Assessing the Health of Research-Practice Partnerships

Research-practice partnerships provide structures and processes to help bridge education research and practice and ultimately improve student outcomes. This REL Southwest tool provides guidance on formatively assessing the health of an RPP in collaboration with partnership members. Aligned to the most commonly cited framework for assessing RPPs, Assessing Research-Practice Partnerships: Five Dimensions of Effectiveness, the tool is designed so even Individuals with limited RPP or evaluation experience can use it effectively.

The tool does the following:

• Provides guidance on how to set and monitor progress on quarterly RPP goals aligned to five critical dimensions that researchers and practitioners must address to build and sustain an effective RPP.
• Enables RPP evaluators and members to monitor the health of their RPP by tracking the extent to which it meets quarterly goals and demonstrates effectiveness, as articulated by the five dimensions and their indicators.
• Encourages RPP members to reflect purposefully and honestly on their collaborative work and to make necessary adjustments over time.

Access the tool at https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/projects/project.asp?projectID=6712

Related resources:

• Blog post: A new tool for assessing the health of research-practice partnerships (May 4, 2021)
• Infographic: Assessing the health of your research-practice partnership (May 4, 2021)