Governor General Returns to Waterloo for Keynote Address / Le gouverneur général revient à Waterloo pour une allocution

University of Waterloo is known more for industry-associated innovation despite many local community engaged initiatives. But when the Governor General returns to the university where he used to be President he will be speaking on collaboration for social innovation thanks in part to RIR.

L’Université de Waterloo est plus connue pour l‘innovation associée à l’industrie, malgré de nombreuses initiatives communautaires locales engagées. Mais lorsque le gouverneur général du Canada revient à l’université qu’il présidait, il s’exprime sur la collaboration au service de l’innovation sociale, grâce, entre autres, au RIR.

Led by York University, ResearchImpact-RéseauImpactRecherche (RIR) has exhibited at Congress every year since 2007 – see our post cards and other reports from Congress 2011 posted on Mobilize This! This year Congress is in Waterloo and will be opened by His Excellency, the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada. Nice indeed but what does he have to do with knowledge mobilization? This year, a lot.

As announced on May 3, 2012, by the Canadian Federation of Humanities and Social Sciences (CFHSS, organizers of Congress), “The Governor General believes that the creation and sharing of knowledge is critical if we are to effectively and equitably address today’s complex, global issues. It is hoped that the discussion of cross-sector collaboration and social innovation at Congress 2012 will encourage students, researchers, employees and citizens alike, as we strive for greater prosperity and quality of life for all.”  CFHSS’s announcement also referenced RIR. “CFHSS has been working with the United Way of Canada, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and ResearchImpact, which are engaged in a joint project, the Community-Campus Connections (CCC) Initiative. Its purpose is to support a culture of collaboration and to marry the resources of communities with those of post-secondary institutions to address persistent social and economic challenges Canadians face today”.

Community-campus collaborations. Cross sector collaboration. Social Innovation. All very knowledge mobilization. His Excellency will be opening Congress with a Big Thinking lecture that will be informed, in part, by the work of the CCC Initiative, a year-long collaboration by York University on behalf of RIR, SSHRC and United Way-Centraide Canada. We are delighted that His Excellency will be speaking on this topic as he opens Congress 2012.

RIR will be there and you will receive daily post cards from Congress posted on this blog.

It’s time to Discover Social Innovation

Janice Chu (United Way of York Region), Jeremy Laurin (ventureLAB), David Phipps (RIR-York)

York University, United Way of York Region and ventureLAB are collaborating to support social innovation and social enterprises in York Region. On May 15 they will speak about the assets they bring to bear to help address persistent social challenges.

Picture this: Metro Toronto Convention Centre. May 15. Over 2,600 attendees listening to a multi-sectoral panel on social innovation.

That’s what we’re doing at Discovery 2012, Ontario’s premier technology and innovation showcase. Hosted by the Ontario Centres of Excellence, Discovery is Ontario’s annual conference bringing together university, college and industry based researchers, students, entrepreneurs and innovators. Traditionally focused on technology sectors such as green tech, health tech and ICTs, this year Discovery is going social and exploring the role of social innovation and social enterprises in Ontario’s innovation landscape. Mobilize This! has previously written about efforts to introduce social innovation into the federal innovation agenda and on May 15, in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, over 2,600 delegates (well, those that attend the panel at least) will hear this message. York Region’s innovation sector will speak about how we are sowing the seeds of social innovation in York Region and how we are starting to build relationships to support innovators and entrepreneurs seeking to address persistent social, environmental and cultural challenges.

