There is growing interest in research-practice partnerships (RPPs)--collaborations between researchers and practitioners formed to investigate problems of practice and solutions for improving educational outcomes. Advocates argue that such partnerships enable greater research use in decision making and address persistent issues in education. Funders including the Institute for Education Sciences and the National Science Foundation, share enthusiasm for the approach and are investing considerable resources to develop new RPPs. Despite large investments from funders to develop and support RPPs in education, there has been little systematic research on them creating a need for comparative studies of RPPs. In 2013, IES launched the Researcher-Practitioner Partnerships in Education Research program, which is referred to in this report as the RPP program. This program was part of a focus on partnerships as a strategy to support rigorous, relevant research that meets the needs of local communities and builds local capacity. The two year grant program supports exploratory research within a partnership context. Researchers and practitioners collaborate on a research project to explore a problem of practice, identify strategies to address the key issues, and engage in preliminary design work related to the problem of practice. This interim report presents the results of the first phase of the study regarding questions that are detailed in the following areas: (1) Goals of the Partnerships; (2) Conducting and Using Research Partnerships; (3) Activities of the Partnerships; (4) Communication within Partnerships; (5) Challenges to Working in Partnerships; (6) Perceptions of the Partnerships; (7) Planned Future Activities of Partnerships; and (8) Guidance for IES. The instrument development process, sampling strategy and key constructs are described. Preliminary analysis related the the questions detailed in the report are then offered. The findings of this study can inform the IES RPP program and also contribute to knowledge about the processes, successes, and challenges of RPPs in education. This work also provides information about the reported value of these collaborative efforts for researchers and practitioners interested in developing partnerships. Key conclusions, open questions, and next steps are also are discussed. [For "Descriptive Study of the IES Researcher-Practitioner Partnerships in Education Research Program: Final Report. Technical Report No. 3," see ED599980.]