Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa+ (CARTA+) (360G-Wellcome-107768_B_15_Z)

CARTA+ aims to develop a critical mass of researchers working in research-supportive environments to improve public and population health in Africa. CARTA+ has identified three strategic thrusts based on the past achievements of CARTA. It will: 1) Maintain a pipeline of high-quality doctoral candidates and graduates to build a critical mass of multidisciplinary researchers across CARTA+ African partner-institutions. These fellows will be recruited from these institutions,and registered at African partner universities. 2) Institutionalise aspects of CARTA to strengthen and sustain PhD training, build research-supportive environments, and accelerate high-quality research activity (supervision, mentorship, faculty visits, improved administration) inAfrican institutions; and 3) Secure the future and foster the career paths of high-achieving CARTA graduates as productive researchers, grooming them as future research leaders in Africa, through post-doctoral positions, re-entry grants, an active alumni network, proposal development workshops, and mentorship and collaboration opportunities through pilot research projects. Together, these three strategies will produce a critical mass of researchers and research leaders who will create, promote and lead active research and training programmes at their universities. As change agents within their institutions, they create a feedback mechanism to guarantee sustainability of CARTA+ strategies (Figure 1). Background Since 2008, CARTA has established itself as a viable platform to build an African academy poised to lead world-class, multidisciplinary research to improve public and population health (Rand Europe, 2012, 2013, 2014 ). CARTA+ builds on CARTA's mutually-reinforcing two-pronged strategy to develop individual research capacity and leadership while concurrently transforming institutional research cultures and organisational systems within which these individuals operate. This approach creates the much-needed conducive environments to retain active researchers at African universities who, themselves, can support further capacity development for research and lead institutional change (Figure 1). How CARTA+ responds to regional health needs The Post-2015 Development Agenda emphasises the urgency of addressing the social determinants of health. The colliding burden of infectious and non-communicable diseases places poorly-functioning African health systems under enormous strain. To effectively address the major health, health systemsand development issues facing African countries and to produce robust evidence, a multidisciplinary approach to public and population health research is essential. CARTA's tested and successful multidisciplinary training model is a proven vehicle for responding to these needs and constitutes CARTA+'s strategic advantage. Higher education needs The aspirations of many African countries is to expand the numbers of PhD-level scientists and researchers. The African Union's Agenda 2063 underscores the need to "elevate Africa's role in global research, technology development and transfer, innovation and knowledge production". Yet the African higher education sector is characterised by a number of challenges including: low levels of funding, weak research culture and productivity, inadequate systems to support research, and a primary focus on undergraduate training. The CARTA+ approach of training university staff and supporting themto become productive researchers, research leaders and change agents in their universities, and to lead high-quality research and research training respondsto these challenges and positions the African higher education sector to meet these aspirations.