Reflections on Knowledge Brokering Within a Multidisciplinary Research Team

Abstract

Knowledge brokering (KB) may be one approach of helping researchers and decision makers effectively communicate their needs and abilities, and move toward increased use of evidence in health care. A multidisciplinary research team in Nova Scotia, Canada, has created a dedicated KB position with the goal of improving access to quality colorectal cancer care. The purpose of this paper is to provide an in-progress perspective on KB within this large research team. A KB position ("knowledge broker") was created to perform two primary tasks: (1) facilitate ongoing communication among team members; and (2) develop and maintain collaborations between researchers and decision makers to establish partnerships for the transfer and use of research findings. In this article, we discuss our KB model and its implementation, describe the broker's functions and activities, and present preliminary outcomes. The primary functions of the KB position have included: sustaining team members' engagement; harnessing members' expertise and sharing it with others; developing and maintaining communication tools/strategies; and establishing collaborations between team members and other stakeholders working in cancer care. The broker has facilitated an integrated knowledge translation approach to research conduct and led to the development of new collaborations with external stakeholders and other cancer/health services researchers. KB roles will undoubtedly differ across contexts. However, descriptive assessments can help others determine whether such an approach could be valuable for their research programs and, if so, what to expect during the process.

What Do We Know about Knowledge Brokers in Paediatric Rehabilitation? A Systematic Search and Narrative Summary

“…1,[3][4][5][6]10,[12][13][14][15][16]20,21,23,[28][29][30][31][32] Our review did not identify any other papers addressing knowledge broker experiences in rehabilitation. Although several studies 3,13,20,24 have suggested that knowledge brokers could help to close the knowledge-practice gap in health care, the effectiveness of such initiatives requires additional study. 13 …”

“…Although several studies 3,13,20,24 have suggested that knowledge brokers could help to close the knowledge-practice gap in health care, the effectiveness of such initiatives requires additional study. 13 …”

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] One proposed strategy to bridge this gap is the use of knowledge brokers. 1,7,[9][10][11][12][13][14] The Canadian Health Services Research Foundation (CHSRF [now known as the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement]) defines knowledge brokering as one of the human forces behind knowledge transfer [which] helps build relationships and networks for sharing existing research and ideas, and stimulating new work. Knowledge brokering supports evidence-based decision-making by encouraging the connections that ease knowledge transfer.…”

“…14,24 Thus, improving our understanding of the effectiveness of knowledge brokers first requires descriptive assessments of the use and processes of knowledge brokers and how knowledge brokering is applied in a specific context. 1,10,13 Given the varied application of knowledge brokers within healthcare and the lack of consistency in the evidence for their effectiveness, it is useful to explore knowledge brokering in a specific area of clinical practice.…”

Cross-Disciplinary Research in Cancer: An Opportunity to Narrow the Knowledge–Practice Gap

“…Teams may struggle as they spend considerable time and effort trying to build a research program out of fundamental and largely incompatible assumptions and philosophies 99 . Moreover, working with non-academic stakeholders brings its own challenges, including navigating the professional differences (for example, language, culture) between academic and non-academic environments 100 , achieving an understanding of the limitations and realities of each other's work environments 101 , and perhaps at the extreme, risking substantial contributions or insights to the larger body of knowledge (scholarly activity) by focusing on solving very practical problems (engineering) 99 .…”