| This study was conducted with the aim of providing new insights into global health research capacity building in low-resource countries through higher education institutions. An implementation framework was developed to assess an AIDS International Training and Research Program (AITRP) that was designed to build HIV/AIDS research capacity in Africa. The implementation framework incorporated a place element due to the international goals of the program. The framework was applied to the AIDS International Training and Research Program at the University of Washington, which trains medical and public health researchers for Kenya since 1988. Data for this case was collected from interviews, a survey, document analysis and observations in order to understand the individual and institutional factors that influenced program implementation over the long-term. On the individual level, findings showed that there are two defined pathways to research and participants' geo-social motivations that indicate possible capacity building impact. At the institutional level, the research environment, including the physical and cultural research environment, mattered. In Kenyan higher education institutions, there has been a value of teaching over research with limited access to faculty. While more recently, access to faculty and research idea sharing, called "open door policy", exists that fosters research in Kenya, AITRP fellows still require international collaborations to support their professional development after training and retention in the field. The implementation framework developed for assessing this international research capacity building program proved to be useful tool, if it contains the place element, and the goal of these programs is to develop research pathways dependent on long-term AITRP grant funding and international collaborations. |