This panel at Discovery represents early conversations with York Region’s vibrant entrepreneurial sector (represented by Lahav Gil of the Kangaroo Group), a regional hospital network (represented by Pat Clifford of Southlake Regional Health Centre) and the three primary supports for innovation in York Region: ventureLAB (York Region’s Regional Innovation Centre represented by CEO, Jeremy Laurin), York University (represented by Vice-President Research & Innovation, Robert Haché) and the United Way of York Region (represented by Janice Chu, Director Community Investments). For the first time in the history of Discovery the community sector will be represented. We will also be joined by Allyson Hewitt, Advisor, Social Innovation and Director, Social Entrepreneurship MaRS, who will reflect on York Region’s assets and efforts and place them in a provincial context.

ventureLAB, York U and UWYR are actively discussing how best to support an emerging cohort of social entrepreneurs. UWYR has a Strength Investments program (itself a social innovation) that has already invested $300,000 in 11 community based innovations to address local opportunities. ventureLAB has an established Build program and Entrepreneurs in Residence that can be made available to social entrepreneurs. York University’s Knowledge Mobilization Unit will actively broker collaborations between social entrepreneurs and researchers/students so that social innovations are grounded in the latest research. The Innovation York accelerator space at the Markham Convergence Centre, co-located with ventureLAB and other York Region innovation acceleration services such as the York Technology Alliance, will be available to social entrepreneurs seeking a space to grow their businesses.

Stay tuned for details on how we will weave these assets into a coherent value proposition but we have progressed beyond recognizing the need and moved into the “how to” stages. This energy will build on the primary message of the recent Public Policy Forum reportthat spoke of the value of collaboration as a key component of innovation and singled out York Region as a region that was making strides to supporting multi-sectoral collaboration.

Discovery 2013. That’s when we will share the emerging York Region story – still separate silos beginning the dialogue on and action to support social innovation and social entrepreneurship so we can make a difference in the lives of York Region’s diverse citizens. Come with us as we discover social innovation.

KMb, KT, KTE…it’s almost time for K* / Mobilisation, transfert, échange de connaissances…c’est presque le temps pour K*/ Movilización, traducción e intercambio de conocimiento: es tiempo para los intermediarios de conocimiento (K*)

David Phipps, RIR York

David from Canada is about to share his knowledge mobilization experiences with Leandro from Argentina, Glowen from Ghana and about 50 others from around the world at a conference that is aiming to describe a global knowledge intermediary practice. We are a world apart but share so much in common.

David, du Canada, est sur le point de partager ses expériences de mobilisation des connaissances avec Léandro d’Argentine, Glowen du Ghana et environ 50 autres personnes du monde entier dans une conférence dont le but est de décrire une pratique globale d’intermédiaire de connaissances. Nous  sommes différents, mais avons tant à partager.

David (Canadá) compartirá sus experiencias de movilización  del conocimiento con Leandro (Argentina), Glowen (Ghana) y otras 50 personas de diferentes partes del mundo en una conferencia que busca describir una práctica global de intermediación de conocimiento. Somos mundos distintos, pero tenemos mucho en común.

Way back on May 1, 2009 I wrote about the importance of language and how I will leave that debate to others and just get on with brokering knowledge based relationships.  K* (Kstar) is term introduced at the KTKB workshop at the Canadian Science Policy Conference in 2010 designed to embrace all the K-words (mobilization, management, exchange, translation, transfer, integration, purveyor, curator) associated with knowledge intermediaries and move beyond the paralysis of language enabling us to better describe a global practice.

That energy is about to culminate in an international K* conference that will feature knowledge intermediaries from around the world.

Leandro Echt

Led by the United Nations University – Institute for Water, Environment & Health (UNU-INWEH) and sponsored by many agencies including York University and ResearchImpact-RéseauImpactRecherche. At the K* conference (April 25-27) I will have the pleasure of working with Leandro Echt from Centro de Implementación de Políticas Públicas para la Equidad y el Crecimiento (CIPPEC, Center for the Implementation of Public Policies Promoting Equity and Growth) in Buenos Aires and Glowen Kyei-Mensah from Participatory Development Associates in Accra, Ghana where she manages the Mwananchi Ghana project. The three of us are presenting a panel on knowledge intermediary work with civil society and community organizations.

