ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: There is a 20-year delay between the development of effective interventions for individuals with severe mental illness and widespread adoption in public mental health care settings. Academic-provider collaborations can shorten this gap, but establishing and maintaining partnerships entail significant challenges. AIMS: This paper identifies potential barriers to academic-provider research collaborations and provides guidelines to overcome these obstacles. METHOD: Authors from an academic institution and community mental health organization outline the components of their long-standing partnership, and discuss the lessons learned that were instrumental in establishing the collaborative model. Results Realistic resource allocation and training, a thorough understanding of the service model and consumer characteristics, systemic and bidirectional communication and concrete plans for post-project continuation are necessary at all project phases. CONCLUSIONS: A shared decision-making framework is essential for effective academic institution and community mental health agency collaborations and can facilitate long-term sustainability of novel interventions.