Sean Muir at 4th Mobilizer Boot Camp

It is my pleasure to announce that Sean Muir will be speaking at the 4th Mobilizer Boot Camp on Creativity & Experimentation for Knowledge Mobilization.

Sean Muir is the founder and executive director of the Healthy Aboriginal Network. HAN creates comics and animated shorts on health and social issues for youth. Issues they have covered so far are suicide prevention, gambling addiction, diabetes prevention, staying in school and child & youth mental health.

Job: Writer/Knowledge Transfer Specialist

Position: Writer/Knowledge Transfer Specialist
Centre for Research on Inner City Health
Keenan Research Centre, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital

Part-Time, Contract: 60%-80% FTE (negotiable)
Salary: Commensurate with experience
Contract Period: April 20, 2009-May 1, 2010
Deadline to Apply: March 20, 2009

Position: Reporting to the Director, Knowledge Transfer and Exchange, the Writer/Knowledge
Exchange Specialist will support and implement a range of activities in fulfillment of CRICH’s
knowledge transfer goals and objectives. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to: writing research synopses and summaries for non-academic target users; communicating CRICH’s vision, mission; coordinating KT events and symposia; utilization of new media for communication;stakeholder relations (government, community, media, public).

Knowledge Required: at least two of the following:
- social disadvantage/poverty/urban health issues;
- health services research/public health research
- principles of business writing, technical writing, writing for media
- knowledge transfer principles

Skills and Experience: superior public communication/marketing skills (verbal, written), project management expertise, experience in technical writing/writing for government and other nonacademic audiences; web content management; government relations or community engagement experience; capacity to learn new issues quickly.

About KT at the Centre for Research on Inner City Health
Most issues studied at CRICH span multiple policy sectors and are relevant to diverse
stakeholders. Our KT challenge is to identify pathways and evidence-based interventions linking health care, housing, social services, immigration, education, corrections, and other sectors. To ensure that our research is relevant, timely, and useful, we work in partnership with community agencies, public policy organizations, and decision-makers.

About the Centre for Research on Inner City Health
The Centre for Research on Inner City Health (CRICH) at St. Michael’s Hospital is Canada’s only
hospital-based research organization focused on the health consequences of urban life and social inequality. Across a range of health conditions and in spite of universal health care policies, lower income populations are at greatest risk of illness and experience greatest unmet need for health care services. CRICH generates scientific evidence and tools to illuminate health barriers and reduce health disparities. Our research priorities include: health-promoting neighbourhoods, health effects of homelessness and underhousing; and evaluating health services for marginalized groups. Genuinely transdisciplinary, CRICH scientific strengths include economics, ethics, geography and GIS, health services research, medicine, psychology, and psychiatry, and social epidemiology. One third of CRICH faculty members are front-line physicians at St. Michael’s Hospital, providing a direct link between population research and patient care. CRICH is affiliated with the University of Toronto and is part of the Keenan Research Centre in the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital. CRICH is supported by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to conduct research to help ensure that Ontarians have equitable access to care services, regardless of who they are, where they live, or what they own.

Applications for this position should include a cover letter, resume, and portfolio of three writing samples that demonstrate your capacity to convey research evidence to non-academic audience.

Submit your application to:
Kelly Murphy
Director, Knowledge Transfer and Partnerships
Centre for Research on Inner City Health
Keenan Research Centre
Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute
St. Michael’s Hospital
30 Bond Street
Toronto ON
M5B 1W8
murphyke@smh.toronto.on.ca

Creating Knowledge Mobilization Curriculum

Last month, during the first Mobilizer Boot Camp in Ottawa, several participants suggested the need for courses in knowledge mobilization theory, history, practice, and methods. Following up on these suggestions, I began putting together the beginning elements for a process to develop this curriculum.

Today, I wrote a relatively lengthy reply to one potential funder. I thought this might be useful to the KMb community, as I think it speaks to the ethic and philosophy needed to create a knowledge mobilization community in Canada and elsewhere. I am not saying who the funder is to protect their decision-making process.

Thank you very much for your reply to the request sent on February 3, 2009. The questions asked by the KM Committee are very pertinent. I trust that the information provided below is helpful to answering these questions.


Background:

Knowledge Mobilization Works launched a series of workshops this year that focus on particular aspects of knowledge mobilization practice, policy, administration, and research. The themes include such topics as: incentives & infrastructure, human resources, leadership, creativity, management & governance as well as lessons learned in key sectors of our society such as health, education, social services, and business. The dual goal of this series is to increase our collective knowledge about knowledge mobilization and to build a community of practice of those involved in knowledge mobilization. These workshops are self-funded through participants’ fees and profits are re-invested in developing the series. This is a challenging model to work with but one that we felt was worth the risk.

The first two workshops in Ottawa and Toronto have been well attended and considered successful by most participants. In an effort to remain transparent and to “walk the talk”, we post the results of each work on the KMbW website. We also distribute the results to members of the KMb discussion group hosted on Google. Transparency of methods and discussion of results is the cornerstone of good knowledge mobilization practice.

The idea of developing a KMb Curriculum emerged from participants at both workshops. During the breaks and networking periods, several individuals approached me as the facilitator and suggested that despite having titles that included knowledge mobilization/knowledge transfer/knowledge exchange, they felt that they did not understand the basics and could really use a course (or two) to build their skills. When I proposed this to the full group, there was significant positive response.

Based on this reaction, I invited a series of senior KMb practitioners from across the country to come together to develop the curriculum for two courses on knowledge mobilization currently described as: KMb101 – Theory and History & KMb 201 – Methods and Practice.

The reaction from practitioners was positive. There was general agreement that this is a useful project to become involved in and that given the complexity of knowledge mobilization, it makes sense to work collectively on designing a curriculum that would be widely available.


