2004: a significant year for research-practice links in HRD

Many thanks to Peter Kuchinke for his Soap Box contribution to the ongoing dialogue on linking research and practice in HRD (Kuchinke 2004). I agree fully with his assertion that the relationship between HRD theory and practice should receive closer attention as one of the core areas of concern in our field, and his article usefully supplements three others that have helped focus attention on researchpractice links (Graham and Kormanik 2004; Berger et al. 2004; Short et al. 2004). I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on Kuchinke’s assertions, explore threads running through all the recent articles and list questions to guide the ongoing dialogue. First, it is important to position this issue within the broader context of progress in linking research and practice, where I believe that much has been achieved in 2004 alone. Over the last twelve months, progress has included: