Skills for Research Impact

Skills for Research Impact is a workshop series for University of Guelph faculty, research staff and graduate students interested in enhancing the impact of their research. Through six sessions facilitated by impact experts, participants will learn how to successfully plan, execute and evaluate knowledge mobilization (or knowledge translation and transfer) activities. Sessions will cover topics key to effective research communications and engagement of non-academic audiences, including policy, industry and community stakeholders.

Throughout the series, participants will be invited to apply the workshops’ content to their own research contexts and goals, and bring in real examples to work on. Workshops will be highly participatory and will provide practical knowledge, skills and tools that can be used right away.

Join us online this winter for one or multiple sessions! Letters of recognition are available upon request at the end of the series for those who attended all sessions. Please contact kttadmin@uoguelph.ca for more details. 

Webinar access information will be provided through the EventBrite registration page.

Workshop Speaker Date and Location

Planning for Research Impact

Knowledge mobilization 101! Become familiar with knowledge mobilization plans and conceptualize strategies adapted to your goals and audiences.

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Define ‘Knowledge Mobilization’
  • Identify why Knowledge Mobilization is important
  • Identify best practices for Knowledge Mobilization
  • Summarize the steps involved in Knowledge Mobilization planning
  • Compare and contrast End of Grant KT and Integrated KT
  • Apply the principles of Knowledge Mobilization to their research

Register for the Planning for Research Impact session

 

Victoria Holla, Knowledge Mobilization Manager, Office of Research, Agri-Food Partnership

Tuesday, January 18, 2022

1:00-2:30 pm

Stakeholder Engagement

Engaging your audiences meaningfully is a critical aspect of an effective knowledge mobilization strategy. Reflect on how to connect with relevant stakeholders and support knowledge exchange throughout your research process to achieve your impact goals.

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Identify a range of key stakeholders and potential goals for engagement
  • Understand different levels and types of stakeholder engagement before, during, and following the research process
  • Choose engagement activities that are appropriate for their projects and audiences
  • List practical tips and important considerations for researchers when planning to engage with stakeholders
  • Reflect on ethical and equity-based considerations for stakeholder engagement and how these come up in their own research

Register for the Stakeholder Engagement session

Caroline Duvieusart-Dery, Knowledge Mobilization Coordinator, Community Engaged Scholarship Institute, University of Guelph

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

1:00-2:30 pm

Disseminating Research

How do you share your research with non-academic audiences? Learn about a number of potential mechanisms you can use for knowledge mobilization, discover how to choose a mechanism that’s appropriate for your audience, and take a deep dive into several popular mechanisms for dissemination, including social media, research summaries, infographics, and media. 

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Recognize various opportunities for dissemination of research to non-academic audiences 
  • Select an appropriate option for dissemination to your audience 
  • List, and apply skills learned related to, popular dissemination mechanisms: 
    • Social media 
    • Policy brief or 2-page summary 
    • Infographic or visual summary 
    • Media outreach 
  • List resources that will help disseminate your research in additional ways

Register for the Disseminating Research session

Valerie Hruska, Knowledge Mobilization and Communications Coordinator, Research Innovation Office, University of Guelph. 

Tuesday, February 15, 2022

1:00pm-2:30pm

Science Policy Engagement

How can you share your research to inform public policy decisions? Join us to receive expert advice and concrete tips to support your own science-policy engagement efforts.

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Reflect on how science can inform public policy decision making
  • Align your research with current policy priorities
  • Understand how government works and identify key points of contact
  • Select the right information and method to share research with policy-makers.

Register for the Science Policy Engagement session

*Session will not be recorded.

 Jeff Kinder & Rhonda Moore, Institute on Governance 

Tuesday, March 1, 2022

1:00pm-2:30pm

Infographic Development and Design

Go beyond the academic poster: learn all about best practices for designing engaging and visually appealing infographics.

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Describe the principles of visual design
  • Select appropriate resources to help make visual layouts
Create a basic infographic using PowerPoint as a graphic design tool

Register for the infographic Development session

Shannon Brown, Wellness Educator Wellness Education & Promotion Centre, University of Guelph

Tuesday, March 15, 2022

1:00pm-2:30pm

Evaluating Knowledge Translation and Transfer (KTT) Activities

When all is said and done, how do you know it worked? Go beyond the anecdote and learn to use evaluation techniques to assess the impact of your knowledge mobilization efforts.

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Summarize the steps involved in evaluating KTT
  • Discuss common challenges and best practices in KTT evaluation
  • Use strategies to identify KTT measures and indicators
  • Explain trade-offs in deciding what and how to measure
  • Select appropriate KTT evaluation goals
  • Build a logic model or theory of change to explain KTT rationale
  • Create a basic evaluation framework for their own KTT work

Register for the Evaluating KTT Activities session

Anne Bergen, Knowledge to Action Consulting

Tuesday, March 29, 2022

1:00pm-2:30pm

This workshop series is a collaboration between the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance, the Community Engaged Scholarship Institute (CESI) and the Research Innovation Office at the University of Guelph. For more information, contact us at kttadmin@uoguelph.ca.

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