TABLE OF CONTENTS
Below you’ll find answers and resources to the following 3 questions:
WHAT ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES DOES A RESEARCH-PRACTICE PARTNERSHIP NEED?
Following the identification and selection of a partner, you might next consider turning your attention to a few key organizational items that will provide important infrastructure from which the partnership can launch.
What will the mission, vision, and objectives of the partnership be?
The answer to these questions may come after discussing the RPP’s theory of action between partners and may then be codified into the partnership’s charter. See our section on theories of action and sample documents for further information.
What foundational documents will we need to have in place?
The number and types of documents you will need to work through together will depend on the types of organizations that will be participating in the partnership as well as the nature and scope of work the partnership is interested in taking on. We recommend reading further on this in the Documents section of the Clearinghouse.
What type of staff will be needed to carry out the work?
The number and type of staff needed for the RPP will vary depending on the structural arrangement, the scope of work, and the amount of funding available, among other things. See the Documents section of the Clearinghouse for several sample job descriptions for further information.
Additionally, some key issues to keep in mind:
- Differences in culture and training often found amongst researchers and practitioners will require the partnership to consider communication styles, needs, and capacities early on. For example, academic researchers do not often receive explicit training in how to communicate with practitioners during their PhD programs and this skill must often be developed within the partnership.
- How will the partnership utilize post-docs, grad students, and even undergrads? These groups of students are often eager to participate in partnership work, are willing to be trained, and can provide research support to the partnership in ways that may be complementary to the existing research team.
- Will your partnership have sufficient funding to perhaps cover a staff member on the practitioner team? Having someone “on the inside” may help expedite data requests and can also enable the partnership to stay more engaged with practitioner activities.
- At some point, depending on the size of the partnership, it may make sense to hire a communications person that will handle many of the outward-facing activities of the partnership. Keeping this in mind earlier rather than later can facilitate better planning.
RESOURCES | What organizational structures does a research-practice partnership need?
ACCELERATING THE LEADERSHIP AND GROWTH OF EARLY CAREER SCHOLARS
Marisa Goldstein, Chloe Stroman, and Lisa Quay | 2023
Brief published by the Student Experience Research Network
CASCADING WEBS OF INTERDEPENDENCE: EXAMINING HOW AND WHEN COORDINATED CHANGE HAPPENS IN A DISTRICT CENTRAL OFFICE PARTNERSHIP
Angel X. Bohannon and Cynthia E. Coburn | 2023
Article published in Journal of Educational Change
COLLABORATIVE EDUCATION RESEARCH and RPP BROKERING: SPOTLIGHT ON TWO RECENT RESOURCES FOR THOSE ENGAGING IN CER and RPPs
Nina Spitzley | 2023
Article published in NNERPP’s quarterly magazine NNERPP | Extra
DISCOURSES OF COLLABORATION AND PARTICIPANT POSITIONING IN RESEARCH-PRACTICE PARTNERSHIPS
Simon Sjölund | 2023
Article published in Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research
"TOWARDS A FIELD FOR COLLABORATIVE EDUCATION RESEARCH: DEVELOPING A FRAMEWORK FOR THE COMPLEXITY OF NECESSARY LEARNING"
Collaborative Education Research Collective | 2023
Hewlett Foundation white paper
“WHY AM I ALWAYS BEING RESEARCHED?” AN APPLICATION TO RPPs, PART 2
Nina Spitzley | 2023
Article published in NNERPP’s quarterly magazine NNERPP | Extra
CROWN INSTITUTE PARTICIPATORY TOOLKIT
Adriana Alvarez, Moises Esteban Guitart, Jade Gutierrez, Christine Jackson, Susan Jurow, Emma Lischwe, Leah Peña Teeters, Bill Penuel, Ashley Potvin, Vanessa Roberts, and Erica Van Steenis | 2022
Toolkit published by the Renée Crown Wellness Institute
PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN RPPs: A LOOK AT ONE PARTNERSHIP'S EXPERIENCES
Shauna Dunn | 2022
Article published in NNERPP’s quarterly magazine NNERPP | Extra
RESEARCH-PRACTICE PARTNERSHIPS ‘ON THE GROUND’: EXPLORING PARTNERSHIP WORK IN URBAN SCHOOLS UNDER PRESSURE TO IMPROVE
Hayley Weddle, Marie Lockton, and Amanda Datnow | 2021
Article in Studies in Educational Evaluation
SHOULD RESEARCHERS IN RPPs ONLY RESEARCH? EXPLORING ROLES FOR RESEARCH-SIDE PARTNERS THAT GO BEYOND RESEARCH
Emi Iwatani and Quinn Burke | 2021
Article published in NNERPP’s quarterly magazine NNERPP | Extra
HOW CAN RESEARCHERS MAINTAIN INDEPENDENCE IN RPPs? SHOULD THEY? REFLECTIONS FROM THE FIELD
Paula Arce-Trigatti and Nina Spitzley | 2021
Article published in NNERPP’s quarterly magazine NNERPP | Extra
HOW TO HOLD EQUITABLE PARTNERSHIP MEETINGS
Paula Arce-Trigatti and Nina Spitzley | 2021
Article published in NNERPP’s quarterly magazine NNERPP | Extra
ONBOARDING NEW PARTNERSHIP MEMBERS? HERE ARE THREE SLIDES TO INCLUDE
NNERPP | 2021
Article published in NNERPP’s quarterly magazine NNERPP | Extra
THE INTERPERSONAL SIDE OF RESEARCH-PRACTICE PARTNERSHIPS
Stephanie Brown and Annie Allen | 2021
Kappan article
WHAT ARE THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH RESEARCH-PRACTICE PARTNERSHIPS SUCCEED?
