Non-clinical research projects intended to be done in partnership with community organizations take many forms. This template was established using our experiences working collaboratively and successfully with tribal partners and organizations located in urban centers of Wisconsin; locations where UW health equity researchers return again and again for partnership opportunities.
We’ve repeatedly seen value in preparing UW colleagues for research collaborations, ensuring they’ve considered and can speak with collaborators on topics central to successful research partnerships. This template reflects those topics. It’s designed to serve as an overall or ‘umbrella’ agreement between UW and an organization or tribe. A single project or projects can be attached as addendums.
Pictured: At center, Sarah Esmond and Al Castro, representatives for the project “Advancing Health Equity Through Education and Research: The United Community Center and UW SMPH,” receive a 2019 Community-University Partnership Award
Advancing Partnership
Question to Consider
Leadership roles
- Who is this agreement between? Who are your partners?
- Are the roles and responsibilities of each partner clear? Is everyone comfortable with these?
- Who is the director of this project? Are there multiple leaders? If so, how do their responsibilities differ and/or overlap?
Project direction
- What are the scope and goals of the project?
- What is the duration (start and end time) of the project?
Payments
- What type(s) of payment will occur?
- How/Will partners be reimbursed for expenses?
- What process will allow partners to submit invoices appropriately?
Dissemination of partnership findings, data collection, ownership, storage and use
- Are confidentiality agreements needed?
- Will either/both partner wish to disseminate/publish findings?
- How will project data be stored, and who will have access to use this data?
Please contact us any time you have questions or want to set up a consultation at cche@ictr.wisc.edu.
Agreement Template
A written document not only serves to clarify and record the expectations and terms associated with an agreement, it can be invaluable if there is turnover in partners, and/or disagreements arise during project implementation. Such a document can also be useful to orient new individuals who enter an established partnership. The format can be changed/tweaked in consultation with Community Partners to ensure project scope and community based organization culture is reflected.
