3.2.1. Existing Relationships

Labor expert TA providers and TA recipients described their existing relationships with UIC researchers as a catalyst to their involvement in the HWC. All labor expert TA providers described longstanding relationships with UIC faculty and staff in the Environmental and Occupational Health Division of the School of Public Health, while most of the non-labor TA recipients described existing relationships with faculty and staff at the MidAmerica Center for Public Health Practice, also in the School of Public Health, which provided training to public health professionals. Representatives from both School of Public Health groups were involved in the planning and coordinating of the HWC. One TA recipient described their relationship with UIC and their decision to participate in the HWC:

*"We're fortunate enough to have a long-standing working relationship with UIC* ... *So I heard about the collaborative from [UIC facilitators], and we talked about some of the work that was going to be done and what the overall, I guess what the health outcomes might be. There was [sic] some issues that I've kind of wanted to work on, and so I just said, yeah, I kind of was interested in pursuing this."—TA recipient.*

Several interviewees indicated that they felt UIC researchers had their organization's best interests and needs in mind when soliciting their involvement in something such as the HWC. A labor expert TA provider summarized this sentiment:

*"* ... *we have relationships with individuals and the departments that span all my time here* ... *we already have an idea of what kind of things that it would involve, or yeah, there's less uncertainty about, "Well, would this be a good use of my time?" That sort of thing 'cause we already have the relationship and are accustomed to working together. I think part of it is just experience is a factor in our decision making here to engage, being that we already have experience together."—Labor expert TA provider.*
