LAUSR

Our paper provides an enriched understanding of the relationship between research and practice through the study of practitioners variously engaged in field research on technology interventions in the context of global development. By conducting a qualitative inquiry with 33 practitioners from 26 global development organizations, we highlight how these practitioners have different goals, work practices, incentive structures, and expectations than researchers, making it challenging to co-create and coordinate productive and effective partnerships. Despite these challenges, practitioners in global development do appear to value and engage with research as they strive for positive impact across their target communities. Our analysis suggests that the domain of human-computer interaction for development (HCI4D) might benefit from engaging in "informed practice" through alignment with design-based implementation research (DBIR), which unites researchers and practitioners in their shared commitment to both research and practice, even if research and practice respectively remain their primary commitments. Our work provides CSCW and HCI4D researchers with new ways to conceptualize and navigate the above research-practice divide. We also emphasize the contribution such an approach might make to CSCW researchers beyond the context of global development, and more broadly concerned with making a positive societal impact with their work.