Building a Research-Practice Partnership: Lessons from a Government IT Workforce Study

For decades researchers have sought ways to make their work have more impact on the world and practitioners have wished for research that actually helps them solve pressing problems. This is particularly true for digital government research which emphasizes positive change. Differences in professional culture and lack of mutual understanding about the nature and uses of research lead to this gap. A few studies have outlined ways to bring research and practice closer together in mutually useful ways. This paper describes the development and operation of a research-practice partnership focused on a skills assessment of a government IT workforce. It illustrates how these two communities can collaborate to conduct rigorous research that is also readily usable. The advantages are considerable for both rigor and relevance, but there are also significant costs associated with working in this way