Bridging the Research-Practice Divide Through the Intermediary Model

Abstract

The Problem

The gap between research and practice has been recognized and analyzed across multiple fields. Various solutions have been proposed but the gap persists. Although there are consistent calls for joint actions through collaborations between scholars and practitioners, not many in either party have taken it as their primary responsibilities. Thus, incremental or suboptimal efforts have been made to bridge the great divide.

The Solution

In this article, we propose forming a new entity—intermediary—as an effective approach to transforming research into practice. Also, we share a real-world case to illustrate how this approach and its outcome can contribute to closing the research-practice divide.

The Stakeholders

Three stakeholders will benefit from this research—scholars, practitioners, and intermediaries. Both scholars and practitioners will better understand the transformation process and various ways to close research-practice divide. Intermediaries will have a better knowledge about how their contributions, skills and motivations are different from other two stakeholders.