High-quality research training is essential for strengthening global health systems and supporting countries affected by infectious diseases. In line with the mission of the center and WHO TDR, developing strong research capacity enables scientists to generate evidence, translate it into practical interventions, and contribute to reducing disease burdens in vulnerable populations. Many capacity-building activities, however, take place outside formal academic structures and therefore lack systematic monitoring and evaluation. This creates a need for practical tools that trainers can use to assess the effectiveness of their programmes and continuously improve the quality of their work.

This workshop addresses that need by offering a practical, hands-on learning experience focused on the development of a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework tailored to research capacity building. Participants will learn essential M&E concepts, acquire tools to monitor activities and assess outcomes, and practice interpreting data to enhance the impact of their training initiatives. By the end of the workshop, participants are expected to have a functional M&E framework they can adapt and apply within their own institutions.

The overarching goal of this workshop is to strengthen the ability of scientists and practitioners to integrate M&E approaches into their capacity-building activities. By developing these skills, participants contribute not only to the improvement of their own training efforts but also to a broader culture of quality, accountability, and evidence-driven decision-making within research environments. Ultimately, the workshop supports the development of more effective, efficient, and impactful research capacity strengthening initiatives.

Learning objectives

There are two principal learning objectives for the workshop. By the end of the workshop, participants should be able to:

1. Apply relevant terminology and concepts to describe, discuss, and analyze M&E frameworks and findings; and
2. Generate and implement M&E frameworks for research capacity building activities.

Modul

The workshop will be delivered through lectures, plenary discussion, group discussion and problem analysis, which focus on a series of sessions:

1. Introduction to monitoring and evaluation: rationale, concepts, and model.
2. Monitoring and evaluation frameworks: approach and elements
3. The results chain: components and links
4. Indicators: definition and development
5. Data quality: assessment and management

Participants and Beneficiaries

For the most part, we expect participants in the workshop to be scientists who, either as part of their regular work or sporadically, offer trainings that focus on building research capacity, either within their own research institutions, or in the broader scientific community. This type of peer-led training is essential to developing research competencies for participants and leadership skills for facilitators, as well as more generally strengthening networks and collaborations. Implementing a monitoring and evaluation framework for these capacity building activities can help facilitators gain an understanding of the results they are generating and how to improve these results. The potential beneficiaries of this workshop are diverse and include the workshop participants themselves, their research institutions, and future participants in research capacity strengthening activities.