What is the KM curriculum?

The core content modules of the curriculum will be developed at a 2-day face-to-face meeting at the University of Guelph. The Executive Director of the Centre for Families, Work & Well-Being, Linda Hawkins has offered to host the meeting. The Associate Director Teaching Support Services at the University of Guelph, Peter Wolf, has agreed to help develop the content into useful modules.

The goal is to produce the outline and core content modules for the two courses KMb101 – Theory and History & KMb 201 – Methods and Practice.

The ongoing development of this content will be facilitated using a Web 2.0 application called a wiki. Knowledge Mobilization Works has purchased a license from a leading software company (http://pbwiki.com) for an unlimited number of users in a publicly accessible site.

A stub (initial elements) for the KMB101 course has been created at the following link:
https://kmbw.pbwiki.com/KMb-101 Making the content of courses publicly available has been pioneered by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) through their open courseware site: http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/home/home/index.htm

We anticipate that as the curriculum matures, there will be additional modules created that will correspond directly to particular contextual needs such as those with brain injuries, physical differences of abilities, special educational needs, or particular cultural perspectives. This is one of the strongest arguments for pursuing a collective development strategy. Including a range of people in the process will also include their specific needs in the development of the curriculum.

The goal is to provide the content free of charge to be used in seminars and workshops across Ontario, Canada and elsewhere. The understanding of users is that by accessing and using this content, they are engaging with a community of practitioners and will also share their learning from their use of the content.


Who will be targeted in Ontario to take part in this course?

Currently we are targeting individuals and institutions that have an intermediary or brokering role between research and practice, policy, produce & process development. One of the key lessons learned during my past 7 years of explicitly defined Knowledge Mobilization practice (job title) is that the core audience for the development of knowledge mobilization skills is not researchers or policymakers themselves but those in positions as educators and influencers, synthesizers, fieldworkers, transfer & disseminators, and resource allocators. While researchers and policymakers may be interested and are not to be excluded, their core business is not knowledge mobilization itself but the production and utilization of knowledge. Knowledge mobilization is focused on making both these processes more effective and efficient.

We anticipate working with agencies and organizations such as the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation, Cancer Care Ontario, Centres and Institutes associated with Universities, Hospitals and Colleges, professional associations such as the Council of Ontario Directors of Education, and specific branches of the Ontario government with knowledge mobilization mandates such as Early Learning and Child Development Branch of the Ministry of Children and Youth Services.

It is important to mention that while Knowledge Mobilization Works will be delivering seminars and workshops based on this curriculum, it does not intend to hold the content strictly for itself. The content of all KMb courses developed will remain in the public domain to be accessed, shared, utilized, and contributed to by many interested parties. This is the model of collective creation that has allowed Linux to emerge as an operating system, Wikipedia to grow as a public encyclopedia, and Amazon to have 140,000 applications produced independently to build its distribution services.


Will there be a cost to join or is this anticipated to be provided free?

There is no cost to access and contribute to the curriculum content. The wiki requires that a participant create a username and password. The contributions of each participant are data based and subject to the ongoing discussion of the group – a form of ongoing peer-review.

The choice of charging a fee to participate in a course is the choice of whoever wishes to deliver the course. Universities and colleges charge tuition. Private companies charge a fee. Learning groups within professional associations may deliver the content for free.

On the other-hand, if a self-motivated learner wishes to access the curriculum on-line, s/he may do so at no charge.

Users agree that regardless of how the content is delivered, lessons learned, opportunities for new modules or courses, and new content elements will be shared with all users.


Are there other sponsors that have agreed to provide financial support or have been approached to do so?

At this point contributions have been in-kind or investments made by Knowledge Mobilization Works ($12,700 to date). We consider this to be an important project that has the potential to produce widespread benefits. As much as we directly benefit from this work, the complexity and need for effective and efficient knowledge mobilization is too big for one enterprise or sector to engage in alone. In our opinion, it is a collective work for collective benefit.

The Alberta Health Foundation for Medical Research has been approached and is supportive but feels that this project does not directly fit their mandate. They are willing to provide expertise and in-kind support for the development of the curriculum and wiki.

The Public Health Agency of Canada has been approached but no response has yet been received.

The Wellesley Institute Foundation rejected the request for support based on the economic downturn and current commitments.

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada has been approached but no final decision has been made.

York University is providing the services of their Director of Research Services, Dr, David Phipps, formerly the Director of Partnerships at CIHR.

The Canadian Centre for Elder Law at the University of British Columbia is providing the services of their Exective Director, Laura Watts.

The University of Guelph will host the face-to-face meeting, providing catering and meeting space. They are also providing professional services in curriculum development.

The Institut National pour la Recherche Scientifique in Montreal is providing a template for a graduate KMb course that is currently delivered to students in French.

The Institute of Work and Health will provide undetermined in-kind services but is unable to contribute financially due to a cut in their budget. They remain however, quite supportive.

There has also been interest from other parties who are willing to support delegates attending the meeting in Guelph as well as participating in the ongoing development online.

I am pleased that you were interested in learning more about this project. I hope that this information provides you with a better understanding of what we are trying to do.

Your offer of lunch in Toronto is appreciated and I will take you up on it. The next time that I am heading to Toronto, I will let you know.

If there is anything else that you or the KM Committee needs to know, please feel free to contact me at your convenience.

The Crystal Ball?

July 5, 2006
David Leonhardt

The Internet Knows What You'll Do Next

A FEW years back, a technology writer named John Battelle began talking about how the Internet had made it possible to predict the future. When people went to the home page of Google or Yahoo and entered a few words into a search engine, what they were really doing, he realized, was announcing their intentions.

They typed in "Alaskan cruise" because they were thinking about taking one or "baby names" because they were planning on needing one. If somebody were to add up all this information, it would produce a pretty good notion of where the world was headed, of what was about to get hot and what was going out of style.

