CONCEPT PAPER

INDEPTH SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENT AND LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME

1. INTRODUCTION

The INDEPTH NETWORK is an international network of field sites with continuous demographic evaluation of populations and their health in developing countries. The demographic surveillance system (DSS) sites generate high quality, population-based, health and demographic data on longitudinal basis, and constitute a critical alternative to the dearth of valid, population-based information in much of the developing world. INDEPTH harnesses the collective potential of these initiatives to provide a better, empirical understanding of health and social issues and to apply this understanding to alleviate the most severe health and social challenges.

One of the numerous strengths of DSS sites is that they comprise multidisciplinary teams of epidemiologists, biostatisticians, demographers and social scientists, who collect, clean, maintain, and analyse empirical information that can impact on health policy and practice. The sites therefore have the requisite infrastructure for research to inform priority setting, policy and the allocation of resources. However, there is a need to strengthen (and in some cases to build) their capacities to maximise the benefits of the technologies they use in generating these large volumes of data, and to add value to the data.

A key mission of the Network is to support capacity building and strengthening of cross-site collaborations among INDEPTH member sites.  The strategy to achieve this includes internships and pre- and post-doctoral fellowships for developing country nationals, short on-site training courses, fostering south-south and south-north partnerships. We propose to promote this through a Scientific Development and Leadership Programme, with an initial focus on INDEPTH sites in Africa.

Objectives

The key objectives of the Scientific Development and Leadership Programme are:

A. To develop a genre of African scientists from INDEPTH sites and elsewhere through practical on-the-job training in a unique Masters programme that combines epidemiology, biostatistics, demography and other social sciences with a focus on demographic and health surveillance in developing countries, who

  1. can identify key biomedical and public health problems that may be addressed by epidemiological or demographic studies and design solutions to those problems;
  2. have the appropriate analytical skills and can understand, plan and execute field-based scientific research; and
  3. have good communication skills to make research results understandable to diverse audiences.

B.    To develop the capacity of scientists in the INDEPTH Network to

  1. have negotiating power to engage external collaborators;
  2. to compete effectively for international resources; and
  3. to take leadership roles at their workplaces.

Existing Programmes

Existing training opportunities in Africa include a number of courses at the Master’s level in epidemiology and biostatics of duration between one and two years.  None of these encompass demographic surveillance as a significant component and most have no requirement for practical on-the-job field research. The field components of these programmes are, at most, of short duration.  To remedy these shortcomings we propose the development a Master Degree Programme in Population-based field research. The course duration will be a 12-18 months (face-to-face) comprising 8-12 months teaching, and 4-6 months field work.

What is different about the proposed programme

  1. DSS sites have huge amounts of longitudinal data available that can be exploited for research linked to the formulation of health and population policies.
  2. INDEPTH is a large established network (29 sites in 16 different countries), providing the possibility of analysing data from multiple sites/countries.
  3. the longitudinal nature of demographic surveillance at INDEPTH sites builds in continuity of staff and infrastructure.
  4. INDEPTH has a vibrant research environment in the DSS sites that can be further exploited for hands-on research experience;
  5. Graduates will emerge from the training programme with the necessary skills to conduct high quality research.  Sites will build on the skills base to further develop them as good communicators, negotiators, competitors for international resources, and research leaders.

2. IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY

Development of a Master Degree Course

The programme should be started by year 2004. The course work should be structured in a way that it meets the course hours and credit requirements of the hosting university.  It is proposed that the course be delivered through a combination of face-to-face teaching and distance learning approaches, to enable interaction between participants from different sites but also to maximise the time that students spend in a field environment getting hands-on experience of policy-relevant data-based research attached to INDEPTH-member sites.

Course Structure

The programme will focus on four priority areas:

  1. Epidemiology
  2. Demography and other relevant social sciences
  3. Biostatistics
  4. Information Technology

Course work would comprise:

  1. Core Courses – Compulsory courses in the 4 priority areas
  2. Electives - Which are field work related
  3. Field Work
  4. Dissertation

Preparing a paper that would be suitable for submission to a peer-review journal and/or a proposal suitable for submission to a funding agency may be a requirement for the dissertation.

