It wouldn’t be KMb without KB Insights into the role of knowledge brokers in supporting

child and youth mental health and addictions communities of interest in Ontario

June 2014 Canadian Knowledge Mobilization Forum Saskatoon, SK

Introductions

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Presenters: MaryAnn Notarianni Angela Yip

About the Centre We bring people and knowledge together to strengthen

the quality and effectiveness of mental health services for children, youth and their families and caregivers.

Three strategic goals:

Learning Collaboration Leadership

Foster a culture of organizational learning to support agencies in using evidence to improve client outcomes.

Build and develop collaborative partnerships to sustain capacity within mental health services.

Be a true learning organization and lead by example.

eenet.ca eenetconnect.ca

What is EENet’s goal?

• EENet aims to make Ontario’s mental health and addictions system more evidence-informed.

• EENet builds capacity to respond to knowledge gaps in practice and policy, ensures that mental health and addictions practices and policies are informed by sound evidence, and enables stakeholders to generate and exchange knowledge.

Session goals

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Learn about:

1. Communities of interest (CoIs) as a vehicle for knowledge mobilization (KMb)

2. Knowledge brokers (KBs) to support KMb 3. Lessons learned around CoIs, KBs and

organizational collaborations to enhance systems-level KMb

Background

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1. What’s a CoI?

A community of people gathered together who share a topic of common interest. In a CoI, members work to exchange information, obtain answers to problems, and/or improve their understanding of a subject.

Community of Practice (CoP) = A group of people gathered together who share a craft or a profession and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly – practitioners who work as a community in a certain field undertaking similar work (Wenger, 1998) to connect to solve problems, share ideas, set standards, build tools, and develop relationships with peers and stakeholders.

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CoI vs. CoP

Communities of Interest (CoIs): Outcome map A

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To use a CoI model to strategically support cross-sectoral knowledge exchange and mobilization to respond to CYMHA issues.

Better mental health and addictions outcomes for Ontario’s children, youth and families.

Go

als

Target: The child and youth mental health and addictions (CYMHA) sector.

To strengthen knowledge, skills and capacity re: implementation science, evaluation and knowledge exchange/mobilization across communities, and within CAMH and the Centre.

Increased knowledge exchange and mobilization related to child and youth mental health and addictions issues.

Provide financial ($4,500/CoI), HR (2 KBs/CoI) and infrastructure supports (technology, meeting space, access to knowledge exchange vehicles) to CoIs to address a CYMHA issue.

Enhanced capacity for knowledge exchange and mobilization across sectors responding to CYMHA issues.

Enhanced system-level coordination and collaboration to respond Ontario’s CYMHA concerns.

Support ongoing knowledge sharing between KBs and CoIs, and within and across CoIs to build capacity in implementation science, evaluation and knowledge mobilization.

Increased capacity across KBs and CoIs in implementation science, evaluation and knowledge exchange and mobilization.

Enhanced partnerships between CYMHA-serving agencies, cross-sectoral partners, the Centre and CAMH to address CYMHA issues across Ontario.

To build/enhance partnerships between CYMHA agencies, cross-sectoral partners, the Centre and CAMH to address CYMHA issues across Ontario.

Support collaborative activities between CYMHA agencies, cross-sectoral partners, the Centre and CAMH to address CYMHA issues across Ontario.

Increased understanding of strengths/limits of CoIs as a vehicle for knowledge exchange and mobilization.

From the literature: • Research needed on effectiveness and impact of CoIs

• Increase in the use of CoPs (Ranmuthugala et al., 2011)

• Empirical evidence re: CoP impact still needed

• CoPs are seen to be useful tools for individuals participating and their respective organizations (Ardichvili, Page & Wentling, 2002)

• CoPs may have a role in improving healthcare performance with a diverse range of outcomes including (Ranmuthugala et al., 2011):

– Gaining competencies

– Breaking down barriers

– Sharing information

– Reducing professional isolation

– Implementing new processes and technology

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CoIs, CoPs and KMb

From our experience:

• Increased partner engagement

• Family/youth/PWLE engagement

• Co-development of knowledge products

• Knowledge-sharing across sectors

• Capacity-building across sectors

• New linkages and collaborations across sectors

• Increased sharing of resources

• Leveraging off partners’ networks

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CoIs and KMb

• Time frame

• Personnel changes

• Lack of resources and funding

• Meeting face-to-face

• Sustainability

• Evaluation

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Challenges

“Although the meetings and webinars were excellent it was hard to fit them all in and continue to provide service as usual.” CoI Lead

