There is often a gulf between the work of activists and practitioners and that of academics. I help organizations bridge that gap. In the Oxfam-Monash Partnership, practitioners and academics worked together in new ways to set impact-oriented research agendas and to undertake action research.
This partnership has generated joint action research on climate change adaptation in Bangladesh, health policy in South Africa, and community accountability in Cambodia.
I led the development and management of the partnership for its first two years including developing a search conference for academics from multiple disciplines and practitioners from over ten countries to come together to develop joint research agendas and projects.
…the relationship with May [Research Manager] has worked extraordinarily well, being an individual who is very open to both the synergies we might have and also the differences – and being very sensitive to that. That’s assisted a huge amount. – Monash academic quoted in an independent, external evaluation of the Oxfam Research Unit that I founded and led 2007-2011.