Finding more effective ways of articulating and highlighting the value of collaboration between the APS and academia, and exploring ways to build more productive working relationships, were key goals for this workshop. It is important that we continue to develop better ways to bring research and policy together and we wanted to begin building a pathway forward for meaningful, actionable collaboration. During the workshop, in addition to the reflections on the individual mechanisms, many important discussions about collaboration were had. Some significant insights included:
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| Inclusion is critical. We need to ensure that mechanisms are inclusive of broad forms of expertise, capacity and allow for debate.
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| We are still thinking transactionally rather than relationally. How can we move beyond ‘mutual exploitation’ and focus on building something together? |
| There are many pockets of the APS and academia where this work is already happening. How can we prioritise collecting this information and learning from best practice more effectively? |
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| Providing more information – knowledge hubs, lessons learned, databases of research or researchers – is only useful if people will access it. If we build it, will they come? |
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| All of these mechanisms need to be supported by a broader shift in mindset – both within academia and the public sector but also within individuals themselves.
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These insights show that there is still work to be done on this issue before we move forward with testing or trialling any specific mechanisms. Collaboration, and the barriers to achieving it, has significant, behavioural roots that cannot be addressed without thinking through how the solutions would actually be implemented and used by actors involved. For example, we could design a database or a hub for information-sharing but would it be used? We could find ways to encourage short-term engagement but who would most benefit?
Then there are more complex questions that go to the core of how teams work: How do we create space for debate? How do we listen and learn better from the perspectives of others and those experiences we don’t have?
Finally, we need to think about what level of change we want to see. Can we move beyond working with individuals and build communities and cultures of collaboration? Who would need to be involved and how would we begin?
There are still many questions and many issues that need to be interrogated. This is important work we hope will be ongoing as part of APS Reform but also motivated by the interests of academics and researchers who are passionate about making an impact on policy.
The APS looks forward to working in partnership over the coming months to continue the conversation and design of tangible approaches to enhance collaboration between the two sectors.
This report was prepared by:
Dr Sarah Ball
School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Melbourne
Victoria, 3010, Australia