Strategic research partnerships: Empirical evidence from Asia

This paper evaluates the role Strategic Research Partnerships (SRPs) play in Asia. Specific Asian institutional settings influence the roles of SRPs. Japan is regarded as a forerunner in the practice of SRPs. In Japan, lack of spillover channels, limited opportunities for mergers and acquisitions, weak university research and pressure for internal diversification motivate firms to form SRPs. In Korea, SRPs are regarded as a means to promote large-scale research projects. In Taiwan, SRPs are formed to facilitate technological diffusion. Empirical findings on SRPs, focusing on government-sponsored R&D consortia in Japan, are summarized. Issues regarding SRP formation, their effect on R&D spending of participating firms, and productivity, are examined. Reference is made to alternative forms of measurement of SRPs and their potential application to Asian countries is assessed. Enhancing the capacity of policy-makers to assess the extent and contribution of SRPs is considered to be a priority.

The Building Partnerships Program: An Approach to Community-based Learning for Medical Students in Australia

The Building Partnerships Program at the University of Queensland, Australia seeks to address the dual challenge of preparing doctors who are responsive to the community while providing a meaningful context for social sciences learning. Through partnerships with a diverse range of community agencies, the program offers students opportunities to gain non-clinical perspectives on health and illness through structured learning activities including: family visits; community agency visits and attachments; and interview training. Students learn first-hand about psychosocial influences on health and how people manage health problems on a day-to-day basis. They also gain insights into the work of community agencies and how they as future doctors might work in partnership with them to enhance patient care. We outline the main components of the program, identify challenges and successes from student and community agency perspectives, and consider areas that invite further development.

The impact of chronic illness: partnerships with other healthcare professionals

Healthcare workforce shortfalls require a rethinking of models for delivering care to people with chronic disease. Chronic disease needs to be managed by a multiskilled team of healthcare professionals with specialist input. Education at undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels needs to prepare healthcare professionals for this new paradigm. Some tasks currently seen only as part of a doctor's purview could be performed by other trained professionals to allow doctors to concentrate on more appropriate activities. We need to explore new collaborations to deliver multidisciplinary healthcare for chronic disease and evaluate these for patient outcomes and cost effectiveness.

Partnerships in mental health: Addressing barriers to social inclusion

Current trends in mental health services emphasize working in partnership with consumers and other government and non-government community organizations for improvement in quality of life for service users. People with a mental illness experience social exclusion, thereby limiting their ability to participate fully in community life. Occupational therapists have a substantial role to play in helping service users to overcome barriers to their community inclusion. Partnerships need to be formed to increase access to community resources and participation in activities that are enjoyed by other members of the community. Such partnerships have a health promotion emphasis and foster the relationship between mental-health services and the wider community, thus shifting the focus from direct occupational therapy service delivery to community-based rehabilitation interventions.This article describes the development, implementation and evaluation of an Australian healthy lifestyle course devised to meet the identified rehabilitation goals of people with mental illness to lose weight, get fit, commence vocational study and get a job. The course was run in partnership between mental health consumers, occupational therapists from the St George Mental Health Rehabilitation Service and staff and students from the Sutherland College of Technical and Further Education.

Home, school and community partnerships to support children's numeracy

Presents the findings of a study in Australia which focused on the collaboration between home, school and community that support numeracy development in children. Aims of the project; Framework used in the analysis of various partnerships between the social institutions; Ways in which the partnerships can be initiated; Concerns that are essential in building and sustaining long-term partnerships to support children's numeracy development.