Caitlin C. Farrell, Laura Wentworth, and Michelle Nayfack | 2021
Kappan article
“WHY AM I ALWAYS BEING RESEARCHED?” AN APPLICATION TO RPPS, PART 1
Paula Arce-Trigatti and Nina Spitzley | 2020
Article published in NNERPP’s quarterly magazine NNERPP | Extra
DATA MANAGEMENT AND USE THROUGH RESEARCH PRACTICE PARTNERSHIPS: A LITERATURE REVIEW
Ye He, Beverly S. Faircloth, Kimberly Kappler Hewitt, Marcia L. Rock, Sophia Rodriguez, Laura M. Gonzalez, and Amy Vetter | 2020
Article in Educational Research Review
THE IMPORTANCE OF EXPANDING EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH PARTNERSHIPS WITH COMMUNITY
Sarah Winchell Lenhoff, Larry Simmons, and Christine Bell | 2019
Article published in NNERPP’s quarterly magazine NNERPP | Extra
THE VALUE OF ENGAGEMENT: HOW TO SET UP AND FACILITATE AN EFFECTIVE PARTNERSHIP MEETING
Felicia Hurwitz and Joanne Pfleiderer | 2019
Article published in NNERPP’s quarterly magazine NNERPP | Extra
RECASTING FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES AS CO-DESIGNERS OF EDUCATION IN TUMULTUOUS TIMES
Ann M. Ishimaru, Megan Bang, Michelle Renée Valladares, Charlene Montaño Nolan, Henedina Tavares, Aditi Rajendran, and Katherine Chang | 2019
Policy memo from the National Education Policy Center
MENTORING IN RESEARCH-PRACTICE PARTNERSHIPS: TOWARD DEMOCRATIZING EXPERTISE
María Paula Ghiso, Gerald Campano, Emily R. Schwab, Dee Asaah, and Alicia Rusoja | 2019
Article published in AERA Open
POWER DYNAMICS: THE HIDDEN ELEMENT TO EFFECTIVE MEETINGS
Kelly Bates, Curtis Ogden, and Curtis Ogden | 2018
Blog post by the Interaction Institute for Social Change
WHAT EDUCATION DOCTORATE STUDENTS LEARN FROM HANDS-ON RESEARCH COURSES
Kieran Bennett and Jessica Lorenz | 2017
Post featured in NNERPP’s EdWeek blog, “Urban Education Reform: Bridging Research and Practice“
HOW TO SUPPORT EDUCATION PRACTITIONER-SCHOLARS
Nicole Ralston and Jacqueline Waggoner, MCPER | 2017
Post featured in NNERPP’s EdWeek blog, “Urban Education Reform: Bridging Research and Practice“
WHAT IT TAKES TO BUILD & SUSTAIN EDUCATION RESEARCH-PRACTICE PARTNERSHIPS
Patty Kannapel | 2017
Post featured in NNERPP’s EdWeek blog, “Urban Education Reform: Bridging Research and Practice“
NEW ROLES FOR EDUCATION DOCTORAL STUDENTS: INTERNSHIPS IN EARLY-STAGE PARTNERSHIPS
Michèle Foster, UL-JCPS Partnership | 2017
Post featured in NNERPP’s EdWeek blog, “Urban Education Reform: Bridging Research and Practice“
DEVELOPING PRACTITIONER-SCHOLARS THROUGH UNIVERSITY-SCHOOL DISTRICT RESEARCH PARTNERSHIPS
Nicole C. Ralston, Beth Tarasawa, Jacqueline M Waggoner, Rebecca Smith, and Zulema Naegele | 2016
Article published in Journal of Public Scholarship in Higher Education
BUILDING THE CAPACITY & CONDITIONS FOR SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIPS: RESEARCHERS
Steve Fleischmann | 2013
Brief produced by Education Northwest
HOW DO WE CO-DEVELOP A RESEARCH AGENDA?
Co-developing a mutually agreed upon research agenda that will guide the work of the partnership is one of the defining features of research-practice partnerships. By having the practitioner voice incorporated early on in the research process, RPPs can leverage first-hand knowledge of the most pressing problems of practice and use it to directly inform the research questions. This, in turn, can help facilitate the production of research that is more useful to practitioners. First time co-development of a research agenda may necessitate extra time from both sides, especially if researchers and practitioners are still working towards developing a shared language within which to discuss research.