Mr. Battelle, a founder of Wired magazine and the Industry Standard, wasn't the first person to figure this out. But he did find a way to describe the digital crystal ball better than anyone else had. He called it "the database of intentions."

The collective history of Web searches, he wrote on his blog in late 2003, was "a place holder for the intentions of humankind — a massive database of desires, needs, wants, and likes that can be discovered, subpoenaed, archived, tracked, and exploited to all sorts of ends."

"Such a beast has never before existed in the history of culture, but is almost guaranteed to grow exponentially from this day forward," he wrote. It was a nice idea, but for most of us it was just an abstraction. The search companies did offer glimpses into the data with bare-bones (and sanitized) rankings of the most popular search terms, and Yahoo sold more detailed information to advertisers who wanted to do a better job of selling their products online. But there was no way for most people to dig into the data themselves.

A few weeks ago, Google took a big step toward changing this — toward making the database of intentions visible to the world — by creating a product called Google Trends. It allows you to check the relative popularity of any search term, to look at how it has changed over the last couple years and to see the cities where the term is most popular. And it's totally addictive.

YOU can see, for example, that the volume of Google searches would have done an excellent job predicting this year's "American Idol," with Taylor Hicks (the champion) being searched more often than Katharine McPhee (second place), who in turn was searched more often than Elliot Yamin (third place). Then you can compare Hillary Clinton and Al Gore and discover that she was more popular than he for almost all of the last two years, until he surged past her in April and stayed there.

Thanks to Google Trends, the mayor of Elmhurst, Ill., a Chicago suburb, has had to explain why his city devotes more of its Web searches to "sex" than any other in the United States (because it doesn't have strip clubs or pornography shops, he gamely told The Chicago Sun-Times). On Mr. Battelle's blog, somebody claiming to own an apparel store posted a message saying that it was stocking less Von Dutch clothing and more Ed Hardy because of recent search trends.(A disclosure: The New York Times Company owns a stake in Mr. Battelle's latest Internet company, Federated Media Publishing.)

It's the connection to marketing that turns the database of intentions from a curiosity into a real economic phenomenon. For now, Google Trends is still a blunt tool. It shows only graphs, not actual numbers, and its data is always about a month out of date. The company will never fully pull back the curtain, I'm sure, because the data is a valuable competitive tool that helps Google decide which online ads should appear at the top of your computer screen, among other things. .

But Google does plan to keep adding to Trends, and other companies will probably come up with their own versions as well. Already, more than a million analyses are being done some days on Google Trends, said Marissa Mayer, the vice president for search at Google.

When these tools get good enough, you can see how the business of marketing may start to change. As soon as a company begins an advertising campaign, it will be able to get feedback from an enormous online focus group and then tweak its message accordingly.

I've found Pepsi's recent Super Bowl commercials — the ones centered around P. Diddy — to be nearly devoid of wit, but that just shows you how good my marketing instincts are. As it turns out, the only recent times that Pepsi has been a more popular search term in this country than Coke have been right after a Super Bowl. This year's well-reviewed Burger King paean to Busby Berkeley, on the other hand, barely moved the needle inside the database of intentions.

Hal R. Varian, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley, who advises Google, predicts that online metrics like this one have put Madison Avenue on the verge of a quantitative revolution, similar to the one Wall Street went through in the 1970's when it began parsing market data much more finely. "People have hunches, people have prejudices, people have ideas," said Mr. Varian, who also writes for this newspaper about once a month. "Once you have data, you can test them out and make informed decisions going forward."

There are certainly limitations to this kind of analysis. It's most telling for products that are bought, or at least researched, online, a category that does not include Coke, Pepsi or Whoppers. And even with clothing or cars, interest doesn't always translate into sales. But there is no such thing as a perfect yardstick in marketing, and the database of intentions clearly offers something new.

In the 19th century, a government engineer whose work became the seed of I.B.M. designed a punch-card machine that allowed for a mechanically run Census, which eventually told companies who their customers were. The 20th century brought public opinion polls that showed what those customers were thinking. This century's great technology can give companies, and anyone else, a window into what people are actually doing, in real time or even ahead of time.

You might find that a little creepy, but I bet that you'll also check it out sometime.

E-mail: leonhardt@nytimes.com

Because the public doesn't matter or because they suck at it?

What is the reason for the following:

http://www.royalsociety.org/news.asp?id=4861

Latest press releases

Research pressure in universities is barrier to scientists communicating work to public
29 Jun 2006

A 'research driven' culture in British universities is a key barrier to scientists communicating their work with the public according to a major study published today (Thursday 29 June 2006) by the Royal Society , with the support of Research Councils UK and the Wellcome Trust.

According to the scientists surveyed for the report the pressure to publish research, attract funding to their departments and build careers on 'hard research' means public engagement work, such as debates, dialogues or exhibitions, media appearances or outreach activities with schools, is not a priority. The need to spend more time on research was the top reason, cited by 64 per cent of respondents, stopping scientists getting more engaged with science communication work.

Scientists highlighted that public engagement activities were seen by colleagues as being bad for their careers. Some said that it was seen as being done by those who were 'not good enough' for an academic career, that it was 'light' or 'fluffy' and risked reinforcing negative stereotypes for women involved in these activities.

However, in spite of this, 45 per cent of respondents said that they would like to spend more time engaging with the non-specialist public about science. 74 per cent of those surveyed reported that they have taken part in at least one science communication or public engagement activity in the past 12 months.

