**2. Methods**

We carried out a semi-structured questionnaire-based survey on all SORT IT alumni trained from the start of the SORT IT programme (in 2009) until December 2019. E-mails of alumni were sourced from a SORT IT web-based alumni network and a training database. Between March and April 2020, each alumnus received a SurveyMonkey link (surveymonkey.co.uk) to access the questionnaire.

The questionnaire was pre-tested and included information on demographics, whether the person was currently involved with the COVID-19 response and if so, whether he/she was applying the skills gained from the SORT IT training to the pandemic response. If the response to the latter was "yes", the person was asked to specify the area(s) where the skills were being applied and provide some illustrative information. Up to two reminders were sent if responses were not received within 7 days. Where e-mails were invalid, social media links (Facebook Messenger, Skype and Whats App) were used to update contact details and send reminders.

The SORT IT programme covered various aspects of the research cycle such as research prioritization, formulation of the research question, study protocol writing, efficient data capture and analysis, manuscript writing and knowledge managemen<sup>t</sup> [1]. SORT IT also has an in-built system to gather information for improving the quality and performance of the training programme [1]. Survey responders were all adults, participation was voluntary, data were anonymized, there were no personal identifiers and no sensitive personal questions were included that could risk psychological or social harm. This was thus considered a minimal risk study and the Ethics Advisory Group of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Paris, France (which oversees ethics reviews for the SORT IT global partnership), determined that ethics clearance was not required for this study. The survey data was exported to Microsoft Excel and used for data analysis.
