Partnerships for changing practice: lessons from South Thames Evidence-Based Practice project (STEP)

Partnership working is central to the rubric of contemporary health policy. This paper discusses and analyses the STEP partnership model and the issues emerging for academic and service coalitions, which were formed for the purpose of implementing evidence-based practice in nine clinical centres. Using a framework for collaboration, key themes for successful partnerships are summarised in a model as contextual factors: articulating a clear purpose, identifying the capacity to collaborate, ensuring wide organisational ownership, nurturing fragile relationships and securing collaborative, mutually beneficial outcomes. The paper focuses on the experience of setting up, managing, supporting and evaluating the STEP partnership from the perspective of academic and clinical leads and the independent evaluation.