Research-Practice Partnerships in the United States: Snapshot of the Field

• In Event: International Explorations of Collaborations: How Do Research-Practice Partnerships in Europe Compare With Those in the United States?

Abstract

Objective
Educational RPPs (RPPs) are an important part of the educational ecosystem that connects research, policy, practice, and community work in the United States. While RPPs share “core DNA” (i.e., long-term, organized to connect diverse forms of expertise), we know little about the diversity and variation of approaches for how RPPs approach and engage in their efforts together, and to what ends.

Framework
This paper draws on the updated RPP definition (Author et al. 2021) and the four dimensions along which U.S. RPPs vary. With respect to an RPP’s goals, two elements are critical: whether the scope of work is focused or broad, and whether/how members of the RPP conceive of equity as central to the process of partnering, or as central to the outcomes the partnerships seek to achieve. The composition of RPPs varies with respect to the partners and organizations involved. Third, while RPPs all engage with research as a leading activity, how RPPs approach their research varies by inquiry activity, length and intensity, and roles. Finally, RPPs rely on different sources of funding, which can shape whether and RPP work can proceed and in what ways.

Methods
This project draws on the experiences of a diverse set of RPPs based in the United States involved in a broader study to develop and validate measurement tools. In 2019, we created a national roster of 303 active education RPPs. Using a stratified sampling approach, we contacted 211 RPPs, of which 65 agreed to participate, for an RPP response rate of 31%. All RPPs participated in a 15 to 20 minute survey, then half were selected randomly for interviews. Across the 24 partnerships with full participation (defined as including at least two research-side partners and two practice/community-side partners), the data include interviews with 55 research-side and 60 practice- or community-side partners. Using mixed-methods analysis approaches, we created RPP-level case study reports and analyzed patterns.

Results + Conclusions
We find that all RPPs had goals related to educational change and transformation. Some RPPs engaged with their partners to gather information and improve existing policies, practices, and strategies, while other RPPs attempted to reimagine and transform policies, structures, and roles. These goals mattered because they animated the partnership’s work, informing which partners are at the table, whose knowledge/expertise is elevated, and what activities are involved. We also see strong evidence that RPP work is enacted in and attends to the organizational, institutional, local, socio-cultural, historical, and political contexts.

Significance
While by no means represents the full population of RPPs in existence, to the best of our knowledge, this project represents patterns from the largest sample of educational RPPs in the United States to date. This descriptive study provides a snapshot of today’s RPPS, in order to identify common strategies, better understand the trade-offs of different approaches, and help surface common tensions. Given the ongoing development of U.S. RPPs, these findings also contribute to thinking about what is possible as RPPs grow in other international contexts.

Authors

• Caitlin Farrell, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Alison Fox Resnick, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Corinne Singleton, Menlo Education Research

• Kristina M. Stamatis, University of Nebraska - Omaha

• William R. Penuel, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Paula Arce-Trigatti, National Network of Education Research-Practice Partnerships

• James Soland, University of Virginia

• Sarah Wellberg, University of Virginia