In May of 2016, Perkins Eastman and EwingCole engaged in a conversation at the 47th Annual Environmental Design Research Association Conference (EDRA47) in Raleigh, NC, about the information hurdles that today’s designers and design researchers in practice are facing. To move toward solutions, our respective research teams first needed to better understand the challenges related to conducting and implementing design research in practice. This white paper is a joint effort by the Perkins Eastman and EwingCole research teams, using input from our EDRA47 conversation as well as the results from a comprehensive online survey of students, educators, designers and design researchers.