Features and outcomes of community–academic partnerships in social work: a scoping review

Abstract

ABSTRACT To bridge the gap between research and practice and to increase its research impact, the field of social work has advanced community–academic partnerships (CAPs). However, in the extensive literature on such partnerships, no existing synthesis has focused explicitly on the features and outcomes of CAPs. Based on scoping searches of five databases and the relevant grey literature, the present review aimed to synthesise CAP inputs, activities, outputs and outcomes related to social work research and teaching of practice-based research. The results confirm the diversity of CAPs in the field and capture their most common elements. An analysis of the 27 included studies identified three partnership types: (1) improving practice through collaborative research, (2) educating and supporting practitioners to use and produce research, and (3) enhancing collective advocacy through research to promote social change. To support the development of new initiatives and to evaluate existing ones, three generic logic models were formulated. The results highlight the importance of clearly defining CAP features and outcomes. In particular, we observed that a shared understanding of the partnerships’ contents and expected outcomes enhances the processes of collaboration and evaluation and enables funders to understand which resources are required.