ABSTRACT
Many academics and researchers hope that their findings will be of practical value and will inform the work of practitioners and policymakers. Conversely, many of the latter look to the research community for information that will answer their questions or help to guide their decisions. But the process goes further than that; the traffic in ideas is not all one-way. Practice also guides research. Not only do its outcomes yield findings of interest to everyone involved, the resultant activity generates new questions. This happens in general terms, by placing certain themes or issues on the agenda. It also happens more specifically through the commissioning of particular projects. Such a reciprocal or symbiotic pattern typifies a large number of the advances made in many fields of inquiry.
