KMb Journal Club / Le comité de lecture de la MdC

The ResearchImpact-RéseauImpactRecherche journal club is a new web feature that will make KMb related academic research accessible to knowledge brokers.

Le comité de lecture de ResearchImpact-RéseauImpactRecherche est une nouvelle initiative en ligne qui va rendre la recherche académique sur la mobilisation des connaissances accessible aux courtiers de connaissances

What were you doing on April 30, 2010? It was a Friday and that day we posted the results of our web survey. Our respondents gave us great feedback and we have acted on some of those by adding to our KMb in Action and introducing Delicious KMb bookmarks of KMb associated web sites. We know that finding information on KMb is one of the top two reasons people come to the ResearchImpact-RéseauImpactRecherche website.

We are now pleased to introduce a new feature to our web services to help our stakeholders get KMb related information – the KMb Journal Club.

We have previously written that knowledge brokers need to practice what they preach and seek out KMb evidence on which to base their KMb practice. The trouble is, like so many of our community partners, we lack the time to seek out, digest, evaluate and apply research to our own situations. The journal club will present a summary of KMb related academic journal articles in a standard format that will make KMb research accessible to KMb practitioners. This won’t be a researcher’s perspective.

Each journal club will be presented with the following sections:

1. Article reference
2. url if the article is open access
3. Abstract
4. Article summary
5. Key observations from practitioner’s perspective

We will be using a publicly accessible discussion forum on the ResearchImpact O3 site to host the journal club. Each journal club will be posted, with the paper attached if it is open access, and readers will be able to use the reply feature to comment or ask questions of the journal club author. We will be posting the first KMb journal club in a couple of weeks.

If you are reading a journal article that you think would be relevant to KMb practice you are invited to submit a journal club summary to us for consideration by e mailing to kmbunit@yorku.ca.

Knowledge Mobilization Officer Position Opening

We are excited to share the following opening for the position of Knowledge Mobilization Officer, Knowledge Brokering for Health and Wellness with the United Way of York Region and York University. Here is a summary of the position:

Knowledge Mobilization Officer, Knowledge Brokering for Health & Wellness, York University & United Way of York Region

Position Type
Contract – one year, with a possibility of renewal

Start Date
September 2011

Hours
8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday

Salary
Commensurate with experience

Closing Date for Applications
July 29, 2011

Job Purpose
Based in the United Way of York Region (UWYR) head office in Markham and working in partnership with York University’s Knowledge Mobilization (KMb) Unit, the Knowledge Mobilization Officer will be responsible for the development and delivery of community-based KMb services in York Region to maximize the impact of university research on public policy and professional practice, specifically in the area of social determinants of health. The Knowledge Mobilization Officer will have active liaison with York Region human service agencies and municipalities, community leaders, social entrepreneurs, York University (York U) faculty, students and staff within York U’s KMb Unit.  The position will be guided by the successful Canadian Institutes of Health Research grant – “Community-Based Knowledge Brokering to Affect Social Determinants of Health in York Region”.

Knowledge Mobilization Officer will report to the Director, Community Investment, UWYR and involve regular communication and interface with the Director, Research Services and Knowledge Exchange, York U, Co-Lead of this York U and UWYR partnership as well as with the Manager, Knowledge Mobilization for York University.

Stand Up for United Way / Prenez position pour Centraide

By David Phipps (ResearchImpact, York)

An inspiring speech by United Way of York Region calls on all knowledge brokers and social innovators in York Region to stand up for change. Join York University and stand up for knowledge mobilization and social innovation at your university and local communities.

Un discours inspirant du United Way (Centraide) de la région de York appelle les courtiers de connaissances et les innovateurs sociaux de la région prendre position pour le changement. Rejoignez l’Université York et prenez position pour la mobilisation des connaissances et l’innovation sociale dans votre université et les communautés locales.

At 7:30 am on a Tuesday morning in the old Aurora Cultural Centre in the heart of York Region, Daniele Zanotti, CEO of United Way of York Region (UWYR) asked everyone to stand up for change.  It was the 35^th Annual General Meeting of UWYR and the room was filled with volunteers, board members, companies, municipal and Regional employees and UWYR staff s well as partner organizations like ResearchImpact – York.  We were all there to approve the business of UWYR but we were also there to celebrate our collective success.

