Using implementation research to understand systems failures that create barriers to implementation was the key issue addressed in the protocol development workshop held 17-21 August in Montreux, Switzerland. The workshop, organized by the Alliance in collaboration with UNICEF with funding from GAVI, follows a call for research launched in February.
12 participants representing six project teams from Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda and Vietnam attended the workshop. Each project team consisted of a decision-maker directly involved in the implementation of an immunization programme and a researcher from an institution operating within a low- and middle-income country. Designed in this way, researchers gain a better understanding of the failures within the system in order to identify research questions that are relevant to implementation. Decision-makers, on the other hand, are supported in the development of robust study design and methods to generate knowledge that can address the barriers faced in implementation.
Over the five-day workshop, facilitators from the Alliance (Dr Nhan Tran) and the Knowledge Management and Implementation Research Unit at UNICEF (Dr Theresa Diaz) worked with teams to apply a systems perspective and reframe their questions as implementation research.
Many participants expressed that this increased understanding of implementation research and the shift towards broader systems perspectives and underlying systems failures were the most beneficial aspects of the workshop.
Interaction among peers was also highlighted by participants as a benefit of the workshop. In addition to working in pairs of decision-makers and researchers, teams were able to strengthen their projects based on the input of their peers during group feedback sessions.
When teams return to their respective countries, opportunities to engage this network for implementation research through cross-country exchanges throughout the duration of the project will be explored.
For more information, contact Nhan Tran (trann@who.int).