BMJ  2007;334:129-132 (20 January), doi:10.1136/bmj.39038.593380.AE

Analysis

The in-between world of knowledge brokering

¹ Canadian Health Services Research Foundation

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

"The mere knowledge of a fact is pale; but when you come to realize a fact, it takes on color. It is all the difference of hearing of a man being stabbed to the heart, and seeing it done." Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee, 1889

The ultimate aim of people engaged in health research is to get the health service's workforce, its employers, and its suppliers to have knowledge of facts (as represented by research results) and to use these facts in their practices, policies, and products. How well organised is research to achieve this aim? And how receptive and oriented are health services to this aim? The answers seem to be "not well organised" and "not very receptive." The interpersonal connections needed to bridge this know-do gap are not yet in place.¹ An emerging role therefore exists for knowledge brokers, supported by knowledge brokering resources and agencies, to . . . [Full text of this article]

Disconnection between research and health services worlds

Research and decision making as processes, not products and events

Box 1: In the nirvana that is a research based health service. . .

Research to action: knowledge brokering as a social solution

Box 2: Attributes and skills of a knowledge broker^{7 13}

Knowledge brokering in Canada

Box 3: Illustrative activities of a knowledge brokering agency: the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation
Setting the research agenda
Facilitating applied research
Disseminating research
Getting research used
Additional resources
Summary points

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Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

Wherever possible, research communication should be based on the scientific cumulation of knowledge

Neil Pakenham-Walsh
bmj.com, 21 Jan 2007 [Full text]

The NHS has a network of knowledge brokers

Ben Toth
bmj.com, 2 Feb 2007 [Full text]