. This may include skills development, but also the creation of enabling platforms.Integrating Capacity Strengthening
Capacity strengthening should be woven throughout the project and should complement the wider programme of work. Capacity strengthening is closely linked to sustainability of research outcomes, so you should carefully consider what skills, platforms and investment is needed to ensure the benefits of your project will be sustained after the funding comes to an end.
Exemplars
While capacity strengthening elements should be tailored to your specific proposal, we have compiled a list of useful exemplars that you may find helpful when considering how to embed capacity strengthening within your own project:
- Granting all project team members affiliate status at different partner institutions. This can be a way for people to have access to library resources and internal researcher development programmes. At UofG, affiliate status is granted via specific schools, so contact your local school administration for more details.
- Inclusion of budget for IT equipment/upgrades to increase capacity for remote meetings and working with sharing platforms such as Teams.
- Including budget for professional staff members of the team to attend ARMA training events, to join project team meetings, and/or to attend professional conferences.
- Identify non-academic stakeholders early and include budget for engagement activities throughout the project, not just at the end for dissemination.
Tips
- Put your money where your mouth is – it is easy to weave an impressive description of commitment to capacity strengthening, but the story unravels quickly if there are no financial resources allocated to capacity strengthening in the budget. Make sure you properly resource these elements.
- Talk to partners and other stakeholders openly and honestly in the early stages of project conception to understand their gaps and needs. Be responsive to their priorities.
- Keep an open mind – capacity strengthening can look like many different things, so be open to different perspectives on what it could look like for your research.