The first community of practice of Torres Strait Islander researchers in Australia was established to ensure knowledge translation efforts are effective in addressing the gap between “what is known” and “what is currently done” in policy and practice settings in the region. The scoping review involved a search of publicly accessible and relevant online databases and a rapid appraisal of systematic reviews and scoping studies of knowledge translation models and frameworks. The search identified 156 knowledge translation models and frameworks, of which 15 models and frameworks were selected for analysis. Selected models described knowledge use in terms of characteristics about the individual or the individual’s context. Surprisingly, given the growth in information about knowledge translation and research impact, there appear to be very few knowledge translation models and frameworks that were framed from the perspective of the knowledge user, and there was no model or framework that was a stand-alone pull approach.

Australian science has evolved to include a number of initiatives designed to promote and guide ethical and culturally appropriate Indigenous participation and engagement. While interest and overall engagement between Indigenous people and marine scientists appears to have grown in the last decade there are also signs that some researchers may not be setting out to engage with Indigenous Australians on the right foot. This research seeks to move beyond anecdotal evidence about engagement of marine researchers with Indigenous Australians by gathering empirical information from the scientists' perspective. Our survey of 128 respondents showed that 63% (n = 79) of respondents have engaged with Indigenous communities in some way throughout their career, however, most marine research projects have not included Indigenous engagement and when it occurs it is often shorter than 3 years in duration. Responses indicated that the majority of marine scientists see mutual benefits from engagement, do not avoid it and believe it will become more important in the future. We identify a number of challenges and opportunities for marine research institutions, marine researchers and Indigenous communities if positive aspirations for engagement are to be converted to respectful, long-term and mutually beneficial engagement.

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