Research-Practice Partnerships: Designing Institutions for Complex Environments

• In Event: Research-Practice Partnerships for Implementation and Scale-Up

Abstract

Research practice partnerships (RPPs) that are designed to support districts’ use of knowledge have the potential to maximize impact, but they enhance risk and vulnerability. This paper reports on findings from a case study into an innovative RPP in a mid-Atlantic city. Our analysis shows how the partnership enhanced district capacity to interpret and use research, but that the interdependence between the researchers and the district exposed the RPP to changes in district leadership and a high degree of turbulence in the civic environment. We conclude that partnerships that entail a significant interdependence with the district have the potential to support knowledge use, potentially but that deep involvement with districts exposes RPPs to the dysfunctions that they aim to remedy.

Authors

• Joshua L. Glazer, The George Washington University

• Dryw Freed, Arlington Public Schools

• Sara Gopalkrishna, The George Washington University