• In person opportunities

• Technology

• Seed funding

• Learning from other CoIs

• Knowledge broker support

• Partnerships strengthened

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Success factors

“There has been a good cross-pollination of work. We’re not duplicating or competing.” CoI Lead

• Still a very new role in the healthcare field

• Lots of different terms:

– Boundary spanners

– Bridge builders

– Research mediators

– Intermediary role

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2. What’s a knowledge broker (KB)?

Canadian Health Services Research Foundation (CHSRF) definition:

“Knowledge brokering links researchers and decision makers together, facilitating their interaction so that they are able to better understand each other’s goals and professional culture, influence each other’s work, forge new partnerships, and use research-based evidence.”

(Lomas, 2007)

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What’s a knowledge broker?

Ward et al. 2009 definition:

“Knowledge brokers act as intermediaries or linkage agents, using interpersonal contacts to stimulate knowledge exchange, the development of new research and the application of solutions.”

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What’s a knowledge broker?

Seniors Health Research Transfer Network (SHRTN) definition:

“KBs facilitates processes of learning whereby people are connected with tacit or explicit knowledge sources that will help them to resolve work-related challenges. To make this happen, KBs engage in a set of relational, technical, and analytical activities that help communities of practice (CoPs) to develop and operate, facilitate exchanges among people with similar concerns and interests, and help groups and individuals to create, explore, and apply knowledge in their practice.

KB role is also seen as promoting mutual understanding that gives researchers, decision makers, and caregivers a better understanding of each others’ environments and cultures, and that helps to spread the awareness and adoption of innovations.

(Conklin et al. 2013)

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What’s a knowledge broker?

1. Create relationships among groups of people with shared concerns and objectives;

2. Promote mutual understanding among these groups;

3. Facilitate the exchange of knowledge across the social boundaries that separate these groups;

4. Facilitate processes of social interaction as a mechanism for bringing about knowledge exchange;

5. Develop new capacity within these groups to work together to find, create, share, and use relevant knowledge;

6. Help to address the issues of organizational change that often accompany attempts to exchange knowledge;

7. Engage in analytical tasks that are associated with the above activities.

(Conklin et al. 2013)

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KB activities and tasks

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Challenges

• Building trust, rapport, and a strong working relationship with CoI Leads

• Managing tensions between partners

• Scheduling time to meet face-to-face

• Getting others to fully understand the KB role

• Geography is barrier - selection of KB should be geographically and culturally based

• Evaluating our impact

• Stakeholders in the field now know more about the KB role

• Relationships and collaborations have strengthened

• Positive feedback from other stakeholders around CoI work and value to the field

• Evidence is being shared!

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Success factors

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3. Lessons learned

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Lessons learned - CoIs • Clarify expectations

• Embed planning into the process early

– KE planning, project framework, evaluation planning

• Ensure broad stakeholder perspectives are participating

• Align CoI activities with the needs of the community and other existing projects

• Establish and maintain regular communication with all partners involved

• Face-to-face interaction is important

• Be flexible!

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Lessons learned - KBs • Different CoIs have very different needs and operate in very

different ways

• In-person meetings are a must and should happen as soon as possible

• Schedule regular meetings with your CoI

• Establish a clear understanding of the KB role at the outset

• A set amount of time (due to competing work demands)

• Be proactive in making suggestions rather than simply responding to specific requests

• Flexibility is important!

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Lessons learned – Partnership • Opportunity for cross-organizational capacity-

building

• Ability to leverage resources

• Models collaboration

• Aligns, rather than duplicates

• Promotes ongoing learning

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THANKS FOR JOINING!

Contributors: • MaryAnn Notarianni, Manager, KMb, Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth

Mental Health (the Centre) • Angela Yip, Knowledge Broker, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) • Purnima Sundar, Director, KMb, the Centre • Nandini Saxena, Manager, KE, CAMH • Heather Bullock, Director, KE, CAMH

For more information: • mnotarianni@cheo.on.ca • Angela.yip@camh.ca • psundar@cheo.on.ca • Nandini.saxena@camh.ca • Heather.bullock@camh.ca