Strengthening Public Health Scholarship in Sudan: The Role of Leadership and Mentorship Development

ABSTRACT. A robust public health workforce in Sudan is essential for accelerating progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals, and strengthening public health education is a priority for the Ministries of Health and Higher Education. Faculty at public health training institutions are a critical resource. Globally, development programs for junior to midlevel public health faculty have been well documented. However, most involved direct partnership between a university from the Global North and only one or two universities from the Global South, only one included an explicit focus on creation of a leadership network, and none were launched as fully virtual collaborations. Therefore, we conducted a mixed-method evaluation of the fully virtual Yale–Sudan Program for Research Leadership in Public Health. We used program records, participant feedback, competency assessment, and network analysis to evaluate 1) participant engagement, 2) change in skill, and 3) change in collaboration. The program achieved a 93% graduation rate. All participants would “definitely” recommend the program and described the live virtual sessions as engaging, effective, and accessible. We observed progress toward learning objectives and significant increases in 13 of 14 leadership and mentorship competency domains. Collaboration across Sudanese institutions increased, including an almost doubling in the number of pairs reporting scholarly collaboration. Eight authorship teams are actively working toward peer-reviewed publications. The program engaged scholars and policymakers from across Sudan and the Sudanese diaspora achieved high levels of co-creation and continues despite significant political unrest in the country, serving as a promising model for strengthening of public health education in Sudan.

30. Serve as a driving force for change, including strategies of change. 31. Make strategic decisions based on recognized values, priorities and resources. 32. Identify and communicate new system structures as needs are identified and opportunity arises. 33. Ensure that organizational practices are aligned with changes in the public health system and the larger social, political, and economic environment.
Emotional intelligence 34. Demonstrate awareness of the impact of your own beliefs, values, and behaviours on your own decision-making and the reactions of others. 35. Demonstrate empathy and concern for people as individuals while ensuring that organizational goals and objectives are met. 36. Be aware of the impact of your own behaviors and reactions on the behaviors and reactions of others. 37. Demonstrate personal responsibility and accountability for the achievement of a given task. 38. Respond appropriately to the positive criticism of others about your own behavior or performance. The goal of this module was to provide an orientation to the program, build relationships among participants and between participants and their mentors, and prepare participants to elevate their careers in the context of both national research priorities and home institution strategic objectives. Session 1: Introduction to Leadership Theory We described the evolution of leadership theories over time, with emphasis on the implications for the way we model and develop leadership within research teams.

Session 2: Leadership and Followership
We explored the relationship between leadership and followership, with attention to common misperceptions that hinder organizational effectiveness and identification of concrete actions that promote effective followership.

Session 2: Roles and Processes for Successful Research Teams
Building on our understanding of leadership as a role, we identified additional roles and processes required for successful research collaborations, including mechanisms to promote role clarity, accountability, development of productive conflict, and individual and group decision-making processes.

Session 3: Working in representational groups
We used an experiential learning simulation to highlight the challenges of working with representational groups, followed by (1) discussion of the advantages to working in representational groups for scientific productivity and (2) development of practical approaches to mitigating the inherent challenges.

Session 4: Working across hierarchy and organizational boundaries
We used an experiential learning exercise to identify boundaries among participants' groups and promote reflection within and between groups, with the goal of identifying and addressing misperceptions and promoting empathy as a foundation for collaboration.

First Panel Session
We curated panel session titled "National Research Agenda in Sudan", moderated by Professor Ibrahim Bani. We welcomed panelists including, Professor Ahmed Hassan Fahal, Professor Mustafa A. Salih, Professor Nafisa M. Bedri, and Professor Taha E. Taha.

Module 2: Fostering Effective Mentorship (July, 2021)
The goal of this module is to equip participants to analyze major theories of mentorship in the context of their own institutions, employ approaches and tools to function effectively in mentorship roles, and advocate for their own mentorship and professional development. Session 1: Bringing others along: What makes for effective mentorship?
We provided an overview of mentorship in research, including goals and attributes of mentoring relationships, challenges to mentorship, mentorship networks, and sponsorship. The session also included a discussion of current mentorship activities and institutional supports at each of the partner institutions. We described the need to help students/trainees properly scope a research project and present tools (FINGER and PICOT) to aid in developing a good project.

Session 5: Reflection Session on IDP Assignment
Participants were expected to engage in and reflect on their individual development plans to practice and reinforce the topics covered in the sessions.

Module 3: Leading Research Teams (August, 2021)
The goal of this module is to prepare participants to take on increasing research leadership roles in their home organizations, including leading multidisciplinary research teams and in roles of administrative leadership. Session 1: Diagnosing organizational events Using case examples, we explored commonly frustrating and ineffective organizational dynamics using multiple levels of analysis (individual, interpersonal, group, and intergroup), with implications for the most appropriate intervention/treatment.

Session 2:
Understanding and shaping organizational culture We focused on relevance for cross-disciplinary and cross-organization research collaborations. Topics in this session included what is organizational culture, why does it matter, and what do the most effective teams do to promote positive shifts in organizational culture? Session 3: Working Across Hierarchy and Organizational Boundaries We used an experiential learning model to identify boundaries and promote reflection within and between groups, with the goal of strengthening collaboration. The session included topics on organizational structures that support or impede collaboration, incentives and disincentives, and understanding and leveraging diverse goals.