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Collaborative working and building partnership: Bringing the two worlds together

This paper shares lessons learnt through a partnership project, the Blue Light Programme, by presenting a discussion of key themes inherent in building collaborations between academia and policing. With a focus on sharing experiences with the partnership project, where the academics took the role of a critical friend as part of the project team, the paper explores the balances with meeting both academic and practical considerations. The article explores connecting cultures within the research project and provides insights into partnership approaches with policing and other emergency services. The article purposely does not present results of the partnership project but explores the balance and relationships built between organisations. Presenting wider contextual references on policing culture, the reality of insider and outsider perspectives, the benefits and challenges arising through the role of critical friends in collaboration projects are explored. As critical friends, there was an acknowledgement of the dynamism between the services in the project, its collectiveness in practice, where the project team were able to use the critical friends as a supporting role, one which placed integrity and good methodological practice as the forefront in project evaluation between academia and policing. The paper concludes with observations on moving forward with partnership roles, and the ways to achieve shared goals, where paths enhancing collaborative working can align despite often coming from two different directions.