This document summarizes an academic workshop on developing partnerships between academics, practitioners, and policymakers for urban health promotion research. The workshop highlighted the necessary components for fostering trustful partnerships and the need for critical reflection and sustainable structures in urban settings. Presentations were given by stakeholders including politicians, public health coordinators, researchers, and PhD students. Results showed that political support, alliances, and citizen participation are important for neighborhood development, but sustainable structures require long-term institutional commitment from municipalities. Lessons learned included the importance of trust, communication, collaboration, and long-term commitment for effective academic-practice-policy partnerships.

1. Academic-Practice-Policy
Partnership for Urban Health
Promotion Research
Charli Eriksson, Karin Fröding, Eva Järliden, Johnny Andersson

2. Development of knowledge for health
promotion
needs a well-developed mechanism for
collaboration between academics,
practitioners and policymakers.

3. Objectives of the Workshop
This workshop will highlight necessary
components for fostering a trustful
partnership as well as the need for
critical reflections and sustainable
structures in urban settings.

4. The workshop procedures
1. Introduction:
 Partnership for Sustainable Welfare
Development and Healthy City Research
 Stakeholders perspective
 Sustainable structures
 Participatory research
2. Clarifying Questions:
 Converging and divergent perspectives on
urban health promotion research
3. Promoting factor and barrier:
 A trustful partnership for knowledge
development

6. Research & development in four
municipalities

7. The PARTNERSHIP
Negotiations between four municipalities with
four deprived neighborhoods are in focus.
Healthy Neighbourhoods – city networking in
multilevel context
Including the municipal public housing
companies (and Swedish Association of
Municipal Housing, SABO)

8. Partnership also includes
Örebro University
Swedish National Institute of Public Health
Swedish Association of Local Authorities
and Regions
Two periods 2004-6 and 2007-9

9. 2012-06-08

10. Healthy Cities
Includes social inclusion,
urban governance, and
sustainable welfare development
potentials for urban planning and
public health work

11. Healthy City – Social Integration,
Urban Governance and Sustainable
Welfare Development
Partnership 2003-2009
Research program 2003-
Potentials for urban planning
and public health work
Two PhD students

12. Planning and organisation
Organisation at the University: Researchers and
PhD-students (jointly Public Health Sciences, Center
for Urban and Regional Studies)
Organisation of the Partnership:
Steering Group (politicians, practitioners, researchers),
Coordinating committee, Working groups (strategic
and operative levels),
Participatory approaches in research,
Annual conferences,
Webpage

13. Research assignments –
part of the concept, right
from the start

14. PERSPECTIVES OF STAKEHOLDERS
Politician: Johnny Andersson, Örebro
Public Health Coordinator: Eva Järliden, Örebro
Researcher: Charli Eriksson
PhD Student/PhD: Karin Fröding

16. 1. What about sustainable structures for
neighbourhood development in the
Partnership for Sustainable Welfare
Development?
2. What about components for fostering a
trustful partnership in a local
neighbourhood?
The Partnership from a research
perspective

17. Analysis of the Partnership
This study analyses the development
processes in these four partnership
municipalities for achieving sustainable
structures in area-based development
programmes during and after the formal
partnership period

18. Method
Using a case study database the study
includes nine in-depth studies with
interviews (n=68), participant
observations (n=125), a survey
(n=1,160) and documents

19. Result
Political support, Alliances and Citizen participation
are important building blocks in neighbourhood
development work
However, when the partnership ended
there was little left that could function as
a sustainable structure

20. Results
Political support
Constant but shifted focus
Citizen participation
Provided a foundation, despite reduced municipal
support
Alliances
The involvement of both the strategic and local level
make the best chances

21. Conclusions
Sustainable structure for neighbourhood
development striving towards a more
equitable health can be created as a result of
a partnership for sustainable welfare
development,
HOWEVER
A firm, long-term institutional commitment by
the municipality is in this respect crucial

22. Participatory Research in
Baronbackarna, Örebro

23. How was the participatory
research process ?
Who participated?
6 persons; 3 women and 3 men
3 local citizens, 2 neighbourhood developer, 1
PhD student

24. Participatory Research
Planning: Research Ethical Review,
Organisation of Working Group, Training,
Development of Interview Guide, Sampling of
participants, Scheduling of Interviews (one
year)
Analysis,
Reporting,
and Feedback

25. Methods
Participatory observations, informal talks,
telephone calls and visits
Field notes; official and private
Process lasted 2 years (2007 – 2009)
26 meetings in all 84 hours

26. Results

27. Results
In order to create an equal and trustful
dialogue it was important to openly
discuss the participants':
• individual situation
• commitments
• expectations

28. Results
In order to create an equal and trustful
dialogue it was important to:
• Unmasking power and authority
• Let the process take whatever time it
takes

29. Learnt lesson
Participatory research - One way to examine
the conditions for a healthy and sustainable
neighborhood
Participation from residents and local
stakeholders is a prerequisite for the
development of a practice-based research

30. Converging and Diverging Perspectives?

31. A TRUSTFULL PARTNERSHIP FOR
KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT
Promoting factors and barrier

33. Guidelines for APP Research
Develop a trustful academic-practice-policy
partnership for research – it takes time
Fundamental are elements of communication,
collaboration, and compromise
Genuine partnership require a willingness of all
stakeholders to learn from one another
The knowledge and other products gained
form research activities should benefit all
partners
APP partnership requires a long-term
commitment of partners

35. In conclusion - Lessons learned
from the Partnership
• Partnership (legitimacy, cooperation, collaborative
learning)
• Politics and Policy documents (legitimacy, pressure)
• Local alliances (municipality and public housing
company)
• Neighbourhood development (cooperation, participation,
long-term planning, economic resources)
• Participation (important but… same people participate)
• Participatory research and peer reviews (quality,
participation, knowledge development
• Research (methodological support, knowledge
development but no ”quick-fix”)