<p>Academic-practitioner partnerships can be beneficial for both parties, with researchers able to design and test theoretically supported policies, and practitioners benefiting from rigorous research methodology and evaluation necessary for their entity to request and sustain outside funding. However, there is a distinct lack of consistent literature on “best practices” on these partnerships themselves, particularly in formal research partnerships involving central research centers on university campuses. The current project reviews two current initiatives, one a comprehensive research center and the other focusing specifically on issues related to crime and public safety, both on the same university campus. This review first provides some context for the necessity for research centers within the university’s broader city, gives a timeline for each center’s formation, and then offers some lessons learned regarding implementation, potential barriers, as well as new directions for research centers to add to academic-practitioner partnerships as a whole.</p>