How can organisations and individuals be helped to make their partnership more fruitful ?

Helene Carbonneau, Prof. University of Quebec at three rivers, Patsy Clapperton, psychologist and co-founder of UMANO

This video discusses the essential elements of a successful partnership. These elements include recognition and respect for the expertise of the parties, knowledge, collaboration and financial resources.

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LSQ Version - Quebec sign language
References

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Hello, to begin with, I will introduce myself: I am Hélène Carbonneau, I am a professor at Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, in the Département d’études en loisir, culture et tourisme. In my opinion, the first element to make a partnership successful throughout its realization is certainly the recognition and respect of the perspectives of each team member. I sincerely believe that one of the most principal aspect of partnership research is certainly that it allows theoretical knowledges to meet experiential knowledges. Both types of knowledge are equally important. While theoretical knowledges are useful for structuring a research project and establishing data collection and analysis methods, experiential knowledges are essential for identifying the issues at stake in order to better anchor the research in relation to the needs and environments of practice. This experiential knowledge provides a more relevant perspective and a better scope of results, so that they can be truly mobilized by the communities and bring about a transformation of practices for the well-being of the population targeted by the research. This dialogue between experiential and theoretical knowledges requires the establishment of fluid means of communication between the partners. This can be done through regular meetings and information sharing tools, such as shared files on a web platform. But it starts first and foremost with attentive listening and openness to others, while respecting each other’s expertise. Finally, another essential element, of course, is to provide funds in the budget to support the commitment of the partners and to allow to free themselves from some of their obligations so that they can invest in the research. This financial investment is also important for the transfer of knowledge to allow a real transfer of knowledge to the environment. That being said, it is necessary to develop means to develop tools, and it takes money to develop tools and supportive strategies. Hi, I’m Patsy Clapperton, organizational psychologist and co-founder of UMANO — stratégies conseils. For nearly fifteen years, our team has been helping organizations develop their ‘seniors reflexes’ to adapt their offers and services to the needs of seniors in order to better serve and support them. Research is an essential part of improving the field of practice and we all benefit from working together to promote the well-being of seniors. It is therefore in line with this vision that I am pleased to act as a co-researcher in the field of practice within the framework of the action research project on the social participation of seniors facing dynamics of marginalization and exclusion, in order to develop intervention tools to support their inclusion in the community recreation environment. For me, this is my first experience as a co-researcher. I have found that several elements are significant to the success of such a partnership. To take a specific example, I was involved in the analysis and coding of the data. The art of coding which was initially very theoretical, has evolved along the way, and in the end, is more a true reflection of the field. To achieve this, we had many exchanges, a complementary vision sharing that led to go further. One of the winning elements in ensuring a clear understanding of the stages of the research project is ongoing communication. The openness of the research team to be challenged is also a must for the success of this collaboration. As a partner, I think you have to dare to ask questions and take your place. I see tapping into this creative ignorance as a great way to expand our shared vision and ensure that the tools developed and strategies proposed meet real needs. I truly believe in the power of collaboration to ensure the sustainability of research results. Thank you.