Research-practice collaboration on implementing a modified Individual Placement and Support (IPS) programme for NEETs with less severe mental health problems

Individual Placement and Support (IPS) is an evidence-based Supported Employment programme (SE) designed to assist individuals with mental health challenges in obtaining competitive employment. The model has been widely implemented across diverse international contexts, with researchers playing a central role in its dissemination. However, limited attention has been given to how collaborations between researchers and practitioners develop during implementation. This paper explores the dynamics of research–practice collaboration in the implementation of a modified IPS programme for young people not in education, employment, or training (NEETs) with less severe mental health issues in Denmark. Drawing on interviews with practitioners, meeting minutes, and systematic reflections on researchers’ roles, the study examines a six-year implementation process. Researchers, supported by IPS praxis experts, collaborated closely with frontline staff responsible for local delivery. This collaboration required researchers to assume multiple roles, including knowledge brokers, monitors, counsellors, and facilitators of learning. Drawing on a translational theoretical approach, the paper analyses critical issues of the boundary-spanning activities of translating ‘evidence’ into practice. Findings highlight how this translation led to local variations, albeit under some homogenising forces, based on the positions of researchers and IPS praxis experts as powerful translators of scientific knowledge into knowledge for action.