In line with our second mission to ‘strengthen research capacity in endemic countries’, LRI regularly facilitates operational research workshops for LRI-funded researchers. Previous workshops have taken place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (2017); Kathmandu, Nepal (2018) and Nairobi, Kenya (2019).

This year, LRI conducted a workshop on data analysis aiming to train small teams of researchers in quantitative data analysis knowledge and skills. The workshop was organised in-person in Kathmandu, Nepal, from 7-12 September, adjacent to the NTD NGO Network (NNN) Conference. A total of 23 researchers based at institutions in six leprosy-endemic countries (Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nepal and Nigeria) participated in the workshop, supported by a diverse group of tutors/mentors.

The workshop was a combination of presentations and practical exercises, using datasets from the participants’ own research projects. During the workshop, a broad scope of topics were covered from creating a data analysis plan and importing data, to different analyses and data visualisation. The workshop concluded with research teams giving a presentation on analysis performed on their LRI-funded project data.