[Transdisciplinary collaboration between public health and university institutions: Reflection and recommendations...

The necessity for collaborations between the public health service (PHS) and university institutions is becoming increasingly apparent. Political measures such as the Pact for the PHS call for stronger networking in order to gain scientific insights more quickly, transfer them into practice and promote evidence-based health measures. This requirement was subjected to rigorous testing as part of the BMG-funded joint project Infektionsschutz.Neu.Gestalten (I.N.Ge).

The collaborative process was reflected through the utilisation of the participatory World Café method. Partners from local health authorities and university discussed and analyzed their key experiences. These experiences were systematically evaluated using cluster analysis. This analysis identified central aspects of the type of collaboration, methodology and organisation.

The analysis indicates that a joint research project such as I.N.Ge require a well-defined distribution of roles, early and continuous coordination, and a shared understanding of scientific work and research. The collaboration resulted in a more profound understanding of each other's working methods and facilitated mutual knowledge transfer. Challenges experienced were the presence of different institutional structures, cultures and working environments, as well as limited human resources. Furthermore, the expectations of priority tasks and objectives differed between the institutions.

The analysis shows that transdisciplinary collaborations between the PHS and university institutions facilitates the establishment of a robust scientific foundation within the PHS, while contributing the practical relevance of university research. At the same time, it is clear that the structural disparities between administrative and scientific institutions continue to pose a challenge and must be addressed in order to enable sustainable collaborations.

The findings indicate the necessity for long-term cooperative structures to ensure the sustainable integration of scientific expertise in the PHS. Collaborations should be made as permanent as possible, equipped with adequate resources and supported by clear communication and decision-making channels. Based on this, recommendations for action to strengthen and further cooperations can be derived.