Research capacity-building of midwives expanding access to safe abortion in the Democratic Republic of Congo: transnational research collaborations with civil society organizations

Enabling civil society organizations (CSOs) in sub-Saharan Africa to develop research ensures equitable scholarly representation and addresses local problems in sexual and reproductive health. To this end, a transnational research collaboration was formed to evaluate abortion services and develop the research capacity of two CSOs in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The team included Karolinska Institutet, Partners for Reproductive Justice (IPAS) and the National Midwives' Association (SCOSAF). The objective of this article is to discuss the context of the partnership, including research capacity-building inputs, processes, outputs, and outcomes, as well as lessons learned and recommendations. Activities were tailored to the research capacities of each CSO and the research team of clinical care providers over the two-year project period. Research capacity-building resulted in increased opportunities for team members to conduct research and manage research projects outside of academia. Overall, there were improvements in midwives' capacity to design and conduct research, and in the midwives' association's capacity for research management and project administration. Recommendations for others include pragmatic incorporation of gender considerations, approaches to organizational and individual research capacity-building, and baseline CSO capacity assessments for research management. Health research conducted in a non-academic setting, specifically within CSOs, can be a pathway to research equity. In DRC, it strengthened health professionals in their capacity to generate evidence to influence local abortion policy and health services in Kinshasa, DRC.