At the 2006 Academy of Human Resource Development Conference in Columbus, I was asked, “What are the main steps you would take to close the gap between HRD research and practice?” This article offers an extended response.

What do we mean by the term HRD scholar-practitioner? This article describes the role of HRD scholar-practitioners in closing the gap between research and practice and, in so doing, offers a definition of HRD scholar-practitioners. The definition emphasizes HRD scholar-practitioners as a bridge between HRD research and HRD practice, as grounding their practice in research and theory, as champions of research and theory in the workplace and in professional associations, and as researchers who disseminate findings from their own research and practice.

Creating synergy between research and practice is viewed as the basis for creating successful and meaningful HRD outcomes and is fundamental to the maturation of the profession. Given this, there is naturally an interest in the strength of the relationship between research, theory, and practice, and this has been reflected in the journals of the Academy of Human Resource Development from their inception. In this article, the authors summarize some of the key points from the last 10 years of those journals and put them in the context of research-to-practice experiences in other professions. We conclude that HRD practitioners, practice, and professionals are hampered by the lack of connection between practice and research in the field.

The problem and the solution. Although the future of the field of human resource development (HRD) cannot be precisely foretold, trends and analyses provide us with insight into the challenges likely to be faced by professionals in the field. How we, as HRD professionals, react to these challenges will determine our contribution to organizations and society. This article explores the major challenges identified from within this journal issue.

The problem and the solution. Emotions, such as excitement, boredom, frustration, joy, and anger, are frequently present in the training room and are likely to influence the training process and the effectiveness of individual and group learning. How, then, can human resource development professionals use empirical and theoretical literature on emotions to understand the impact of emotions on training? This article summarizes the relevant literature and uses two short scenarios to illustrate its application to the training context.