Table 1 Challenges and costs in coproduced research
From: The dark side of coproduction: do the costs outweigh the benefits for health research?
| Â | Challenges which may arise | Costs |
|---|---|---|
Developing mixed research teams | Stakeholders not homogenous, and can disagree ‘Usual suspects’ can take over, where coproductive discussions are dominated by certain individuals | The research process may take more time compared to a traditional research process Shared decision-making is threatened when process dominated by certain voices or interests |
Framing research questions | Stakeholders and researchers may have different priorities and values Useful research can lack originality Research can be co-opted by partners, for example, to justify status quo or historical decisions | Damage to interpersonal or organisational relationships Damage to research careers Damage to researcher independence and credibility |
Collecting data | Researchers may pressure stakeholders to allow their organisational resources to be used to facilitate data collection –e.g. using staff time or applying pressure for site access | Damage to interpersonal or organisational relationships, particularly with more powerful stakeholders |
Analysing and interpreting data | Stakeholders may want to know which participant agreed to participate or what they contributed to the dataset Stakeholders may want to help analyse the data | Violation of research ethics obligations Researcher needs to train stakeholders and format data in an appropriate way to conform with research ethics obligations |
Formulating recommendations | May be little agreement about the importance of research Researchers may be pressed to frame findings in particular ways | Findings are misrepresented Damage to researcher independence and credibility |
Disseminating research | Researchers or stakeholders may be prevented from sharing unwanted findings Stakeholders may want to share findings before researchers are ready | Damage to researcher independence and credibility Damage to the credibility of the research process |
Implementing change | Tension between advocating for research, or advocating for policy/practice changes Researchers show little interest in providing assistance with implementation efforts | Can damage relationship with practice or policy colleagues Implementation of research findings fail |