Identifying a Common Problem of Practice to Initiate a Networked Improvement Community

• In Event: Research Practice Partnerships and Improvement Communities

Abstract

Identifying a common problem of practice is a foundational step in initiating a Networked Improvement Community, a type of research-practice partnership. Through a case study of the initial stages of a NIC, this paper explores how a university-based research team identified a problem from the field through an iterative, member-checking process that focused on opportunities, problems, and needs from the field. Articulating a process for problem identification has practical and theoretical implications for building successful and socially just partnerships and contributes to the growing interest in NICs as a strategy for education reform at scale.

Author

• Julie M Kallio, The Breck School