Reflections of ‘knowledge exchange professionals’ in the social sciences: emerging opportunities and challenges for university-based knowledge brokers

Knight, Christine; Lightowler, Claire

doi:10.1332/174426410x535891

Cited by 59 publications

(60 citation statements)

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“…The positions described above both involve directing KE activities for our respective institutions. Unlike the KB roles described by Knight and Lightowler (2010), we each lead a complement of KB. The focus of these posts is solely on brokering -there is no ambiguity of role nor are their roles research/KE hybrids as described by Knight and Lightowler (2010).…”

Section: Context: Who We Arementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Unlike the KB roles described by Knight and Lightowler (2010), we each lead a complement of KB. The focus of these posts is solely on brokering -there is no ambiguity of role nor are their roles research/KE hybrids as described by Knight and Lightowler (2010). Both York University's KMb Unit and the CRFR with partners across Scottish universities, broker relationships between academic researchers and non-academic decision makers to enable the creation and use of evidence that not only informs public policy and professional practice but may also be disseminated through traditional scholarly channels.…”

Section: Context: Who We Arementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous literature (Knight and Lightowler, 2010;CHSRF, 2003) has identified training as important for KBs. We agree and note that six out of eight of our KBs had some form of training provided during their role.…”

Section: Recruiting and Training For Kbsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous reflections on KBs have focused on their roles in the context of Scottish university research centres (Knight and Lightowler, 2010) or in the Canadian health system (CHSRF, 2003;Lomas, 2007). Ward et al (2009) described some of the skills that KBs needed to bring the 'two communities' of research and policy/practice together, and this 'two communities' thesis has been a popular way of conceptualising the problems of research utilisation, seeing them as separated by mutual misunderstandings, and differing timescales and priorities (Caplan, 1977;Cousins and Simon, 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Qualities of knowledge brokers: reflections from practice

Phipps

Morton

2013

Evidence &Amp; Policy

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Employing knowledge brokers is one way that universities and research centres have responded to the increasing emphasis on the wider usefulness and uptake of research beyond the academy. While there is an increase in the numbers of such professionals, there has been little focus on their roles, skills and development. In this paper, two knowledge exchange directors from Canada and the United Kingdom reflect on their combined experiences of being, developing and employing knowledge brokers in a range of roles.

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Section: Context: Who We Arementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Context: Who We Arementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Recruiting and Training For Kbsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Qualities of knowledge brokers: reflections from practice

Phipps

Morton

2013

Evidence &Amp; Policy

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“…Knowledge brokering roles or functions are often referred to in the literature using a range of alternative terms -these include intermediaries (Levin, 2004;Sin, 2008), policy entrepreneurs (Edwards 2004), boundary spanner (Ward et al, 2009a), research translators (Ward et al 2009a), champions (Cherney & Head, 2010), boundary objects (Kimble et al, 2010), liaison officers (Tetroe et al, 2008), third space professionals (Whitchurch, 2009), innovation broker (Horne 2008), boundary organisations (Crona & Parker, 2011), diffusion fellows (Rowley, 2012), and knowledge exchange professionals (Knight & Lightowler, 2010).…”

Section: Research Utilisation As a Social Process -Mobilising Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

Connecting research and policy: how linkages support the use of research evidence in social policymaking

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The notion that policymaking should be informed by evidence has been an attractive one to both government decision-makers and the community alike in recent years (Banks, 2009;Cherney & Head 2010;Nutley et al, 2007). The pursuit of "more" and/or "better" relationships has consistently been championed as an important strategy to improve the use of a research evidence base for social policy and practice (Nutley et al, 2007;Lavis, 2010;Bogenschneider & Corbett, 2010;Ross, 2011;Shergold, 2011). These relationships are often referred to as "linkages" in the literature, and it is recognised they can be diverse in form (Nutley et al, 2007;Weiss, 1995).A strong association between linkages and research utilisation has been found by a number of empirical studies reported in the literature (for example, Landry et al, 2001aLandry et al, , 2001bLandry et al, 2003;Cherney & McGee, 2011). Many more studies identify linkages as a facilitator for research use or report that a lack of linkages is a key barrier to research uptake (Innvaer et al, 2002;Helmsley-Brown, 2004;Mitton et al, 2007;Oliver et al, 2014). However, very little work has been undertaken to systematically identify how linkages between university academics and social policy-makers shape key processes associated with evidence-based policy-making.This PhD research project used a mixed methods approach, drawing on data gathered via large-scale survey and interview processes with Australian social scientist academics and public servant policymakers, to investigate:• the types of linkages are predominant between academics and policymakers;• the key barriers to and facilitators for developing and sustaining linkages;• how linkages relate to a capacity for research utilisation in policy making contexts; and• how linkages can be enhanced to support the policy uptake of social research evidence.A wide range of linkage arrangements were identified from the data sources. The character and scope of participation in linkage relationships was shaped by a range of interacting, context-dependent factors, including the political environment, dominant paradigms about the role of government in shaping policy and program provision within a sector, differences [ii] in infrastructure and resourcing between policy sectors and departments, and the culture, norms and values within policymaking organisations.The findings of multiple linear regression models applied to academic and policy official survey data revealed a strong association between participation in linkage activities and research utilisation.Linkages were found to build academic and policy official capacities separately, by enhancing individual and organisational knowledge, skills and approaches for research production and use. However, linkages were also found to underpin the development of important new joint capacities, such as the capacity to efficiently and effectively co-produce research. Importantly, both policy officials and academics highlighted the value of linkages for creating the mutual trust, respect ...

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Performing Impact in Research: A Dramaturgical Reflection on Knowledge Brokers in Academia

Graaf

2022

The Palgrave Handbook of Imposter Syndrome in Higher Education

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Reflections of ‘knowledge exchange professionals’ in the social sciences: emerging opportunities and challenges for university-based knowledge brokers

Cited by 59 publications

References 0 publications

Qualities of knowledge brokers: reflections from practice

Qualities of knowledge brokers: reflections from practice

Connecting research and policy: how linkages support the use of research evidence in social policymaking

Performing Impact in Research: A Dramaturgical Reflection on Knowledge Brokers in Academia

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