Developing a practice-academic partnership logic model

This article will describe a testable logic model for practice-academic partnerships. The model can be used to build collaborative practice capacity between academic and practice partners. A deductive approach was used to construct a logic model based on the best theoretical evidence in the research literature. The model was tested and refined over the course of a year, based on the collection of inductive evidence to support the theoretical model's components and linkages. This article will describe how the logic model served to guide School of Nursing faculty and nurse leaders from a local, urban community hospital through the process of establishing a successful partnership. Specific examples of the model's inputs, activities, outputs, and outcomes are provided. The partnership is actively engaged 2 years after the initial pilot of the logic model. Significant outcomes have included a new clinical placement model, affiliate academic appointments for practice educators, and research collaborations.