Building Research Capacity in a Mobile Psychiatric Rehabilitation Program: Service Learning in a University-Agency Collaboration

Social service agencies face increasing demands for accountability, emphasizing the necessity of preparing professionals to effectively evaluate practice. University-agency collaborations incorporating service learning can build community research capacity while providing opportunities for application of student research skills. We describe a partnership model between a Master of Social Work program evaluation course and a mobile psychiatric rehabilitation program to design a formative evaluation. Course structure and tasks central to the management of the partnership are described. Agency staff benefited from access to peer-reviewed literature, introduction to standardized assessment instruments, and stimulation of staff discussion and critical thinking around service provision. Students valued the applied research experience including exposure to the agency context and a real-world impact of their work. Lessons learned and implications for university-agency collaborations are discussed.