Mobilising the alumni of a Master of Public Health degree to build research and development capacity in low- and middle-income settings: The Peoples-uni

BACKGROUND Peoples-uni (People's Open Access Education Initiative) was established to help build Public Health capacity in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) through postgraduate level online courses. Graduates are invited to join a virtual alumni group. We report the results of efforts to meet the need for health research capacity building by exploring how the course alumni could be mobilised to perform collaborative research into the health problems of their populations. METHODS Two online surveys of Peoples-uni graduates were conducted with graduates from the first two and first four cohorts in 2013 and 2014, respectively, to explore the formation of an alumni group that would collaborate to further the research and development agenda in LMICs. This was followed by feedback on research-related activity and outcomes via the online alumni and tutors' forum to estimate early indicators of alumni success in relation to capacity building in both the conduct and utilisation of research. RESULTS Responses were received from 26 (87% response rate) graduates of the first survey and 42 (60% response rate) of the second survey. Overall, 92% of the respondents to the first survey supported the creation of an alumni group, especially if it helped to develop their own research skills and improve the health of their populations. Findings from the second survey showed that study with Peoples-uni was felt to have had a major or potential impact on the careers of the respondents, with 19% of graduates having progressed to a PhD programme to further their research skills, and a further 48% being in the process of applying or intending to apply for doctoral studies. Further feedback shows that at least one collaborative study has been completed and published by alumni members with other collaborative studies planned. Ongoing support has been provided to graduates to help them publish their work and apply for individual or collaborative research grants. CONCLUSIONS Harnessing the alumni of a Masters level course to perform collaborative research has considerable potential to build research capacity in LMICs.