UWYR Region is a key institutional partner in York University’s knowledge mobilization and social innovation strategy. Together we created Strength Investments that have invested $150,000 in 6 community-citizen projects such as Building Sustainable Capacities amongst Afro-Canadian Caribbean Youth in York Region and South Asian Family Empowerment Project.  A list of all the projects is available. Together we launched Change Inc. in October and announced an investment of $150,000 in Change Inc at York’s KMb Expo on June 15. Tammy Lowe, one of ResearchImpact – York’s KMb Interns now works at UWYR as a Campaign Manager, a career choice she links back to her internship.  We have co-authored an article, a meeting grant and a knowledge mobilization grant linking university and community strengths in knowledge mobilization.  Outcomes of knowledge mobilization such as Strength Investments are social innovations.

You can read Daniele’s speech and while you’re reading it, stand up for community-university collaborations that producer tangible change for communities and citizens.

ResearchImpact Spring Adventures! / Les aventures estivales d’Impact Recherche !

By Michael Johnny (ResearchImpact, York)

May and June 2011 were very active for ResearchImpact.  CU Expo, CAURA and Congress provided great venues to showcase the diverse, excellent work that ResearchImpact universities are doing in KMb.  This summary is aimed to provide an overview and some reflections on this activity.

Mai et juin 2011 ont été très actifs pour le réseau Impact Recherche. CU Expo, l’ACARU et le congrès ont fourni de belles opportunités pour montrer la diversité et l’excellent travail que les Universités d’Impact Recherche réalisent en mobilisation des connaissances. Ce résumé a pour objectif de fournir un aperçu sur de ces activités ainsi que quelques réflexions.

The five week period from May 10 – June 15, 2011 may be the busiest and most significant stretch in the growth and development of the ResearchImpact-RéseauImpactRecherche (RIR) network since its inception in 2006. While it is a traditional season for conferences and exhibiting for RIR brokers, this year was unique for a few reasons. But let’s examine the entire five-week period to see what made this so special.

May 10-13, 2011, Waterloo, ON – CU Expo – The previous CU Expo at University of Victoria in 2009 hosted over 900 delegates, so expectations were high. This event hosted over 600 delegates, impressive in its own right, and RIR had brokers attend from five of our six member universities. With an exhibitor booth and a presentation to delegates about knowledge mobilization tools, it was a productive and enjoyable start to the conference season for us. In addition, we were able to make time to have an introductory meeting, as this was the first gathering of all brokers in the RIR network! We were also able to meet with brokers from University of Brighton and University of Cape Town. ResearchImpact’s David Phipps was a panelist on a session on Social Innovation which included SSHRC President Chad Gaffield and York VP Research and Innovation Stan Shapson and McConnell Foundation President Tim Brodhead.

May 15-19, 2011, Ottawa, ON – CAURA National – Two days later, RIR was back on the road, again exhibiting and presenting the tools that brokers are using across Canada to facilitate research and knowledge based collaborations for Canada’s university research administrators. The presentation was hosted on the final day at an optional session which delegates had to pay to attend and we were flattered to host research administrators from 13 different universities across Canada. The RIR booth was a social hub throughout the conference and numerous delegates visited to inquire about our work, or, to explore how their institution could get involved in this network, but more on that later!

Using Your WITS: KMb in Action at UVic / Le programme « WITS » : la Mobilisation des connaissances (MdC) en action à l’Université de Victoria

The Public Health Agency of Canada recently announced a $2.6 million grant supporting children’s mental health through a program designed by University of Victoria psychologist Dr. Bonnie Leadbeater, which teaches children conflict resolution strategies.

L’Agence de la santé publique du Canada a récemment annoncé une subvention de 2,6 millions de dollars pour la santé mentale des enfants par le biais d’un programme (WITS) développé par une psychologue de l’Université de Victoria : Dr. Bonnie Leadbeater. Elle enseigne aux enfants les stratégies de résolution de conflits.

The Public Health Agency of Canada has announced a $2.6 million grant supporting children’s mental health through research about and improved online access to the WITS program. WITS teaches children four simple conflict resolution strategies—Walk away – Ignore – Talk it out – Seek help—and was developed by UVic psychologist Dr. Bonnie Leadbeater.

The four-year grant will support online resources, lesson plans, training modules and resource guides for teachers across Canada. The funds will also go to further research in determining the effectiveness of the prevention program. Since 1998, the WITS programs have taught schools, families and communities four simple strategies that children can use to respond to peer victimization.

“We are very pleased to receive this funding,” says Leadbeater. “We want to ensure that schools and communities across Canada can access the WITS program to help prevent peer victimization, which also improves children’s mental health.”

The funding, announced by Federal Minister of Health Leona Aglukkaq, is part of a funding package for innovative, community-based projects to improve the mental health of Canadian children and families, with a focus on vulnerable populations.

For more information on WITS, please visit: www.witsprogram.ca