Sponsoring national processes for evidence-informed policy in the health sector of developing countries - Nigeria
Development, implementation, and evaluation of individual staff skills and institutional incentives for capacity enhancement in health policy and systems research evidence use in policy making in Nigeria
In Nigeria, there is often little interest or expertise in the transfer and uptake of research evidence into policy and practice. Strengthening specific capacities - from an individual’s skills to the organization’s ability to support evidence use - will smooth the flow of research to policy. Enhancing this dynamic could be achieved through the provision of training and mentoring in acquisition, assessment, adaptation and application of research evidence; fellowship schemes enabling policy-makers to spend time in research environments; the creation of stronger incentives for evidence use; the integration of modules on use of evidence into leadership training courses for policy-makers; and recognition awards.
The objective of this project is to build the capacities of policy-makers to make critical choices for limited HPSR resources by promoting the transfer and uptake of research into policy and practice. The program of work to be conducted to strengthen evidence-to-policy linkages is categorized into three phases. The first phase is the preparatory phase; the second the intervention/implementation phase; the third the evaluation phase.
Preparatory Phase: The major work to be undertaken during the preparatory phase can be classified into the following: advocacy/consultation visits; situational analysis for evidence use in policy making and; the design and execution of a mechanism that will enhance proper project evaluation at the end of the intervention.
Intervention/implementation Phase: Two major areas of intervention are envisaged here:
• Strengthening individual staff skills to enhance capacity to use evidence in policy-making. This will be achieved through the provision of training and mentoring in acquisition, assessment, adaptation and application of research evidence, e.g. training in the commissioning of research studies or the interpretation of systematic reviews. Furthermore, fellowship schemes that enable policy makers to take leave to spend time in research environments will be developed.
• Strengthening institutional incentives to employ evidence.This will be achieved through the creation of stronger incentives for evidence use; the integration of modules on the use of evidence in leadership training courses for policy-makers; and recognition awards - providing financial or in-kind prizes to policy-makers that have shown outstanding performance in applying evidence to policy.
Evaluation Phase: Both process evaluation and impact evaluation will be employed in this project.
Anticipated outcomes include:
• the identification of specific capacity constraints and challenges that impede the development of health policy and system research evidence use in Nigeria;
• the identification of potential strategies and solutions that would address capacity constrains to HPSR evidence use in policy-making in Nigeria;
• the identification of critical gaps in HPSR evidence use in policy-making in the Nigeria, with a focus on improving public health;
• improved staff skills in the acquisition, assessment, adaptation and application of research evidence - e.g. the commissioning of research studies or the interpretation of systematic reviews;
• identification of the barriers to, and solutions for, translating research into policy and practice via evidence use; and
• the formulation of general recommendations for HPSR collaboration and coordination in Nigeria.
Project description
Programme: Supporting national processes for evidence-informed policy in the health sector of developing countries
Research title: Development, implementation, and evaluation of individual staff skills and institutional incentives for capacity enhancement in health policy and systems research evidence use in policy making in Nigeria
Thematic Research Area: Evidence to Policy
Grantee Country: Nigeria
Grantee Institution: Innovative Health Research Group (IHRG), Faculty of Clinical Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki Nigeria
Program Coordinator/Principle Investigator: Mr Chigozie Uneke
Start date: April 2009
Status of grant: Completed
Related publications/policy briefs
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Uneke CJ et al. (2010). The development of health policy and systems research in Nigeria: lessons for developing countries' evidence-based health policy-making process and practice.
pdf, 92kb -
Uneke CJ et al. (2010). Operational manual for strengthening institutional capacity to employ evidence in health policy-making for developing countries- The Nigeria experience
pdf, 2.05Mb -
Ebonyi State University. Policy briefs on Health Systems Building Blocks
pdf, 404kb