Researcher-decision-maker partnerships in health services research: practical challenges, guiding principles

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Collaborative Research Models

Background:

• Growing emphasis on researcher-decision-maker partnerships to improve research translation.
• Funding agencies increasingly expect decision-makers on research teams.
• Lack of guidance for managing "insider" team members in health research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To discuss a researcher-decision-maker partnership in primary care networks.
• To report on processes for clarifying roles of insider team members.
• To address potential risks associated with insider roles in research.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative discussion of a specific researcher-decision-maker partnership.
• Focus on guiding role clarification for insider team members.
• Examination of research activities with potential risks.

Main Results:

• Identified practical challenges in building and sustaining collaborative research teams.
• Developed processes for role clarification of insider team members.
• Highlighted potential risks for participants and insider team members.

Conclusions:

• Provides guiding principles for researcher-decision-maker partnerships.
• Offers a useful discussion point for health services research teams.
• Aims to enhance the effective translation of research into policy and practice.