SUN-B01: Academia + Practice = Knowledge: A Research Collaboration Primer

Sunday, October 12, 2025

2:00 PM – 3:15 PM CT

1.25 PDH, LA CES/non-HSW

Speaker(s)

Megan Barnes, ASLA

Senior Program Manager
Landscape Architecture Foundation
Washington, District of Columbia
Emily R. McCoy, FASLA (she/her/hers)

Principal
Design Workshop
Raleigh, NC, North Carolina
Lisa DuRussel, ASLA, PLA, LEED AP

Assistant Professor of Practice in Landscape Architecture
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan

Academics and practitioners must join forces for research collaborations that create new knowledge to address the pressing issues of our time. However, challenges can arise due to differing terminology, drivers, and approaches. Three panelists who work across boundaries share actionable advice for effective research partnerships across academia and practice.

Learning Outcomes:

Understand how the collaborative pursuit of research projects can benefit both practitioners and academics.
List approaches and strategies that are most likely to result in a successful outcome for a research collaboration.
Understand the varying perspectives and needs of academics and practitioners when approaching a research question or project.
Learn to collaboratively frame a research idea or proposal and how to seek funding.