Daniele Zanotti (CEO, United Way of York Region) and I have previously written on lessons learned from our knowledge mobilization practice. For the K* Conference, Glowen, Leandro and I have developed our own list of nine lessons learned from our own knowledge intermediary work with civil society and community organizations. Stay tuned to the K* website for reports from the conference for those nine lessons and follow us on twitter (#Kstar2012) but what I will share now is that the three of us share eight of those nine lessons. Across three very different contexts in three very different cultures we find 8/9 things in common.

The nine lessons learned aren’t rocket science but the fact that they are common across these different K* contexts is really

Glowen Kyei-Mensah

interesting and we will use part of our panel to explore why these commonalities transcend cultures and nations.  Leandro has an appointment in Social Science, University of Buenos Aires but his day job is at CIPPPEC a think tank in Argentina where he is interested in the role of think tanks and the links between research and policy. Glowen has been an Adjunct Lecturer at the Regent University of Science and Technology in Accra, Ghana and she has worked extensively in project management that targets deprived communities focusing on trade policy and food security. She is presently the Country Coordinator of ODI’s Mwananchi Ghana Project. I am working in a very large university in the largest urban centre in Canada managing over $65 million in research funding and connecting research to external audiences from the public, private and community sectors. We operate in thee very different contexts. And despite those differences we find we have so much in common. Leandro, Glowen and I have shared e mails and one Skype call and while I don’t (yet) know them I feel I know their K* practice as it shares so much in common with mine.

David Phipps

I am looking forward to meeting Leandro and Glowen and all the other international knowledge intermediaries at the K* conference. As Leandro says, “I have high expectations for K* Conference as I believe that reflecting about this practice will lead me to plan my work with more clarification.” Glowen agrees, “’I am excited about being a part of the K* conference as there are many ways in which I can share the experience back in Ghana. Knowledge is key to improving the lives of the marginalized that I work and interact with in my line of work.”

It’s almost time for K*!

2012 York KMb Learning Events / Les activités d’apprentissage offertes par York MdC en 2012

Michael Johnny, RIR, YorkU

York KMb is offering sessions for researchers, staff and graduate students to help make their research relevant to professional practice and policy development.

York MdC offre des séances de formation à l’attention des professeurs, du personnel et des étudiants gradués afin de les aider à accroître la pertinence de leurs recherches sur le plan de la pratique professionnelle et du développement de politiques.

For the past five years, York’s Knowledge Mobilization (KMb) Unit has focused our KMb activities on service and awareness raising for faculty, graduate students and external organizations and leaders who are seeking to engage in KMb.  Since 2006, York KMb has led 186 information sessions for community organizations and has supported 142 graduate students to meaningfully engage in KMb activity.  While we’re proud of our efforts to raise awareness of the opportunity and importance of knowledge mobilization, two recent developments that have supported an expansion of our capacity building initiatives: securing a community-based knowledge broker, and second, a mandate from federal research granting councils to include a knowledge mobilization strategy on funding applications.

The unique role of a community-based knowledge broker supporting York KMb has enabled our unit capacity to address some of the emerging issues in knowledge mobilization that are centred within York University.  With an increasing demand for engaging York researchers in collaborative project opportunities, our service unit saw a need to support learning opportunities here at York to help expand the capacity of university researchers who have interests in collaborative research, or, in mobilizing their existing research to help inform public policy and/or professional practice.

Given this, we’re pleased to announce the release of a series of learning events that help university researchers and administrators learn tools and strategies to engage in KMb within research projects. This series will include sessions on clear language writing and design, social media (specifically twitter, blogging and collaborative technologies) and developing strategies in KMb. Sessions have been developed that provide one hour information sessions or half-day hands-on workshops on several aspects of KMb.