Sir David Wallace, vice president of the Royal Society, who chaired the study's consultative group, said: "It is encouraging that so many scientists have, despite all the perceived barriers, taken part in science communication activities. The report shows that we need to find ways to make it easier for scientists to engage in a genuine dialogue with the public so that those outside of the scientific community can better understand, support, and indeed challenge, the science that is being undertaken in our universities while, at the same time, helping scientists understand public interests and concerns. This must clearly happen in the context of allowing scientists to carry on conducting excellent research while progressing their careers. And we recognise that it is not desirable to require all scientists to undertake public engagement work.

"While the report identified that research pressures are a factor in discouraging involvement with science communication activities we should be careful not to paint an overly simplistic picture of cause and effect'. We need to see the profile of this kind of work being raised within departments so that it is seen as a more integral part of a well rounded career."

The study found that generally, younger researchers, those in departments rated 5*' by the RAE, and those in research-only appointments, undertook less public engagement activity compared with senior researchers, those in departments rated 1-5 under the RAE and those in research and teaching positions.

In general, respondents to the survey felt that their participation in science communication activities would be increased more through rewards to their departments rather than to themselves as individuals. 81 per cent of scientists said bringing more money into their departments would be a key incentive. And 56 per cent of respondents said that awards or prizes for departments were important, in contrast to 39 per cent who identified awards for individuals as being important. Additionally, 76 per cent said they would be encouraged to get more involved if it helped their careers.

The aim of the study was to provide evidence for funding organisations, universities and other research institutions on which they can base a workable system to reward scientists for their efforts to become involved with public engagement activities. It involved a web-survey of 1485 research scientists in higher education institutions and 41 more detailed interviews with a cross section of respondents and other key players within science policy and science communication such as social scientists, senior managers, funders and science communicators .

Professor Colin Blakemore, speaking on behalf of Research Councils UK, said "Spreading the word about the joys and challenges of science to the public and the media is central to what we do. This report shows that we still have to convince more scientists of the importance of speaking out about their work. Public engagement is a vital part of the research process - and this report will play a crucial role in implementing the research councils' Science in Society strategy.

"Communication is particularly important in areas of practical and ethical concern about the applications of science. With rapid advances in scientific research, all scientists have to find opportunities to increase public awareness and public involvement because we cannot take public support for granted. Public engagement takes time and effort, but it helps scientists to see their own research in a broader context as well as helping to build public confidence and trust, which are essential for scientific progress.

"Through RCUK, we're encouraging scientists to begin communication work early in their careers. Through Researchers in Residence and the Perspectives poster competition, the Research Councils are providing the extra support and encouragement that young researchers need."

Clare Matterson, Wellcome Trust Director of Medicine, Society and History comments: "The public has a clear appetite for science, and this survey shows that scientists are responding well to this by increasing the amount of time they dedicate to engage directly with the public. We seem to be going in the right direction - but we cannot be complacent. The Wellcome Trust is committed to public engagement and continues to explore new and innovative ways to support dialogue between scientists and the public to foster mutual respect, understanding and trust."

Dr Rama Thirunamachandran, Director of Research and Knowledge Transfer at the Higher Education Funding Council for England, said: This important study indicates a considerable degree of willingness by scientists to spend more time engaging with the non-specialist public given the right incentives. We are using the results of the study to inform a co-ordinated approach with the Research Councils and other funders to provide better recognition, support and reward for public engagement activities in universities and colleges. In developing this approach we will wish to ensure that all subjects and a wide range of activities including teaching and research, are represented.'

© Royal Society copyright 2006

Dr. Ian D. Graham appointed Vice-President of Knowledge Translation at CIHR

OTTAWA, June 29 /CNW Telbec/ - Dr. Alan Bernstein, President of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), announced today the appointment of Dr. Ian D. Graham as incoming Vice-President of Knowledge Translation at CIHR. This appointment is effective July 10, 2006.

"Dr. Graham is a welcome addition to the CIHR executive team," said Dr. Bernstein. "His accomplishments in knowledge translation will help CIHR ensure that it is fulfilling its mandate in this important area."

Dr. Graham is Associate Professor in the School of Nursing, University of Ottawa and Senior Social Scientist and Associate Director of the Clinical Epidemiology Program of the Ottawa Health Research Institute. He holds cross-appointments in the Departments of Medicine and Epidemiology & Community Medicine and is an adjunct professor in the School of Nursing at Queen's University. Dr. Graham obtained a PhD in medical sociology from McGill University, a Master of Arts degree in sociology from the University of Victoria, and a Bachelor of Arts degree with 1st class honours in sociology from McGill University.

"I am thrilled to have the opportunity to serve the health research community and all Canadians by helping research evidence make its way into the health system," said Dr. Graham. "I look forward to working with colleagues in disciplines that span the breadth of health research. Together we can build on the tremendous progress CIHR has already made in the area of knowledge translation."

Dr. Graham's research has largely focused on knowledge translation (the process of research use) and conducting applied research on strategies to increase implementation of research findings and evidence-based practice. Specific projects have related to the adaptation, implementation, and quality appraisal of clinical practice guidelines, as well as the uptake of guidelines and decision support tools by practitioners.

Dr. Graham is also the author of over 140 articles in peer-reviewed literature and a book titled "Episiotomy: Challenging Obstetric Interventions."

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is the Government of Canada's agency for health research. CIHR's mission is to create new scientific knowledge and to catalyze its translation into improved health, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened Canadian health care system. Composed of 13 Institutes, CIHR provides leadership and support to close to 10,000 health researchers and trainees across Canada. www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca

Philosophy of Management?

My friend and colleague, Nick Barrowman, recently shared an article with me. It is by Matthew Stewart, with the title of, "The Management Myth", published in The Atlantic Monthly. While there is little in the article that I found surprising or controversial, I really liked the following two quotes on page 86:

"...about 99 percent of all the management literature once you master this dialectic between rationalists and humanists. The Taylorite rationalist says: Be efficient! The Mayo-ist humanist replies: Hey, these are people we're talking about! And the debate goes on."

