Institutional Readiness for Community– University Alliances

Abstract

The concept of ‘readiness’ in collaborative research is almost exclusively framed and evaluated with respect to the preparedness of a community. We argue that the concept of readiness should be flipped to consider institutions, and thus ‘institutional readiness’, rather than solely assessing a community’s capacity to engage in research projects. To investigate institutional readiness in Canada, we surveyed publications resulting from projects funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council’s (SSHRC) Community–University Research Alliances (CURA) programme to look at the frequency of mention of limitations related to institutional readiness versus those related to on-the-ground project specifics. Our findings suggest that institutional factors are major barriers to collaborative research and provide perspective on areas where readiness for repatriation could be built.