Building Capacity in Institutional Operational Research in Low-Resource Settings: Protocol for an Implementation Research Study

Background: Operational research (OR) in eye care within resource-constrained settings helps develop context-specific solutions to local challenges. Building OR capacity among eye care personnel enables them to independently generate evidence that drives improvements in eye care delivery. Objective: This protocol describes the extended phase of the Institutional Operational Research Capacity Building (I-ORCB) program designed to train eye care professionals in the fundamentals and applications of OR. Methods: The I-ORCB program will be conducted in collaboration with Seva Canada and the Pragyaan Sustainable Health Outcomes Foundation over 3 years (2024-2027). A total of 10 partner eye hospitals in India and Nepal will participate. The training is organized around 7 work packages covering quantitative and qualitative research methods, data management and analysis, community engagement, scientific writing, grant writing, and ethics. The program will be implemented in two sequential phases: (1) protocol development and ethics committee submission and (2) mentoring, data collection, data analysis, and manuscript preparation. Delivery will include workshops, ongoing mentorship, e-resources, and structured monitoring mechanisms. Evaluation will follow the Kirkpatrick model, and cost-effectiveness will be assessed through the change in knowledge among the participants brought about by the workshops. Results: This program is currently in the implementation phase. As of March 2025, a total of 10 teams have been enrolled in the I-ORCB program. Data collection for program evaluation began in June 2025 and is expected to continue until late 2026. Expected results include enhanced OR competencies among hospital teams, institutional strengthening for research, development of peer-reviewed manuscripts, and improved capacity to apply OR to service delivery challenges. The results of this program are expected to be published in 2027. Conclusions: The I-ORCB program applies a practical, learning-by-doing approach and is grounded in the Cooke framework for research capacity building. By integrating structured mentorship, institutional ownership, and flexible virtual learning components, the program is expected to strengthen OR culture in low- and middle-income countries and improve the delivery of eye care services in South Asia.