Understanding and reducing barriers to collaboration by academics with agencies and community organizations: a commentary.

In Reflections on a Half Century of Injury Control, Julian Waller addressed directly the need for collaboration. He noted that organizations, as they age, tend to become insular and look inward instead of toward others for new ideas. Yet, as Waller emphasizes, a multidisciplinary approach is critical to our ability to understand and reduce injuries, particularly as problems and solutions become more complex. For the field to advance, collaboration between academically based researchers and public agencies (for example, local health departments) or community organizations (for example, nongovernmental service groups or neighborhood associations) is essential. Despite ample opportunities for collaboration among academicians, public agencies, and community organizations, diVerent emphases in these potential partners result in barriers to collaborative ventures. These barriers arise from diVerences in: x Approaches to defining and prioritizing problems and strategies for solutions; x Values and requirements for career advancement; x Work styles; x Time demands; x Approaches to using information. Understanding the perspectives of communities, agencies, and academicians on these barriers will enable these potential partners to overcome impediments to eVective collaboration. The purpose of this commentary is to explore how these barriers impede academic researchers in the collaborative process.