#188: Boundary learning in a research-practice partnership

Research-Practice Partnerships (RPPs) are collaborations between academics and practitioners that focus on problems of practice while engaging with research. Within RPPs, various forms of learning can be mediated by the social boundaries that separate partners. In this case study, we employed ethnographic and discourse analysis methods to understand the types of boundary learning that were afforded by an RPP. Our findings showed that boundaries emerged within practitioner and academic groups, and not just between them. Boundary learning was characterized by modest forms of coordination and reflection, rather than profound transformation. Our findings suggest that RPPs should be understood as sites of complex, multi-layered boundary work.