Feedback has been positive and we’re excited to continue to roll out learning sessions throughout the calendar year.  Dr. Christopher Innes, Canada Research Chair and Distinguished Research Professor within the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies (English) commented, “This is great.  Sessions like this are important for York researchers to strengthen their research projects with plans for Knowledge Mobilization that are recognized by research funding councils.  The KMb Strategy Building session provided important tools to assist me and my project team”.

Upcoming events include KMb 101 (February 13), Clear Language Writing and Design (February 27), O3 (March 6) and WordPress (April 3). The full calendar of events is available here.

In addition to building capacity on campus, York has been asked to provide a KMb webinar to the Canadian Association of University Research Administrators.  This national webinar will help raise awareness of the emerging role of KMb for university researchers and their research partners.  The webinar will be help on February 14 at 1:00 EST.  Information about registration can be found here.

Webinar- Why research administrators should care about knowledge mobilization and what you can do about it

David Phipps, RIR York, will be hosting a webinar on February 14 as part of CAURA’s webinar series. See below for more details:

CAURA Webinar Session 34 Presents:

Why research administrators should care about knowledge mobilization and what you can do about it

With
David J. Phipps, Ph.D., MBA
Director, Research Services & Knowledge Exchange, York University

Tuesday February 14
10am PT/ 11am MT/ noon CT/ 1pm ET/ 2pm AT/ 2.30pm NT

Every SSHRC Insight Grant now needs a knowledge mobilization strategy. CIHR Partnerships in Health Systems Improvement is all about knowledge translation: CIHR KT Supplements, SSHRC Public Outreach, SSHRC PG, PDG etc. Also funders like IDRC, CHSRF and many health charities are looking for some form of knowledge mobilization/ translation/ exchange (chose your term….they all mean the same thing).

What is this thing, knowledge mobilization? David Phipps will provide details about developing a Knowledge Mobilization Unit in the Office of Research Services. He will speak about the services this unit provides and the metrics that they track. This webinar is based on a paper recently published in Scholarly & Research Communications “A Report Detailing the Development of a University-Based Knowledge Mobilization Unit that Enhances Research Outreach and Engagement”. Besides, it’s on Valentine’s Day. And who doesn’t love their job enough to learn about Knowledge Mobilization?

Please see the Webinar Poster for further details and how to use the Elluminate Collaborate Webinar Software.

How to Talk About Science / Comment parler de la science

Dale Anderson, RIR-UVic

Strategic outreach is vital if you want to affect policy, bring media attention to your work or spark a lifelong interest in science in everyone you meet. It’s also the only way you’ll be able to directly communicate the results of your work for social benefit.

Une approche stratégique est essentielle si vous voulez influencer les politiques, attirer l’attention des médias sur votre travail ou susciter un intérêt durable pour la science auprès de tous ceux que vous rencontrez. C’est aussi la seule manière qui vous permettra de communiquer de façon directe les résultats de vos travaux pour le bénéfice de la société.

Vous êtes invités à apprendre à parler de science lors d’une conférence à l’Université de Victoria en mai 2012. Après deux jours de sessions interactives, vous disposerez des outils pour affiner vos stratégies de communication en utilisant les astuces de scientifiques de haut niveau et de médias qui œuvrent en communication scientifique.
You’re invited to learn How To Talk About Science at a conference at the University of Victoria May 25-27, 2012. After two days of interactive sessions you’ll have the tools to fine-tune your outreach strategies using pointers from some of the top scientists and media working in science communications today.

The conference will follow a ‘track’ model, which will include general keynote sessions and panels. The panels link to themed breakout sessions which the attendees can choose.

Conference Tracks:

• Track A: Talking to the general public (key messages & methodology)
• Track B: Talking to the media (publicizing your work)
• Track C: Talking to the K-12 audience (education and messaging)

Track Keynotes:

• Track A: E. Paul Zehr, author “Becoming Batman” & “Inventing Iron Man” (general public)
• Track B: Bob McDonald, science journalist and host of CBC Radio “Quirks & Quarks” (science media)
• Track C: Bonnie Schmidt, President, “Let’s Talk Science” (K-12)

Early Bird Registration is now open and conference registration fees start at only $75 for trainees (Postdoctoral Fellows, Graduate and Undergraduate Students) and $150 for regular attendees.

