Building Research Capacity for Impact in Applied Health Services Research Partnerships Comment on "Experience of Health Leadership in Partnering With University-Based Researchers in Canada - A Call to "Re-imagine" Research".

Jo Cooke

doi:10.15171/ijhpm.2020.11

Abstract

Bowen and colleagues ask us to re-imagine how to conduct research in academic-practice partnerships, and to develop capacity in the applied research and health workforce to do this. This commentary reinforces their messages, and describes a framework of research capacity development for impact (RCDi) which emphasizes active and continuous experiential learning within research partnerships. The RCDi framework includes the need to focus on multiple levels in the collaboration architecture, and describes principles of working that aims to increase impact on services, and learning opportunities for all partners.

Highlights

It has two features: structural levels, and cross cutting principles or ‘ways of working’ in the context of health and research policy
Cross organization and systems levels research capacity development for impact (RCDi) planning includes ‘learning by doing’ within research collaboration itself. This experiential learning enables adaptation and change across sectors and within systems.[7]. In this way the collaboration itself acts as an research capacity development (RCD) intervention, in that it provides learning for all participants as the research programme is undertaken
An example of how such opportunities were shaped by the RCDi framework is given in Box 1 on a research internship scheme for individuals, and in a community of practice (CoP) in Box 2 at an organizational level