Bridging town and gown: building research partnerships between community-based professional providers and academia

Strategic research partnerships between community-based professionals and academic researchers are increasingly recognized as a means of evolving evidence-based practice and policy directions in health services delivery. Many barriers impede collaboration, however, and information on how to successfully implement collaborative partnerships is scattered, leaving much to trial and error. This article describes the process of achieving a successful research partnership among community-based home care professionals and academic researchers during a 6-year period of collaboration. The case illustration portrays how to identify and motivate the right research partners, how to mobilize resources, how to sustain an effective partnership process during the lengthy time commitments required to complete research, and how to ensure the experience of return on investment of time, energy, and resources in the partnership process. As measured by the outcomes of their collaborative research experience, the authors conclude that the benefits of bridging town and gown greatly outweigh the challenges of research partnerships.