Completing a research project can result in exciting new knowledge. But how will it get into the hands of people who can use it? The path from generation of knowledge to application in the real world is too long – an average of 17 years, according to the US National Institute of Health. Planning for impactful knowledge mobilization can help you ensure that knowledge generated makes a real-world difference today and tomorrow, not twenty years from now.
Make a plan for knowledge mobilization using our Knowledge Mobilization Planning Guide (.pdf).
What are the goals of knowledge mobilization?
Knowledge mobilization moves your research from academia to impact. Some of the impacts knowledge mobilization creates are:
- Generating awareness: do the people affected by your research know about your results?
- Encouraging buy-in: are people willing to use your results to change the way they live and work?
- Informing decision making: can data inform the choices that governments, agencies and individuals make about how to allocate their time, attention, and resources?
- Inform other researchers: can your peers build on your results to advance the field?
- Facilitate policy change: do policymakers understand the results sufficiently to make systems-level change?
- Commercialization: can industry implement your results in their businesses to make them more efficient?
Who is a knowledge user?
Knowledge users are the non-academic end users who will put your research into practice. Your knowledge users will vary depending on your discipline, but may include industrial partners who will commercialize your technology, community agencies who will create new programs based on your work, healthcare providers who will refine and improve interventions, and governments who will turn your knowledge into policy. A good knowledge mobilization plan will be tailored to the audience you are trying to reach.
Who is a knowledge broker?
A knowledge broker is a person, company, or agency who helps you put your research into the hands of knowledge users. Many agencies and centres of excellence employ knowledge brokers or knowledge mobilization teams, and may require you to work with them as a condition of funding. Knowledge brokers are plugged into critical networks of agencies, legislators, regulatory bodies, and practitioners, and can use existing pathways to get the word out about your research. Some funding agencies may include a knowledge mobilization officer as an eligible expense, allowing you to engage a member of your research team in this process.
Partners can act as both knowledge users and knowledge brokers. They may be directly implementing new knowledge into their own practice or may be a conduit that helps disseminate knowledge to those who will. Give your partner space to define their role in the project and empower them to leverage the results of your research in the ways that serve them best.
Ways of moblizing knowledge
Publishing your research in a scholarly journal is a critical element of knowledge mobilization, ensuring your work gets into the hands of your academic peers. However, the audience for journals is usually limited, and impact will be stifled if you do not get your results out to knowledge users. Identifying your knowledge users and working with a knowledge broker can help you identify the venues that will ensure an impact. Some ways of mobilizing knowledge include:
- Artistic performances, recordings and exhibits
- Presentations to communities and agencies
- Op-eds, such as in The Conversation, or local and national papers
- Interviews in media outlets such as Windsor Morning
- Policy briefs and position papers
- Educational guides
- Toolkits
- Popular publications
- Social media campaigns
- Podcasts
- Dialogues
- Websites and infographics
Consult your partners at every step of the way! Whether you are working with an industry partner, a community organization or a government agency, their expertise can help you plan the right knowledge mobilization activities to move from ideas to impact.
Resources
The University of Windsor is a member of Research Impact Canada (RIC), which offers a library of free resources, communities of practice, and more: https://researchimpact.ca/. Talk to your research coordinator to find out how you can leverage UWindsor’s RIC membership in your grant proposal!
The Centre for Implementation offers extensive, free on-demand resources and training modules on partnership building and knowledge dissemination: https://thecenterforimplementation.com/
Need help connecting with partners, or developing your knowledge mobilization plan? Contact your research coordinator, or the Office of Research Partnerships (researchpartnerships@uwindsor.ca).