Abstract
This study examines the interpersonal conditions for effective collaboration between practitioners and researchers in the context of Japan’s Community-Based Integrated Care Policy. Drawing on the philosophy of the Japanese Society of Geriatric and Gerontological Behavioral Sciences, which emphasizes the “encounter of care and research,” the study analyzes two cases of collaborative practice involving researchers in the Community Life Support System Development Project. The findings suggest that successful collaboration requires more than an institutional framework. It also depends on mutual recognition of
dialogue as a means to overcome hesitation and to establish equal interpersonal relationships. Such dialogues should be deliberately initiated from the earliest stages and sustained through ongoing clarification of roles to foster trust over time. Furthermore, the study highlights the potential of organic collaboration to help bridge the evidence-practice gap by referencing “public interest initiatives in the community” implemented by social welfare corporations.
