Knowledge mobilisation is the process of making knowledge useful and actionable. It involves a two-way dialogue between researchers and research users (practitioners, commissioners, patients and public), to enable the right people to use the right information, at the right time to ensure research is relevant and generalisable. It is one of the processes that enables and speeds up the application of research to real-world settings.
The NIHR has awarded £7.8m to its Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs) to build knowledge mobilisation capacity and capability within the health and social care system. The ARCs will use the funding to appoint ‘fellows’ - researchers and practitioners who will form a bridge between the ARCs and the health and care organisations and communities they work with.
The fellows will be supported to develop their skills so they can capture and communicate the needs of local decision makers and help researchers to navigate the complex health and care landscape to ensure their research can be implemented. Hence, they will work with our Implementation lead and Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London, plus the network of ARCs nationally, to identify existing evidence-based treatments and models of care, and support them into practice, working with practitioners and service users.
The aim is to create a dynamic loop in which knowledge needs are met with evidence in real time, creating an improvement-focused, evidence-based culture.
Our ambition is to develop a cohort of Knowledge Mobilisation fellows, demonstrating value and impact over three years. The fellows will help health and care partners to embed a research-informed culture in their operations and include knowledge mobilisation in existing and new roles going forwards. They will also help researchers to better understand the health and care landscape and local priorities.
At ARC South London we will appoint a small team of Knowledge Mobilisation fellows who will connect with our research themes which have been established to reflect local priorities. We aim to build capacity across the ARC and provide fellows with a supportive infrastructure to carry out a range of knowledge mobilisation activities with local partners including:
Examples of activities that Knowledge Mobilisation fellows would support partners with include:
The Knowledge Mobilisation fellows will also work closely with ARC’s involvement structures, PPI contributors, and community groups, and connect with the ICBs’ Research Engagement Networks. Leveraging the Knowledge Mobilisation fellows, we plan to achieve a step change in our local knowledge mobilisation activities. We will engage with other ARCs through the National Coordinating Centre at ARC Greater Manchester to share and learn from knowledge mobilisation best practice across the country.
NIHR awards £7.8m to drive knowledge mobilisation across Applied Research Collaborations