Please see cbr.uvic.ca/conferences for information and a link to registration, or contact cfbr@uvic.ca with any questions.

Organized by the Centre for Biomedical Research at UVic, with assistance from the Knowledge Mobilization Unit.

Upcoming KMb Learning Events at York

The Knowledge Mobilization (KMb) Unit at York will be providing the following learning sessions for York University researchers, staff and graduate students to help make their research relevant to professional practice and policy development throughout 2012:

Social Media 101 – a lunch hour session to provide an overview of social media tools and their relevance to collaborative research projects.

Twitter – a 2.5 hour hands-on session where Twitter is introduced within a research context. Participants can set up an account and learn about practical applications for their research.

O3 – O3 is an online collaborative tool for available free to researchers, which can facilitate effective and efficient collaboration (without flooding your email inbox!)

WordPress – Blogging is emerging as a popular medium to share information and express ideas. Researchers are finding interesting uses for blogs to complement their scholarship. Join us and learn what blogging can do to enhance your KMb efforts.

KMb 101 – Maybe you’re familiar with the term, or maybe you’re not. This lunch hour session will introduce you to knowledge mobilization and how services are delivered here at York.

KMb Strategy Building – Granting councils are asking more and more for research teams to identify their KMb strategy. In this hands on session, learn about strategic elements, create a draft strategy for your project, and tips on how to present your strategy.

KMb Peer to Peer Network – this is an informal network for York staff and researchers who have explicit responsibility for KMb. Come and meet others in similar roles, share and learn from others.

Clear Language Writing and Design – Sessions designed to introduce the principles and practical tips on writing for the reader, including diverse audiences.

For a complete list of dates, please see the poster below. To register for any of the sessions, please visit http://bit.ly/KMbYorkLearning or contact Krista Jensen, KMb Officer, at kejensen@yorku.ca or ext 88847.

YorkU’s KMb Expo 2011- there’s still time to register!

Join us next week on Wednesday, June 15th, 2011, when York University’s KMb Unit will host their annual KM Expo at the Markham Convergence Centre.

The theme of the YorkU KMb Expo 2011 is “Putting the Social in Innovation for York Region”. The 4th annual York KMb Expo will explore the relationship between knowledge mobilization and social innovation in York Region. The day will feature plenary discussions, networking sessions and optional workshops. Registration is free but space is limited to 80 participants. Attendees can sign up for the whole day or just for one of the afternoon workshops. Register now at kmbexpo2011.eventbrite.com

Overview – For four years York University’s Knowledge Mobilization Unit has been creating relationships between York University and agencies in York Region and beyond.  The outcomes of these relationships are social innovations that create new solutions to persistent social challenges. Knowledge Mobilization Expo 2011 will focus on these social innovations that are the outcomes of the knowledge mobilization process. Knowledge Mobilization Expo 2011 will start to create a vision of how we can collaborate on a system of social innovation in York Region.

Date: Wednesday, June 15th

Time: 8:30 am to 4:30 pm

Location: Markham Convergence Centre
7271 Warden Avenue, Markham (map below)

ResearchImpact Road Show 2011 / La tournée 2011 du Réseau Impact Recherche

For the first time in RIR history all six ResearchImpact universities will be engaged in our annual KMb road show. We shall present. We shall plan. And we will enjoy ourselves.

Pour la première fois de l’histoire du RIR, les six universitésprendront part à la tournée annuelle de MdC. Nous présenterons, planifierons et aurons bien du plaisir!

