"What the Hell Is This, Who the Hell Are You?" Role Negotiation in Research-Practice Partnerships

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

Abstract

Research-practice partnerships require researchers and practitioners to assume counter-normative roles, yet little is known about how these roles are negotiated. We share findings from a longitudinal case study of one research-practice partnership engaged with district leaders, drawing on 20 hours of partnership meetings and over 50 interviews with practitioners and researchers. Role negotiation occurred over one-third of leadership meetings, as evident by identity-referencing discourse. Several forces contributed to the need for role negotiations within the partnership, including the partner’s ambitious yet ambiguous identity and the introduction of new members to the group. This study provides a theoretical foundation for future research regarding role negotiation in RPPs and offers implications for researchers and practitioners starting or engaged in partnership work.

Authors

• Caitlin Farrell, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Christopher Harrison, Florida Southern College

• Cynthia E. Coburn, Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy Human Development and Social Policy