The seeds of the present toolkit were planted during the 2018 ICT4D Conference, held in May of that year in Lusaka, Zambia. Paul Perrin and Tom Marentette of the University of Notre Dame designed and led an interactive session on academic and practitioner collaboration, a session which was independently expanded upon through a special multi-stakeholder workshop on a similar topic led by Alexandra Towns of Catholic Relief Services during that same conference. The LASER PULSE project brought both of these organizations together as part of a consortium, allowing further work and collaboration on the topic. This toolkit represents the result of that collaboration and serves as an example of a successful collaboration between researchers and development practitioners.
The initial set of challenges and ideas was expanded upon through consultation with the larger LASER consortium, who provided substantial input, feedback, and material for the toolkit. Research led by CRS on partnership identified a number of additional supporting resources that are included in this toolkit.
Toolkit Authors:
Paul Perrin, Ph.D., MPH Director of Evidence and Learning Associate Professor of the Practice in Global Affairs/Global Health Pulte Institute for Global Development, University of Notre Dame
Alexandra Towns, Ph.D. LASER PULSE Research Translation Strategy Lead, Catholic Relief Services
Laura Riddering, Ph.D. LASER PULSE Research Translation Advisory, Catholic Relief Services
Rudy Blackwell LASER PULSE Technical Advisor, Catholic Relief Services
Megan McDermott Associate Director, Innovation & Practice Pulte Institute for Global Development, University of Notre Dame
Acknowledgements: This toolkit represents the culmination of a collaboration between academics and practitioners, with two of the authors based at a practitioner organization (Catholic Relief Services) and two authors based at an academic organization (The University of Notre Dame). This study draws on the experiences, knowledge, and insights of colleagues from the LASER PULSE consortium. Nathan Kalb assisted in the research to identify tools and resources.
The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.