Capacity Development for Knowledge Translation: Evaluation of an Experiential Approach through Secondment Opportunities

Abstract

This document is the author deposited version. You are advised to consult the publisher's version if you wish to cite from it. Published versionGERRISH, Kate and PIERCY, Hilary (2014). Capacity development for knowledge translation : evaluation of an experiential approach through secondment opportunities. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 11 (3), 209-216. Copyright and re-use policySee http://shura.shu.ac.uk/information.html Sheffield Hallam University Research Archivehttp://shura.shu.ac.uk 1 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT FOR KNOWLEDGE TRANSLATION: EVALUATION OF AN EXPERIENTIAL APPROACH THROUGH SECONDMENT OPPORTUNITIES ABSRACT BackgroundExperiential approaches to skills development using a secondment model have been shown to be beneficial to healthcare organisations more generally, but little is known about the potential of this approach to develop capacity for knowledge translation (KT). AimTo evaluate the success of KT capacity development secondments from the perspective of multiple stakeholders. MethodsA pluralistic evaluation design was used. Data were collected during 2011-12 using focus group and individual interviews with 14 clinical and academic secondees, and five managers from host and seconding organisations to gain insight into parti ipa ts per eptio s of the su ess of se o d e ts and the criteria by which they judged success. Six After Action Reviews were subsequently undertaken with KT proje t tea s to e plore parti ipa ts per eptio s of the o tri utio se o dees made to KT projects. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with three healthcare managers on completion of projects to explore the impact of secondments on the organisation, staff and patients. Qualitative content analysis was used to identify criteria for success. The criteria provided a framework through which the overall success of secondments could be judged. ResultsSix criteria for judging the success of KT capacity development secondments at individual, team and organisation level were identified: KT skills development, effective workload management, team 2 working, enabling KT objectives to be achieved, enhanced care delivery, enhanced education delivery. Benefits to the individual, the KT team, seconding and host organisations were identified. Implications for practiceHosting teams need to provide mentorship support to secondees, and be flexible to accommodate the needs of secondees as team members. On-going support from managers in seconding organisations is needed to maximise the benefits to the individual secondee and to the organisation. ConclusionsExperiential approaches to KT capacity development using secondments can benefit individual secondees, project teams, seconding and host organisations. secondments have the potential to benefit all parties involved. Secondees benefit from developing expertise in a specific area. The seconding organisation can benefit in that secondees acquire transferable skills that they can apply once they return to their substantive post. These skills can then be communicated across teams/departme...

The use of secondments as a tool to increase knowledge translation

“…Consistent with previous studies 3,9,12,14 , the reciprocal secondment benefited both organisations and increased the secondees' capacity in relevant skills that could facilitate KT. 13,[15][16][17] The ACT Health staff member increased her knowledge of current research, and developed skills in statistical analyses, and writing and publication of research.…”

“…During the secondments, the participants undertook two roles concurrently and managed two workloads. In Gerrish and Piercy's study 9 , secondees experienced difficulties in ensuring that sufficient priority was given to both roles. In our study, the secondments were flexible, so the secondees' usual workloads and the amount of time spent at either organisation could be adjusted.…”

“…The success of the secondment type depends on the department, the project in question and the people involved. For example, Gerrish and Piercy 9 found that clinical secondees benefited from ongoing clinical engagement through parttime secondments, but that academic secondees had difficulties managing dual workloads and benefited more from a full-time secondment. Thirdly, it is recommended that secondments have a detailed plan before commencement and a formal evaluation of how successful the secondment was.…”

“…The seconding organisation also benefits from skills acquired during the secondment that can be applied to the secondee's substantive position and spread across the organisation to improve the skills of other staff. 9,12,14 Although secondments occur between government departments and academic institutions, there has been minimal research on how they may contribute to increasing KT. 12 The aim of this paper is to discuss how secondments could be used to instigate and maintain relationships between government departments and universities, and how they could be an effective tool for KT by building individual capacity.…”

Collective knowledge brokering: the model and impact of an embedded team

“…Like other embedded initiatives (Morris et al, 2013, Bruce andO'Callaghan, 2016), co-location and attachments to research/ commissioning teams provided rich learning opportunities for brokers to gain tacit, experiential knowledge of host organisations. Other secondment schemes have found dedicated time important (Gerrish and Piercy, 2014); part-time contracts of two years' duration were sufficient to become acclimatised, improve performance and achieve objectives. This collective brokering model would have been hampered in less affluent or more turbulent climates, without the time afforded by ring-fenced funding from solvent, stable organisations.…”