"...human beings have produced an astonishing wealth of creative expression on the topics of reason, passion, and living with other people. In books, poems, plays, music, works of art, and plain old graffiti, they have explored what it means to struggle against adversity, to apply their extraordinary faculty of reason to the world, and to confront the naked truth about what motivates their fellow human animals. These works are every bit as relevant to the dilemmas faced by managers in their quest to make the world a more productive place as any of the management literature."

Getting lost in the "proactive jungle"

My colleague Paul McDowall sent this great cartoon of "Action Item" to me. I laughed so hard that it still hurts.

http://www.fatalexception.org/action_item.html

Living Knowledge - Building Partnerships for Public Access to Research

Newsletter – May 2006

Table of Contents
· Science Shop Summerschool
· 3rd International Living Knowledge Conference
· ISSNET Reports
· Science Shops in Belgium
· Sustainability of Cotton
· International Science Shop Cooperation – Science education and careers call
· International Science Shop Cooperation – Science Shop call
· Problems of Sustainable Water Management in Berlin ...
· Towards a Framework of ‘Cooperative Research’
· Science Shops: New Flyer, EU Website and Brochure
· Living Knowledge Database
· FAQs on Science Shops
· The DOTIK Training School
· Participatory Methods Toolkit
· Conferences
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Science Shop Summerschool

A four day introduction in Science Shops
22-25 August 2006, Utrecht (the Netherlands), Registration is open!!

The Science Shop summerschool is a four day course. It will focus on the concept of Science Shops and community-based research in general. Experienced science shop staff will discuss operational options and good practices, but also barriers in running a science shop. Local contexts are very important factors for the success of a science shop. Therefore an active contributions of participants is essential in the discussions. Clear links will be made to the EC Science and Society policy and other activities to improve citizens access to, and participation in research. Examples of different Science Shop models will be given and visits to different type of Science Shops will be organised.

The summer school addresses to scientists, science communicators, community leaders, NGO representatives, graduate students, PhD students, and others who are interested in setting up a science shop or starting Community-Based Research projects. The course aims at introducing the operational options of Science Shops in order to support the establishment of community-based research organisations.

Deadline for registration is 1 July 2006. The fee of € 300,- includes course materials, Science Shop site visits and housing. Applications for scholarships are extended to 1 June 2006.

More information about the programme, housing, scholarships are available at www.livingknowledge.org or at the International Science Shop Contact Point (isso@bio.uu.nl), Utrecht University, Caspar de Bok, e-mail: C.F.M.deBok@uu.nl
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3rd International Living Knowledge Conference

30 August to 1 September 2007, Paris, France

At the beginning of February 2005 around 250 people from 30 countries all over the world participated in the 2nd ‚Living Knowledge‘ Conference in Seville, Spain. We can tell that there is a progress since this conference. There is a growing social demand in society for validation of existing knowledge and access to knowledge production and new Science Shops have emerged in different countries with a lot of enthusiasm.

The preparations for the 3rd Living Knowledge Conference now have started. This 3rd LK conference will be held in Paris, France, from August 30, 2007 until September 1, 2007. More details and requests for support will be announced on the Living Knowledge discussion list soon and will then also be available at the Living Knowledge website.

Printed copies of the Seville conference proceedings are still available. Please ask for a free copy by sending an e-mail to norbert.steinhaus@wilabonn.de or download the pdf-file at www.livingknowledge.org (follow reports-documentation-ISSNET).
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ISSNET Reports

The final version of the ISSNET WP4 report „Opportunities and challenges for transnational research co-operation“, and all other reports of the EC funded project ISSNET (Improving Science Shop Networking) are available online now. The pdf documents can be downloaded for free from the Living Knowledge website www.livingknowledge.org (see section News).
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Science Shops in Belgium

Thanks to the support of the Flemish authorities a network of university based Science Shops in Flanders has been created. The Belgian network of Science Shops consists of a central contact point, Wetenschapswinkel.be, and regional university based Science Shops: one at the Universiteit Antwerpen, one at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, one at the Universiteit Gent, one at the Universiteit Hasselt, one at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and one at the Katholieke Universiteit Brussel.

The central contact point will be managed by the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. One of the tasks of this central contact point is to create a database which consists all the Science Shop topics of Flanders. The main benefit of working with a central unit is that with a minimum of costs we try to give a maximum service to the non-profit organizations and to our new coming Science Shops.

The purpose of our Belgian university based Science Shops is to seek scientifically founded answers in response to a problem experienced by a civil society organization. These problems are presented by the regional Science Shops to senior students by way of dissertation research, assignments, training sessions and/or internships or to experts through workshops, research support and research supervision. The regional Science Shop employee acts as a mediator between the organization who ordered the research, the student researcher and/or the expert.

Central support unit Science Shops Belgium Sofie Van Den Bossche, T +32 (0)2 629 22 24

info@wetenschapswinkel.be , www.scienceshops.be.

Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Department R&D, Science Communication Office, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
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Sustainability of cotton

On April 10 the Science Shop of Wageningen UR published a report about the sustainability of cotton. It is a comprehensive overview of scientific information available about the environmental and social sustainability of 3 types of production systems of cotton: conventional, IPM and organic. The study was commissioned by consumers’ organisation Goede Waar & Co. The report is in English and can be downloaded from the following web site: www.wur.nl/NR/rdonlyres/24D8701B-F547-4E5B-986E-1BD07BD2D263/21267/Rapport223binnenWEB.pdf
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International Science Shop Cooperation – Science education and careers call

EC opened negotiations about a proposal submitted in Science education and careers 2005

The Bonn Science Shop and the University of applied Science Höxter from Germany, Intermediu Bucharest and Intermediu Bacau from Romania and the Institute of Environmental and Landscape Management (ESSRG) from Gödöllo, Hungary, have submitted a proposal on the development of further vocational training for child minder and teachers at primary schools in the Science education and careers 2005 call, which closed 31 January 2006 (FP6-2005-Science-and-society-16). The EC accepted this proposal and invited the consortium for contract negotiations, which are still ongoing. For more information, please contact norbert.steinhaus@wilabonn.de
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International Science Shop Cooperation – Science Shop call

Projects submitted in the Science Shop call (FP6-2005-Science-and-society-20) are in the phase of evaluation now. To evaluate the success of this call it is important we have an overview of proposals that have been submitted but also of proposals that have not been submitted in the end. When the evaluation phase is passed, Living Knowledge members will be asked to give some general information about their activities in this call. This is not an EC initiative but an initiative of the International Science Shop Contact Point (isso@bio.uu.nl)
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Problems of sustainable water management in Berlin and Brandenburg – waste, steppefication and contamination?

... was the title of a thematic conference held on May 16, 2006 in Berlin. It was organised as a public discussion by two departments of the Centre for Cooperation of the Technical University Berlin: `KOOP´ (Cooperation Between Science and the Working World) and the Science Shop `kubus´ (Cooperation and Consulting for Environmental Questions). The conference was sponsored by the foundation `Hans Böckler Stiftung´ and attracted about 120 participants from a number of institutions, research institutes, enterprises, trade unions, NGOs and other associations.

The president of the Brandenburg Environmental Agency, Prof. Matthias Freude, presented warning signs of climatic change in this German state (located around the conurbation Berlin). Decreasing annual precipitation and ground water levels and the salinisation of water and soil are growing problems and may lead to the transformation of large areas of land into steppe (steppefication). Prof. Martin Kaupenjohann (TU Berlin) focused on current studies of “preferential flow” of e.g. phosphate and lead and the so-called “first flush” of storm water. These scientific results are of practical relevance for agricultural soils in Brandenburg (and even for foreign countries with a different climate, like Thailand) as well as for urban soils of Berlin and similar conurbation areas. The presentation of Prof. Matthias Koziol (TU Cottbus) emphasised the importance of water and land management in areas of decreasing population, as found in most parts of Eastern Germany due to the demographic change. Proposals were made for an appropriate management including technical modifications and changing the dimension of water supply systems. Dr. Simone Klawitter (Water Sanitation Livelihoods and Institution Building), Mr. Norbert Schmidt (Board Member of the Berlin Water Supply Company) and Ms. Susanne Stumpenhusen (Chairwoman of the Public Service Trade Union ver.di /Berlin-Brandenburg branch and Vice-Chairwoman of the Berlin Water Holding) presented facts and opinions about economic challenges for sustainable water management for this area. The final discussion brought together diverse statements and proposals for better cooperation among the different actors.

For more information in German, please visit www.herd-und-hof.de/index/cmd/catalogue_details/modul/portal/kernwert/landwirtschaft/block/catalogue_1 . If you would like to use our discussion forum but your German is not adequate for written comments, please click www.tu-berlin.de/zek/forum . Your contribution in English is welcome and it will be translated as soon as possible.
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Towards a framework for ‘co-operative research’

Report of European Commission workshop

We live in a time of ever-increasing opportunities and challenges associated with new science and technology. As a result, there is growing interest and attention to the relationships between research, innovation and society. Real contrasts and tensions emerge between high level policy agendas concerned with the ‘knowledge based society’, with the stewardship of ‘democratic governance’ and with the pursuit of ‘sustainability’ and ‘precaution’ in science and technology. In short, we need to move away from the somewhat fragmented, introspective and reactive preoccupations of science and society, to a more integrated, open and proactive understanding of the inescapable place of science in society.

The findings from intensive discussions at an innovative two-day ‘Gover’Science’ Seminar organised by the Governance and Scientific Advice Unit of DG RTD in November 2005 are now published in a report. The complete report will be posted soon on the Science and Society web-site and its content reflected as much as possible in the preparation of the 7th Framework Programme. The pdf-file of the report can be already downloaded from the CIPAST website (www.cipast.org/download/GoverScienceFinalReport.pdf ). You can download the executive summary of the report here (http://www.cipast.org/download/FROMSCIENCEANDSOCIETYTOSCIENCEINSOCIETY.pdf ).
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Science Shops:
New Flyer, EU Website and Brochure

The EC printed a new flyer on Science Shops. This flyer focuses on different target groups, universities, students, citizens groups and local authorities. The flyer can be downloaded from the Living Knowledge website (www.livingknowledge.org , see section News).

Printed copies can be ordered for free at the European Commission from liz.versterlund@cec.eu.int .

The new Science and Society portal of the European Commission was launched on 14 November 2005. It replaces the previous Science and Society website. The portal is open to all news and organisations related to Science and Society (http://ec.europa.eu/research/science-society/home_en.cfm).
Still available at the old EU website are specific pages with general information about Science Shops as well as the minutes and single contributions of two Science Shop workshops organised by the European Commission (http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/science-society/scientific-awareness/shops_en.html).
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Living Knowledge Database

Over the last few years, there have been many requests for an overview of organizations and people active in community-based research. The Living Knowledge database will fulfil these needs.

The Living Knowledge Database is a free, public accessible resource for Science Shops and alike organizations, community-based (research) organizations, universities and policy makers worldwide. It is searchable on (type of) organization, people, country and (thematic) expertise in community based research, all over the world.

If you are an active organization dealing with community-based research, you are invited to add your information to the Living Knowledge Database at www.livingknowledge.org.

