Utility and Evaluation of Applied Project Management Processes Within a Large Multicountry Health Systems Development Project Conducted During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic.

The increasing trends in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) continue to pose a significant threat to human health, with grave consequences in low- and middle-income countries. In collaboration with local governments and microbiology laboratories in South Asian and Southeast Asian countries, the Capturing Data on Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns and Trends in Use in Regions of Asia (CAPTURA) project worked to identify gaps and expand the volume of existing AMR data to inform decision-makers on how to best strengthen their national AMR surveillance capacity. This article describes overall project management processes and the strategies implemented to address the disruptive impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the project activities across diverse contexts in different countries. Also, it assesses in-country team's feedback on the conduct of activities and their overall impact on project completion. The strategies employed were tailored to the specific context of each country and included increased communication and collaboration among consortium partners and in-country teams, as well as hiring of additional in-country team members. This paper highlights the importance of local representation and capacities as well as real-time (virtual) engagement with stakeholders, ensuring close monitoring of the local situation and ability to tailor context-specific mitigation strategies to continue project implementation during disruptive external circumstances.

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© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Potential conflicts of interest. B. P. reports supporting National Center for Laboratory and Epidemiology staff for their extra time to summarize the retrospective data on antimicrobial resistance. B. D. reports compensation and grant funding from the Public Health Surveillance Group (PHSG). H. S. J. has been employed by IVI since 2021; received payments from the CAPTURA project as a consultant; and was hired by IVI between April 2019 and March 2021. A. S. reports receiving compensation from PHSG. W. M. reports funding from IVI and UKAID and grants from IVI and UKAID. P. G. reports funding support from PHSG. M. J. S. reports being employed as a CAPTURA Country Coordinator for Bangladesh from April 2020 to May 2022 and received payments; worked as a full-time staff member for IVI based in Seoul; and supported CAPTURA implementation for the 11 South and Southeast Asian countries and received monthly renumeration. S. G. reports receiving consultancy payments for manuscript formation, interpretation of the results, and writing the discussion and from IVI as an independent consultant. M. G. reports payments to IVI from the UK Fleming Fund for the CAPTURA project. N. M. reports managing the in-country coordination for Pakistan and provision of supporting documents, information, and data; and received grant funding from the CAPTURA grant. P. Y. reports support from the Ministry of Health, Royal Government of Bhutan and IVI; grant funding from the Fleming Fund Regional Grant; and support for travel and attending meetings from the CAPTURA project, IVI, and the Fleming Fund Regional Grant. All other authors report no potential conflicts. All authors have submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Conflicts that the editors consider relevant to the content of the manuscript have been disclosed.