|
Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
|
Collaborating for Usable Knowledge: A Work in Progress by the Nonprofit Sector Research Fund
Cinthia H. Schuman
Alan J. Abramson
The Aspen Institute
In response to the persistent gap between scholarly research and "real world" practitioners in the nonprofit sector, the Nonprofit Sector Research Fund (NSRF) of The Aspen Institute launched a series of practitioner-researcher collaborations aimed at producing more usable research. This article provides an overview of NSRF’ scoll aborative programs in the areas of research agenda-setting, grant making, the conduct of research, and dissemination of research findings. It also discusses how NSRF came to adopt this approach, the benefits and challenges presented by collaboration, and ways to overcome these challenges. The authors conclude that despite the difficulties surrounding the collaborative process, collaboration should be attempted in research because it taps the knowledge and experience of both scholars and practitioners to help ensure that research is focused on issues of concern to nonprofit managers and leaders, is methodologically sound, and produces findings that reach appropriate audiences.
References
- Applied Research and Development Institute International, Inc., with support from the Johnson Foundation. (1997, May). Moving to action forum: An executive summary of the proceedings and key outcomes. Racine, WI: Author.
- Greenwood, D. J., Whyte, W. F., & Harkavy, I. (1993). Participatory action research as a process and as a goal. Human Relations, 46(2), 175-191.[Abstract]
- Hall, P. D. (1993). Review essay: The scholar-practitioner gap and the dilemma of expertise and democracy. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 22(3), 259-265.[Abstract]
- Halpern, S. C. (1985). University-community projects: Reflections on the lessons learned. Universities and Community Schools, 3, 44-48.
- Hess, P. M., & Mullen, E. J. (Eds.). (1995). Practitioner-researcher partnerships: Building knowledge from, in and for practice. Washington, DC: NASW Press.
- Houchin, S., & Widmer, C. (1998, November). The "scholar" and the practitioner (Can this marriage be saved?). Unpublished paper prepared for the ARNOVA Annual Conference, Seattle, WA.
- Katz, S. N. (1999). Where did the serious study of philanthropy come from, anyway?Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 28(1), 74-82.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
- Magat, R. (1989). Prospective views of research on philanthropy and the voluntary sector (Final draft for submission to the Foundation Center). Commissioned by the Research Committee of the Independent Sector.
- Mason, D. E. (1996). Bridging the gap: Mutual benefits of scholar-practitioner cooperation. ARNOVA News, 25(2), 1-3.
- Sclove, R., Scammell, M., & Holland, B. (1998). Community-based research in the United States: An introductory reconnaissance, including twelve organizational case studies and comparison with the Dutch science shops and the mainstream American research system (Nonprofit Sector Research Fund Working Paper No. 99.023). Washington, DC: The Aspen Institute.
- Whyte, W. F. (1991). Introduction. In Participatory Action Research (pp. 7-15). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
- Widmer, C., & Houchin, S. (1998). Governance of national federated organizations (Nonprofit Sector Research Fund Working Paper No. 99.003). Washington, DC: The Aspen Institute.
Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Vol. 29, No. 1,
11-23 (2000)
DOI: 10.1177/0899764000291002
 CiteULike  Complore  Connotea  Del.icio.us  Digg  Reddit  Technorati  Twitter What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
|
|
 
M. Stephenson JR and R. Christensen
Mentoring for Doctoral Student Praxis-Centered Learning: Creating a Shared Culture of Intellectual Aspiration
Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly,
December 1, 2007;
36(4_suppl):
64S - 79S.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
