The critical quality of productive dialogue is that the IR team and key stakeholders come together to understand each other’s viewpoint,4 in order to develop new options to address a commonly identified and owned problem. Dialogue is distinct from the other two ‘D’s – discussion and debate – in as much as it aims to promote a conversation with a centre, rather than sides.
In the setting of an IR team, productive dialogue is essential for joint prioritization and evidence-based decision-making, the cornerstones of integrated knowledge translation. Genuine collaboration and dialogue can only take place when IR team members share common goals, yet acknowledge underlying differences and fragmentation in their respective approaches. Trust builds when team members recognize these challenges and are willing to jointly address them to achieve their common goals. Read more on productive dialogue in the section on Integrating IR into the health system.