Some additional guiding questions:
- How many people should help develop the agenda? (Size matters. Too many voices, and the purpose of the meeting can easily get lost.)
- Which roles or departments should be represented from the researcher or practitioner side?
- How often is the research agenda revisited and/or updated?
- Where do these conversations take place (i.e., at the research institution or the practitioner’s home base or somewhere neutral)?
- Who needs to know what is on the research agenda? How will this be communicated to those stakeholders?
- How long or short term is the research agenda? Are there projects that are appropriate for both timelines?
RESOURCES | How do we co-develop a research agenda?
WHOSE AGENDA IS IT? NAVIGATING THE POLITICS OF SETTING THE RESEARCH AGENDA IN EDUCATION RESEARCH-PRACTICE PARTNERSHIPS
Joanna L. Meyer, Clare Waterman, George A. Coleman, and Michael J. Strambler | 2023
Article published in Educational Policy
RESEARCH AND ENGAGEMENT AGENDA, 2021–25
Penny Bender Sebring, Lisa Sall, Naureen Kheraj, Laura Davis, Elaine M. Allensworth,
Marisa de la Torre, and Nicole O. Beechum | 2021
Example of a research agenda
WHERE IS EQUITY? REFLECTING ON A NEW APPROACH FOR SETTING EQUITY-CENTERED R&D AGENDAS
Babe Liberman and Viki Young | 2020
Article published in NNERPP’s quarterly magazine NNERPP | Extra
THE PROMISE OF A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH TO PROBLEM-SOLVING AND INNOVATION-TESTING: REFLECTIONS FROM A NEW RPP IN NEW YORK CITY
Barbara Condliffe, Rekha Balu, Margaret Hennessy, and Rachel Leopold | 2020
Article published in NNERPP’s quarterly magazine NNERPP | Extra
WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW TO IMPROVE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING: QUESTIONS TO DRIVE A RESEARCH AGENDA
Tennessee Education Research Alliance | 2017
Snapshot of TERA’s process
DEVELOPING A JOINT RESEARCH AGENDA: WHAT QUESTIONS REMAIN?
Paula Arce-Trigatti, NNERPP | 2017
Article in NNERPP | Extra
DEVELOPING A COHERENT RESEARCH AGENDA: LESSONS FROM THE REL NEI RESEARCH AGENDA WORKSHOPS
Julie Kochanek, Natalie Lacireno-Paquet, and Rebecca Carey | 2014
Brief and template on how to develop a research agenda
RESEARCH & PUBLIC INFORMING AGENDA FOR THE CONSORTIUM ON CHICAGO SCHOOL RESEARCH
UChicago Consortium on School Research | 2011
Example of a research agenda
ACHIEVING SCHOOL REFORM IN CHICAGO: WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW
Anthony S. Bryk and Penny Bender Sebring | 1991
Example of a research agenda
HOW DO WE DEVELOP A DATA SHARING AGREEMENT?
Data sharing arrangements between researchers and practitioners are one of the most important topics to consider when starting a research-practice partnership. It should be broached early, since multiple iterations of drafts describing agreements may be necessary given the sensitive nature of the data. Many of the partnerships in NNERPP utilize administrative data, but other considerations may be necessary if the partnership intends on producing and collecting its own data. Examples of data sharing agreements can be found here.
Additional guiding questions:
- Which agency (the research side or the practice side) will house the data to be used within the partnership?
- How often will data pulls occur? Under what conditions will data pulls occur (e.g., every semester, only if a project requires it, etc.)?
- What steps will be taken on both sides of the partnership to ensure quality and security of the data?
- Who will handle external data requests? In some cases, the education agency partner may continue to address these, but in others, it may make more sense to have the research agency manage it.
RESOURCES | How do we develop a data sharing agreement?
THE STANFORD-SFUSD PARTNERSHIP: DEVELOPMENT OF DATA-SHARING STRUCTURES AND PROCESSES
Moonhawk Kim, Jim Shen, Laura Wentworth , Norma Ming, Michelle Reininger, and Eric Bettinger | 2021
Chapter in Handbook on Using Administrative Data for Research and Evidence-Based Policy
LESSONS LEARNED FROM DEVELOPING A 'NO SURPRISES' POLICY FOR RELEASING RESEARCH FINDINGS
Dominique Bradley, Madison Education Partnership | 2017
Blogpost, “Urban Education Reform: Bridging Research and Practice“ (EdWeek)
PROTECTING STUDENT PRIVACY WEBSITE
U.S. Department of Education | 2017
Website with resources
SCHOOL DISTRICTS AS PARTNERS IN RESEARCH EFFORTS
Marco A. Muñoz and Robert J. Rodosky | 2015
Phi Delta Kappan article
WHO USES STUDENT DATA?
Data Quality Campaign | 2014
Infographic
DATA SHARING UNDER FERPA
U.S. Department of Education | 2013
Transcript of PowerPoint slides
DATA-SHARING: CREATING AGREEMENTS IN SUPPORT OF COMMUNITY-ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS
Paige B. Harquín | 2012
Policy brief