It’s spring. That means it’s raining, the birds are singing, the students are stressing over finals and it’s conference season. Spring also means ResearchImpact-RéseauImpactRecherche (RIR) is hitting the road. Our last road show blog was about our work in York Region. This blog takes us across the country. Every year at this time we exhibit and spread the knowledge mobilization gospel at the Canadian Association of University Research Administrators and the Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities. This year we’re at it again but bigger, better and busier.

May 10-13: Community-University Expo (Waterloo, Ontario)

• RIR-MUN, RIR-UQAM, RIR-York, RIR-Guelph and RIR-UVic will be attending CUExpo 2011.  See us on the exhibit floor.  On May 12 we are hosting a plenary by Chad Gaffield (SSHRC), Tim Brodhead (McConnell Foundation), Daniele Zanotti (United Way of York Region) and Stan Shapson (York University) discussing the role of community – university collaborations for social innovation.  On May 13 we are presenting a workshop on KMb tools.

May 11: Canadian Association of Health Services and Policy Research (Halifax, Ontario)

• David Phipps (RIR-York) will be presenting in the session: The Changing Landscape of KT: Social Media, “Friend or Foe of Expert Knowledge?”  Included in this will be a presentation of a video showing the results of our CIHR funded social media KMb grant, “Project Teen Moms” (see our previous blog post on this collaboration).

May 13: Queen’s University (Kingston, Ontario)

• David Phipps has been invited to speak to his Alma Mater as they celebrate over 115 years of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. David will be speaking about his journey from graduate student to RIR broker.  

YorkU’s KMb Expo 2011

Join us on Wednesday, June 15th, 2011, when York University’s KMb Unit will host their annual KM Expo at the Markham Convergence Centre.

The theme of the YorkU KMb Expo 2011 is “Putting the Social in Innovation for York Region”. The 4th annual York KMb Expo will explore the relationship between knowledge mobilization and social innovation in York Region. The day will feature plenary discussions, networking sessions and optional workshops. Registration is free but space is limited to 80 participants. Attendees can sign up for the whole day or just for one of the afternoon workshops.

OVERVIEW – For four years York University’s Knowledge Mobilization Unit has been creating relationships between York University and agencies in York Region and beyond.  The outcomes of these relationships are social innovations that create new solutions to persistent social challenges. Knowledge Mobilization Expo 2011 will focus on these social innovations that are the outcomes of the knowledge mobilization process. Knowledge Mobilization Expo 2011 will start to create a vision of how we can collaborate on a system of social innovation in York Region.

Date: Wednesday, June 15th

Time: 8:30 am to 4:30 pm

Location: Markham Convergence Centre
7271 Warden Avenue, Markham (map below)

Preliminary Agenda

8:30-9:00	Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:00-9:15	Welcome and Orientation
9:15-10:45	Plenary Panel
	Topic: Emerging Opportunities for York Region’s Community SectorJohn Taylor, Regional Councilor of Newmarket, Co-Chair of HSPB and Chair of Newmarket Economic Development CommitteeOpportunities for York Region: Stan Shapson to host a discussion with speakers from: Regional Municipality of York Community Sector York University Faculty York University Student
10:45- 11:00	Networking Break
11:00- 12:15	Plenary Panel
	Topic: How Community-Univesity Collaboration Produces Social Benefits: Knowledge Mobilization and Social Innovation. Two case studies of KMb service leading to social innovation outcomes presented in breakout sessions, each looking at the opportunity from different lenses.  Group discussion of barriers and opportunities with report back and group discussion United Way of York Region – Strength Investments: Janice Chu Nottawasaga Futures – Green Economy Transition Centre: Valerie Ryan
12:15- 1:30	Lunch and NetworkingLunch Address: Stan Shapson (VP Research & Innovation – York University) & Daniele Zanotti (CEO, UWYR)
1:30-2:15	Closing Remarks
2:00-4:00	Optional Community Capacity Building Workshops
	1- Research 101
	2- Knowledge Mobilization 101
	3- Social Media 101

Register early!  RSVP online or by sending an Email to: kejensen@yorku.ca.