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Introduction/Frame: Trust is foundational to qualitative research and program evaluation to ensure that data collection, data analysis, and actionable recommendations improve programs and produce effective outcomes. Concomitantly, building trust between the university and community sectors offers a rich opportunity to join efforts to address public health issues including substance use, homelessness, criminal justice involvement, and mental illness. Research suggests cross-sector collaboration among human services organizations produces effective outcomes when stakeholders are engaged, trust one another, and have shared goals. Developing qualitative program evaluation partnerships between university researchers and human service organizations offers a valuable application of cross-sector collaboration, including the transferability of qualitative research and program evaluation findings. Objective: This conceptual paper aims to highlight the essentiality of trust, summarize the facilitators and barriers of collaboration, and share a case example of a partnership. Additionally, it offers implications for researchers and community partners while outlining the benefits of university/community collaboration. Finally, we will offer a conceptual model of the iterative relationship between trustworthiness, trust, and impact in our evaluation approach. Theoretical Framework: Our approach to community-focused qualitative program evaluation is anchored in an action research paradigm, a use evaluation approach, coupled with trust as the key factor in developing and maintaining effective evaluative relationships. The Impact of Trust: Three areas in which trust is most beneficial to qualitative program evaluation are relationships, data collection, and transferability of results. Conceptual Model: Our model is grounded in three seminal works focusing on trust in business-business relationships, organizational trustworthiness as a mediator to both cognitive and affective trust, and relationship stability in inter-organizational reliance. Final Considerations: We found that using this model allowed quicker research-to-practice implementation of evaluation recommendations, solidified community/university collaborative relationships, and facilitated strategies to address workforce shortages in community human services agencies. |
