The pages to follow describe an effort involving university researchers interacting with public decision-makers and agency staff to prepare recommendations on a specific issue facing the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The issue is development of guidelines and procedures for using sewage sludge on land for agricultural purposes. The discussion will describe an interdisciplinary effort and an operating procedure for successful completion of a project. In the two-year process of this interaction, the authors gained more than the anticipated number of insights about modes of research and their relative chances for ultimate adoption. These insights are shared in the final section below.