Please send your remarks on or questions about the database to the International Science Shop Contact Point (isso@bio.uu.nl). We need your feedback to optimise the use of the database.
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Frequently asked questions on Science Shops

The EC project TRAMS will deliver training and mentoring tools to support new and existing Science Shops and alike organisations. One of these tools is the section Frequently Asked Questions on the Living Knowledge website (www.livingknowledge.org). This FAQ section is a dynamic section. It is not a final version; questions and answers will be added. If you have any additional answers please feel free to contribute to the development of this section. A printable version of this section will be available soon.
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The DOTIK Training School

A Eureopean masterclass on Science and Society for museum explainers

SISSA, Trieste, 28 August – 2 September 2006

The DOTIK training school is the first European Masterclass specifically addressing explainers, animators, demonstrators and all the personnel directly interacting with the public in science centres, science museums, science festivals. It aims at enhancing the role of explainers in science centres and museums, to act as a proactive, two-way interface between science and society.

The DOTIK training school will be held in Trieste, Italy, from August 28 to September 2, 2006, in the premises of the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) and the Immaginario Scientifico Science Centre. The participation to the school is limited to 50 explainers from European science centres and museums. Participation is free of charge and travel grants will be awarded to small centres and new European countries. Detailed information and application forms can be found on the web site www.dotik.eu . Deadline for application is June 14, 2006.
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Participatory Methods Toolkit

A practitioner‘s methodological manual now also available in German

‚Participation‘ has become a buzzword in government statements and policy papers and the concept is being given concrete shape. But how can participation be organised? What methods are available and when and how are they applied? What are the implications for the budget and staff? To offer a few answers to these questions, the King Baudouin Foundation and viWTA (The Vlaams Instituut voor Wetenschappelijk en Technologisch Aspectenonderzoek, an independent and autonomous institute) publishe a toolkit on participatory methods which is now alos available in German. It contains a presentation of ten methods (e.g. World Café, Citizens‘ Jury, Consensus Conference, Expert Panel), a step-by-step, hands-on manual, with detailed checklists and realistic expectations of outcomes. You can download a free copy at http://www.viwta.be/files/30890_ToolkitENGdef.pdf (Englisch) or at http://epub.oeaw.ac.at/ita/ebooks/Leitfaden_pTA_DE_Feb06.pdf (German)
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Conferences

June 21-25, 2006, Glasgow,UK

CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation,

6th CIVICUS World Assembly: Acting Together For a Just World

This Assembly will bring together over a thousand civil society representatives from around the world under the theme ‘Acting together for a just world’. Get involved by visiting our website for updates on: Conference Registration, Conference Programme, Exhibitor Opportunities, News, and Discussion Board at www.civicusassembly.org


July 15-19, 2006, Munich, Germany

European Science Open Forum

http://www.esof2006.org/



August 22-25 2006, Utrecht, The Netherlands

Science Shop summerschool
www.livingknowledge.org



August, 23-26 2006, Lausanne, Switzerland

EASST 2006; Reviewing humanness: bodies, technologies and spaces, http://www2.unil.ch/easst2006/



November, 3-4 2006, Heidelberg, Germany

Genes, Brain/Mind and Behaviour, EMBL/EMBO Science & Society conference at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, www.embl.org/conference2006/scope06

WiFi Infrastructure

My friend and colleaugue Tracey Lauriault, is one of the founders of a group looking to create WiFi infrastructure in the Ottawa-Gatineau region. Check out what she has going at:

http://serendipityoucity.blogsome.com/

Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education and Action

From the CCPH listserve:

You may recall the earlier posting when we announced a new journal that is being published by Johns Hopkins University Press called 'Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education and Action (PCHP). The mission of the Journal is to facilitate dissemination of programs that use community partnerships to improve public health, to promote progress in the methods of research and education involving community health partnerships, and to stimulate action that will improve the health of people in communities. For more information, including a listing of the journal's editorial board members, visit
http://www.press.jhu.edu/journals/progress_in_community_health_partnerships/

The journal has begun receiving manuscripts and its online processing system, Manuscript Central, at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/pchp is now operational.

They would like the earliest issues of PCHP to feature articles from leaders in the field of health partnership research such as you, CBPR listserv members! By featuring exemplars of health partnership research in the journal's earliest issues, they hope to provide models for subsequent manuscripts submitted by other authors as well as to enhance the visibility of PCHP.

The journal editors are happy to discuss with you any ideas you have for a potential submission to PCHP. Please direct any questions, comments, or suggestions to Managing Editor, Mark Newgent at 410-955-6669 or mnewgent@jhmi.edu

How to Change a Mind

My friend and colleague Nick Barrowman sent this blog article a little while ago. I thought I would share it:

"This post, on "How to change a mind", might have some relevance to knowledge translation:"

http://rationallyspeaking.blogspot.com/2005/12/how-to-change-mind.html

Nick Barrowman, PhD
Chief Biostatistician, Chalmers Research Group
Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute
401 Smyth Road, Ottawa, Ontario, K1H 8L1, Canada
Tel (613) 737-7600 ext. 3971
Fax (613) 738-4800
Email nbarrowman@cheo.on.ca
URL http://www.chalmersresearch.com

Blogger Ethics Survey

Dear Blogger,

We have received more than 1,000 participants from across the world in our survey on ethics and blogging conducted between 6 Feb and 1 Mar 2005. We sincerely thank all of you who have done the survey, and apologise for the long delay in releasing the results.

The results are now available at http://www.weblogethics.blogspot.com/ . We choose to post the results on blogspot so as to share this information firsthand with the blogging community. At the same time, this is an effort to contribute to the
ongoing debate on weblog ethics and ethical codes. Please feel free to email us your feedback or post comments on our blog. We would be most glad if you can also provide a link to our blog to share the survey results with your friends.

