ESSENCE on Health Research

Strategic Support activity - Synergy in research capacity strengthening

ESSENCE (Enhancing Support for Strengthening the Effectiveness of National Capacity Efforts) is a collaborative framework between funding agencies providing synergism to address research capacity needs. It aims to improve the impact of investment in institutions and enabling mechanisms that address the identified needs and priorities within national strategies on research for health.

The overall goal of ESSENCE is to increase and improve the impact of investments into structures and institutions in low income African countries to ensure that conditions for research and utilisation of knowledge are built on a sustained basis aiming at self sustainability in the long run. The initiative will foster the analytical capacity and scientific knowledge in low income countries through sustainable national research systems in the pursuit of national development.

Current activities include:

• a global dialogue involving funders and African countries to learn from each other the strategies, methodologies and research capacity needs associated with diseases of poverty;
• country-based pilot models of collaboration between programmes to harmonize practices and optimize resources; the first country-based pilot was initiated in Arusha, Tanzania in March 2009;
• documenting successes and failures in strategies, approaches and support for capacity development;
• developing methodologies, including monitoring and evaluation indicators, to track the input, process, outcome and impact of investment in research capacity;
• sharing experiences on ongoing programmes and funding modalities, and providing information on funding opportunities through an electronic platform.