The structure and function of the California Educational Research Cooperative (CERC), a collaborative action research organization designed to link research to educational practice, is described in this paper. A brief history of school-university partnerships and a review of the status of these partnerships is provided, followed by a description of the CERC research cycle, which is based on purposeful agenda setting, and of the CERC governance structure, which is based on a participative decision making forum. Based on the success of CERC so far, it is concluded that factors for success of school-university partnerships, should include: (1) shared professional resources and services; (2) relevant research programs with practical significance; (3) professional collegiality and training; (4) school improvement objectives; (5) quarterly reports and assessments; and (6) public support. Five figures present information on CERC financial and organizational aspects and on school-university partnership characteristics. (21 references) (LMI)