Alternatively, the results are also available at The Singapore Internet Research Centre http://www.ntu.edu.sg/sci/sirc/

Community Education Service

The Community Education Service has just finished the first phase of what we hope will be an on-going project to share and develop expertise in large-group education for parents and young people. Through funding from the Provincial Centre of Excellence for Children's Mental Health, we have presented information about the effectiveness of large-group parent education programs to five communities across Ontario, including Kingston, Brockville, Woodstock, Halton, and Windsor. We're presently scheduling additional presentations for April and May.

Several of the communities are now preparing to use our web-based data system to collect information about their workshops, courses, and groups. My colleagues in Hamilton have been our "beta-testers" as we rolled out the new system, and our new Spring 2006 flyer was developed on the new database. Additional features include the selection of your specific community, and selection of a "main focus" for your educational offering. These features will help us construct a better search function, so that parents can find the courses they are looking for more easily.

Other features that you won't see, are the administrative tools to help the person in your community who is pulling together your local flyer. They can now set the dates the database will accept registrations, determine the range of program dates to include in each flyer, and send out a reminder e-mail to everyone in your community.

If your community is looking for funding to offer large-group education, we will soon have a proposal template that you can use to seek funding from organizations or local foundations. It presents the case for why community education is important, and reviews the evidence that it is effective. For a copy of the funding case, e-mail me at the address below.

This list serv is designed to help foster a "community-of-practice". If you have questions about community education, are looking for effective, evidence-based large-group interventions, or want to get some great suggestions on how to increase enrolment in your course, this is the place to post those questions. We have more than 100 participants, whose collective knowledge will be equal to almost any challenge.

Finally, I'd like to thank all those of you who have helped us along this path by suggesting changes and improvements to our web site, by offering high-quality parent courses, and by showing leadership in your agency and community by adopting evidence-based programs that educate and inform our clients.

Don Buchanan
Coordinator, Child & Youth Health Partnership
McMaster Children's Hospital

Evel 1, Chedoke Site
Box 2000, Hamilton, ON L8N 3Z5

'(905) 521-2100, ext. 77061
7(905) 521-7925 fax
/ buchanan@hhsc.ca
http://www.mcmasterchildrenshospital.ca

3rd International Conference on KM - London

This conference at the University of Greenwich may be of interest.

http://www.ickm2006.org/

London UK Knowledge Network

Geoff Gurd from the PHAC sent along this link to a London-based network that operates in a similar manner to the Ottawa-based IKMF. He suggests that any visitors to London, interested in KE/KM contact them.

http://www.londonknowledgenetwork.org.uk/

KE as a Giant Hairball?

http://www.line56.com/articles/default.asp?ArticleID=7597

Creativity is crucial to business success. But too often, even the most innovative organization quickly becomes a "giant hairball" - a tangled, impenetrable mass of rules, traditions, and systems, all based on what worked in the past - that exercises an inexorable pull into mediocrity. Gordon McKenzie worked at Hallmark Cards for thirty years, many of which he spent inspiring his colleagues to slip the bonds of Corporate Normalcy and rise to orbit - to a mode of dreaming, daring and doing above and beyond the rubber-stamp confines of the administrative mind-set. In his deeply funny book, exuberantly illustrated in full color, he shares the story of his own professional evolution, together with lessons on awakening and fostering creative genius.

Learning from all sectors

Paul McDowall via the IKMF sent along this list of documents from the philanthropic sector. There is an interesting report on knowledge management that may have some utility for those working in other domains:

Leveraging What You Know: Knowledge Management Strategies for Funders
Published by GEO, 2004, 20 pages.
An overview of the knowledge management in philanthropy, with special attention to technology-supported taxonomies, organizational culture assessment and effective communication. Includes short case studies and lessons learned from grantmakers using knowledge management strategies in their own organizations.

http://www.geofunders.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageId=150

Knowledge translation in developing countries.

My friendly neighbourhood epidemiologist, Ray Deonandan, sent me this link to a new article by Santesso and Tugwell at the Institute for Population Health at the University of Ottawa.

J Contin Educ Health Prof. 2006 Winter;26(1):87-96.

Centre for Global Health, Institute of Population Health, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

There is increasing evidence that the application of knowledge in developing countries is failing. One reason is the woeful shortage of health workers, but as this is redressed, it is also crucial that we have an evidence base of what works to minimize the "know-do gap." The World Health Organization and other international organizations are actively building momentum to promote research to determine effective strategies for knowledge translation (KT). At this time, the evidence base for the effectiveness of those strategies is not definitive in developed countries and is relatively sparse in developing countries. It appears, however, that the effectiveness of these strategies is highly variable and dependent on the setting, and success hinges on whether the strategies have been tailored. A useful framework to provide direction for tailoring interventions is the Ottawa Model of Research Use (OMRU). Underlying OMRU is the principle that success rests with tailoring KT strategies to the salient barriers and supports found within the setting. The model recommends that barriers and supports found in the practice environment or as characteristics of potential adopters and the evidence-based innovation or research evidence be assessed and then the KT strategy tailored and executed. The model also recommends that whether the research has been applied and has resulted in improved health outcomes should be measured. Studies in developing countries, although few, illustrate that the OMRU approach may be a valid method of tackling the challenges of KT strategies to improve health care in developing countries.

PMID: 16557514 [PubMed - in process]

Internet Access

A good friend works at an agency that is about to release some surprising numbers on access to the Internet by Canadians.

We discussed these last night after watching the Ottawa Senators choke through another playoff game.

It is clear that Canada has backed off Internet access - it was only recently that we were the most connected country in the world - does this mean we are losing connections or just not working as hard at developing the "last mile". A typical Canadian problem.

Country Users per 100 iinhabitants

Sweden 75.46
Korea (Rep) 65.68
Australia 65.28
Finland 63.00
U.S. 63.00
U.K. 62.88
Canada 62.36
Denmark 60.41
Singapore 56.12
Japan 50.20
Germany 42.67
France 41.37