Welcome

Webinar: Taking relationships seriously: Findings from a realist review of community engagement

This webinar held in May 2022 on the REAL Community Engagement Realist Review shared some fascinating findings which give more conceptual clarity around how community engagement works in practice. It highlighted some key relationships and power dynamics at the heart of engagement work.

Guides & Tools: Public engagement and crowdfunding in health research

This practical guide was developed through a collaborative process of public engagement led by TDR Global. This practical guide provides tools, open-access resources and advice for researchers, especially those living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).  

Project Reflection: Zimbabwe LSHTM Research Partnership’s School Engagement Programme

These resources by Zimbabwe LSHTM Research Partnership have been created as a guide for BRTI researchers/staff conducting the four facilitated sessions for the school science clubs.​ Zimbabwe LSHTM Research Partnership's main objective for their school programmes is to provide a platform for students with a passion for science to express their ideas and develop projects in a structured fashion as well as to expose them to healthcare and research professionals to inform their career aspirations.       

Published Literature: Report on investing in Kenya's creative economy

The Nairobi Ideas Exchange by The Mawazo Institute hosted a roundtable discussion on the opportunities and challenges of scaling Kenya’s creative economy. This report will share key insights and potential next steps for individuals and practitioners looking to attract more funding.   

Podcast:The Nairobi Ideas Podcast

The Nairobi Ideas Podcast by The Mawazo Institute gives a public platform to the Africans who are making an impact with their Big Ideas. This season explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the continent.  

Guides and Tools: LGB Patient and Public involvement and Engagement in Research - a "How to" Guide for Researchers

The ‘How to’ Guide for Researchers was co-developed by different stakeholders coordinated by the LBG Open Innovation in Science Center to support the implementation of public and patient involvement (PPIE) in research.

Guides & Tools: LBG Open Innovation in Science Center Impact Model and Instruments

Developed by the LBG Open Innovation in Science Center present a toolkit that can be used respectively to plan and to collect feedback around the effects of involvement and engagement initiatives in research projects.   

Guides & Tools: LBG Research Priority Setting Project Database

An available database developed by the LBG Open Innovation in Science Center for you to explore research priority setting projects worldwide and a research tool for unanswered research questions and under-researched topics.

Article: A New Age of Project Value Chains and Networks in Africa

This article by Abraham Mamela, an engagement specialist based in Botswana, outlines the need for developing inclusive and sustainable ecosystems in Africa through investment into social cohesion and highlights the importance of inclusion, diversity and networks in project value chains. He also outlines various stages of how an ecosystem can organically emerge from projects.

Webinar: Community Engagement within Research Uptake - Maternal and Child Health

This webinar held in December 2021 explored the role of community engagement within the process of applying research to changes in health policy and practice, focusing on maternal and child health. 

Project Report: In Tune: A podcast about music, mental health and wellbeing

This article describes the In Tune podcast series run by the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda. The series discusses music and its relation to key factors affecting mental health, including social inclusion and community engagement, coping with stress, depression and anxiety, chronic pain, and psychological trauma as well as self-concept and memory. 

Article: Cities as Drivers of Sustainable Ecosystems

This article by Abraham Mamela, an engagement specialist based in Botswana, outlines his argument for the need for African cities to be carefully organised to allow them to become hubs of social innovation and science advancement. He also outlines his engagement project, Heartstrings & Heartbeats.

Project Report: Using ‘Magnet Theatre’ to engage public audiences with health research in coastal Kenya

This project reflection from KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Kenya explains how they used Magnet Theatre to engage communities and what they learnt from the process

Guide: Ethical dimensions of community engagement and involvement in global health research

This learning resource, from the UK's NIHR published in collaboration with the Institute of Development Studies, discusses the ethical dimensions to consider when engaging communities and involving patients in global health research. It was published in July 2021 reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Project Report: COVID-19: Where Art and Science Meet

Report on the Sub-Saharan African Network for TB/HIV Research Excellence's (SANTHE) COVID-19: where art and science meet project. The project, supported by the DELTAS Africa CPE Seed Fund in 2020, brought scientists and young African creatives together to explore the COVID-19 infodemic

Project Report: Women in STEM: A science mentorship program to inspire young women and girls in Malawi

In this project in Malawi, funded by the DELTAS Africa CPE Seed Fund, young women and girls were mentored by successful female scientists to encourage, support and inspire them to take careers in science.

Project Report: PowerPack of SuperScientists: Reframing gendered narratives to empower female scientists in South Africa

In this project from South Africa, funded by the DELTAS Africa CPE Seed Fund, SANTHE researchers were transformed into SuperScientists to empower female scientists and challenge gender narratives that block women’s career progression in science.

Project Report: Creative Arts and Social Inclusion: Engaging communities with substance misuse and HIV in Zimbabwe

Substance abuse and HIV are highly prevalent, complex and often misunderstood conditions among young people in Zimbabwe. Supported by the DELTAS Africa CPE Seed Fund, Clement Nhunzvi and his team in Zimbabwe used a creative arts competition to engage school children (13-20 years) in social inclusion and stigma reduction when confronting substance abuse and HIV in the community.

Project Report: Science-2-Society: Raising future leaders in high schools in South Africa

Immunologist Lerato Ndlovu shares her experience of using a play and career talks in a project, supported by the DELTAS Africa CPE Seed Fund, to engage high school pupils in rural South African communities with research and increase their scientific understanding of TB and its treatment.

Project Report: Gown and Town: Increasing retention of high school students to improve adolescent health in Nigeria

In this project, from the Institute of Child Health, University of Ibadan and funded by the DELTAS Africa CPE Seed Fund, viewpoints were shared by adolescents and teachers through a photo exhibition to understand reasons behind high school dropout rates. A stakeholder forum was held to give students an opportunity to voice their experiences and to catalyse better support for high school enrolment and retention, enabling adolescents to make better decisions to improve their health.