cultivating value co-creation in health system research; comment on “experience of health leadership in partnering with university-based researchers in canada – a call to re-imagine research”

Partnerships have various purposes and exist in many configurations. although there has been a refocusing in health system research on forming strategic partnerships between researchers and knowledge users (kus) to maximise the relevance and uptake of research in practice; research knowledge frequently fails to reach kus nor impact the community served. whilst there have been many attempts to engage kus, researchers and decision-makers often promote a top down approach that has lacked insight into kus’ specific needs and values. bowen and colleagues uncovered a plethora of negative experiences from a group of canadian health leaders involved in researcher partnerships. their comments reflect their experiences seemingly at an earlier stage of a partnership so we were not surprised by their pessimism. however, our experience reflects an established research-health service partnership network where we collaborate and co-create for mutual benefit and with a shared purpose. the reason for its sustained success over several decades is the focus on co-creation of value between stakeholders. re-imagining must prioritise a paradigm shift towards value co-creation if partnerships are to create opportunities for innovation, productivity and impact.