Strengthening capacity for implementation research: Learnings from the global alliance for chronic diseases implementation science school

Background: Many contextual and political factors have hindered the implementation of evidence-based interventions and policies to tackle non-communicable diseases (NCDs) prevention and control, including building robust capacity at national and local levels. Implementation research capacity strengthening initiatives, although increasing in number, are still limited and are not accessible for the majority of healthcare professionals, globally. The Global Alliance for Chronic Disease (GACD) brings together 12 national health and medical research funding agencies with the common mission to reduce the burden of chronic NCDs globally. As part of its mission, GACD has also been supporting a range of implementation research capacity strengthening activities since 2014, through three main channels: Implementation Science Workshops, Implementation Science Schools, and most recently, through the development of the GACD Implementation Science e-Hub (https://implementationscience-gacd.org/), which is a free online publicly available resource to advance knowledge and practice in implementation science in relation to NCDs.
This paper describes the design, delivery, and evaluation of the three annual GACD Implementation Science Schools (ISS) that utilised the GACD Implementation Science e-Hub and delivered between 2020 and 2022.
Methods: Our program evaluation focused on the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of the virtual ISS. We used data from program documents and evaluation surveys completed by trainees at the end of each ISS. The e-Hub data analytics were also collected over the duration of the ISS.
Findings: One hundred and thirty-five participants from 28 countries in five WHO regions attended the three ISS between 2020 and 2022. The virtual delivery was well-received and found to be efficient in program delivery, networking, and for providing collaborative opportunities for trainees from many different countries. The recently developed GACD Implementation Science e-Hub has recorded 20,000+ users since its launch in late 2020 and was found to be an instrumental platform to support the program by providing a stand-alone, comprehensive online learning space for knowledge and skill development in implementation research.
Implications for D&I Research: The delivery of the virtual GACD ISS has proved to be feasible, acceptable and effective and offers greater scalability and sustainability as part of a future strategy for capacity strengthening in implementation research globally.