Plan for knowledge mobilization to increase your research impact!

As part of its Knowledge Mobilization Institutional Strategy, the Office of the Vice-President, Research (OVPR) aims to better support researchers in planning knowledge mobilization activities and assessing their research impact. This article is meant to guide your knowledge mobilization planning when developing a research proposal for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) or the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Table 1 provides examples of knowledge mobilization strategies and indicators that may be relevant to your research.

In general, SSHRC recommends that your knowledge mobilization plan address the following elements:

For whom?

Identify knowledge users who will benefit from your research results and the role users will play in the research project and knowledge mobilization, if applicable.

Why?

Describe the needs of knowledge users and what your research results might change for them.

What? When? How?

Identify and describe the knowledge mobilization strategies that will support these changes and explain when and how they will be achieved.

What is success?

Identify indicators or other ways to assess whether your knowledge mobilization strategies have had the anticipated outcomes.

Table 1: Examples of knowledge mobilization strategies and indicators

KMb Objectives	KMb Strategies	Indicators to Assess KMb Outcomes
To advance knowledge	Products Open access publications or products Sharing research data Events and networking Conferences Social media	Access to information (distribution, requests, views, read/browsed downloads) Participation, people reached Citations and other bibliometric indicators (altmetrics)
To inform, share or raise awareness	Products Summary Website/web page Newsletter Press release Videos/podcasts/artistic productions Events and networking Conferences, workshops Social media	Participation Satisfaction Access to information (requests, views, read/browsed downloads) Reactions to information (shares, questions, comments)
To promote a change of attitude	Products Videos/podcasts/artistic productions Events and networking Discussions and debates Committees Champions Networking activities Social media	Participation Satisfaction Access to information (requests, views, read/browed downloads) New knowledge acquired Changes in public opinion
To mobilize or create engagement	Events, networking and capacity building Public consultations Committees Consultation tables Workshops/fora Networking activities Co-construction/co-creation	Participation Satisfaction Access to information (views, downloads) Requests for expertise Creation of partnerships and collaborations
To influence a decision or policy or defend a position	Events, networking and capacity building Public consultations Committees Consultation tables Workshops/fora Consultancies Networking activities Co-construction/cocreation	Participation Satisfaction Access to information (views, downloads) New knowledge acquired Requests for expertise Mentions/citations Results used to support or justify a decision Legislative, political, health system, economic changes Empowerment or capacity building
To improve practices or promote behavioural change	Products Practical guidelines Teaching material Manual Toolkit Events, networking and capacity building Continuing education Workshops/fora/training Committees Coaching Mentoring Communities of practice Co-construction/co-creation	Results used to support or justify a decision Legislative, political or economic changes Empowerment or capacity building Improvement in self-efficacy and skills Changes of attitude Creation of conditions to support change Changes in process and service delivery Health system improvements Improvement of patients’ conditions

Best practices

If you are doing research in the social sciences or humanities, you can consult the SSHRC knowledge mobilization guidelines. Recommendations include:

Planning meetings with your knowledge users at the project planning stage

Creating knowledge mobilization products that meet the needs of knowledge users, ideally in conjunction with them
Putting in place multiple ways to share knowledge, including measures to evaluate how it will be used
Determining the roles and responsibilities of all participants at the outset of the project, including those of partners and knowledge users, as appropriate
Demonstrating you have the resources and the institutional support to implement your knowledge mobilization plan
Using open access publishing platforms to increase the visibility of your research results (email the uOttawa library for more on open access publishing)
Where appropriate, developing a plan for the management, storage and preservation of research data based on the Tri-Agency Policy Statement on Digital Data Management. (email the uOttawa library for more on research data management)

CIHR has also developed a Knowledge Translation Planning Guide for Health Research.

Several other tools and templates are available to help you develop your knowledge mobilization plan. Two of note include:

Finally, the OVPR has recently developed a checklist to assist researchers in developing your knowledge mobilization plans for SSHRC and CIHR applications.

References

Barwick, M. A. (2008, 2013, 2019). Knowledge translation planning template. Ontario: The Hospital for Sick Children. Retrieved December 9, 2020 from https://www.sickkids.ca/en/learning/continuing-professional-development/knowledge-translation-training/knowledge-translation-planning-template-form/.

Gervais, M.-J., Souffez, K., & Ziam, S. (2016). « Quel impact avons-nous ? Vers l’élaboration d’un cadre pour rendre visibles les retombées du transfert des connaissances ». Revue francophone de recherche sur le transfert et l’utilisation des connaissances, 1(2), 21. doi: 10.18166/tuc.2016.1.02

Guidelines for effective knowledge mobilization. (2019, June 17). Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Retrieved December 9, 2020 from https://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/funding-financement/policies-politiques/knowledge_mobilisation-mobilisation_des_connaissances-eng.aspx.

Guide to knowledge translation planning at CIHR: Integrated and end-of-grant approaches. (2015, March 19). Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Retrieved December 9, 2020 from https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/45321.html.

Morton, S. (2015). “Progressing research impact assessment: A ‘contributions’ approach.’” Research Evaluation, 24(4), 405–19. doi:10.1093/reseval/rvv016.