Teaching Methods

Teaching methods would include a combination of didactic lectures, and distance learning for elective courses. The distance learning approach is employed to increase the extent to which students can undertake their studies, while still engaged in the day-to-day practical issues that are an integral component of successful field-based research.  With the rapid expansion of internet access and much wider penetration of access to personal computers, distance learning offers exciting opportunities in bringing advanced courses and teaching methods to large numbers of students, without the substantial costs involved in travelling to, and living in, a University city, often remotely located from a student’s normal working environment.  However, the development of high-quality distance learning materials is an expensive and staff-demanding activity of which there is little experience, to date, in African Universities.  Suitably qualified site supervisors may serve as didactic tutors for the distance courses.

Proposed Selection Process

  1. INDEPTH will advertise the concept to African universities, especially in those countries where INDEPTH has member sites. Proposals will be requested from appropriate faculties to establish a graduate programme that is tailored to suit the INDEPTH Scientific Development and Leadership Programme.
  2. One University in Africa be selected to start the programme, and if successful the programme will be extended to Asia.
  3. Candidates will be selected by INDEPTH site leaders and subscribing organizations, through a credible, transparent, and pre-defined selection process
  4. Students who are on attachment at INDEPTH sites will assume a visible role for the studies they are involved in.
  5. 5 - 10 scholarships will be offered annually by INDEPTH.
  6. Universities will advertise internationally for students.

INDEPTH Sites Participation

Three sites would be selected initially to partner the hosting university. Sites with personnel who have the requisite qualification and expertise will be accredited by the hosting university.  Sites will receive some support to develop infrastructure to host students. Sites with VSAT / or reliable Internet access and good bandwidth would be considered over other sites. Supervisors will be remunerated so that they are committed to the supervision roles. Sites would have to make an undertaken / commitment in the form of a formal contract.

Research Support to Be Provided

To Universities

Provide $100,000 seed money annually to the participating university for 3 years only. It is expected the participating university will be able to attract additional funding for the programme after the 3 year period.

To Researchers

A modest stipend would be provided to cover travel, tuition and research expenses, including re-entry grant for students returning to their sites.

Partnership with University

A partnership will be established with the University that is finally selected to develop the course appropriate for next generation of scientific leaders, and to promote the course widely. The University will also be supported in its capacity development efforts to implement the course through sabbaticals.

Developing the Distance Learning Course

In recent years several universities in the north such as Danish Bilharzian Laboratory (DBL), University of Tulane, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) have invested substantially in the development of distance-learning courses at the Diploma and Master’s level and, in particular, offers a 2-5 year part-time course in the principles and practice of epidemiology.  Many of the study modules developed for this course would be relevant to the proposed INDEPTH course, but additional modules would be required on, for example, demographic and social science topics relevant to demographic surveillance and field research. The northern will work with the proposed INDEPTH initiative with the objectives, over a 3-4 year period, to:

  1. adapt existing study modules to suit the objectives of the new course
  2. collaborate in the development of new modules
  3. transfer the knowledge and skills necessary for the running of distance-based learning on courses and the development of new courses to the selected African University

As part of the development process, the northern partner and the African University, in collaboration with those experienced in management training and development would produce new distance-based modules on leadership training. These might be taken either as stand-alone modules or as an integral part of the Master’s course for those students identified as potential future leaders.

Developing Capability and Infrastructure in INDEPTH Sites

INDEPTH will develop the capabilities including infrastructure in selected communities and housing allowing INDEPTH sites to provide excellent facilities for both long distance training and practical hands-on training, including carrying out field-based studies on which, for example, dissertations might be based. This capacity building support will include short on-site training courses and workshops on leadership issues at INDEPTH member sites.

Establish Partnership with development partners

Partnerships would be established with development partners (Bilateral and Multilateral) and foundations, to fund the programme and also to sponsor candidates from outside INDEPTH Sites to undertake the training.

3. EXPECTED OUTCOMES

Each Leadership Fellow would be responsible for a defined deliverable in his/her respective research area which will be shared with participating sites and sponsors of the Fellows Programme. Fellows will present their research findings at an INDEPTH Annual General and Scientific Meeting.

It is envisaged that this INDEPTH initiative will provide the impetus to universities to be more involved in interdisciplinary graduate programmes that are problem-solving orientated. The vision is that the programme will provide a springboard to young scientists to assume scientific leadership roles in their respective research areas. To the Network itself, the expected benefit is that scientists who take part in the programme would go to an INDEPTH site and develop a strong research proposal which can then be implemented in their own countries.