Just as there is variety in the types of sectors that
knowledge brokers work with, there is variety in how their roles are defined.
In partnership with the William T. Grant Foundation, AYPF's blog series featured experts from the field on the role of state chiefs, the importance of leadership in building evidence - based systems, using intermediaries
as knowledge brokers, how to break down silos between researchers and practitioners, and more.
In the United Kingdom, «a major factor in the increase in both numbers and professionalization [
of knowledge brokers] is the recent inclusion of «research impact» as a measure [used] to rank U.K. universities and determine funding, so investing in staff to promote research impact has become a priority,» Knight explains.
In a previous
knowledge brokering role, Bielak and his colleagues undertook research in collaboration with recreational fishing organizations.
The conference Bridging the Gap Between Research, Policy and Practice, which Knight organized in London in 2011, was attended by
knowledge brokers from many sectors, including government, charities, universities, consultancies, and learned societies, she says.
Alex Bielak, a senior research fellow and
knowledge broker at the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU - INWEH) in Hamilton, Canada, says that although these differences in terminology indicate slightly different types of roles, the people occupying all of these roles create a two - way interaction between knowledge producers and knowledge users.
Given the broad range of stakeholders and research agendas, the Council has identified the need to supplement its existing resource with a team of expert
knowledge brokers who will be able to forge stronger links between the social science community and the retail sector.
UNESCO SIDE EVENT
ON KNOWLEDGE BROKERING FOR A BETTER CONNECTION BETWEEN SCIENCE, POLICY AND PRACTICE IN COMPLEX POLICY PROBLEMS Dome Hall, Hungarian Academy of Sciences
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She is a national presenter and
knowledge broker with more than 20 years of experience in librarianship, instructional technology, K - 12, and post-secondary education.
Von Behr, who has a master's degree in social research — his master's work focused on the history of technology — recently set up his
own knowledge brokering consultancy, behr outcomes, aimed at the education and cultural heritage sectors.
Because their role is largely intermediary,
knowledge brokers need to be able to relate to people with a broad range of backgrounds, von Behr says.
London - based Nick von Behr says that
knowledge brokering requires an ability to identify good sources of information and critically analyze evidence.
With
other knowledge brokers, Bielak is helping to «build a global community of knowledge practitioners» as part of the K * Initiative.
Claire Powers, a recruiter from
global knowledge broker AlphaSights, says that she «can not emphasise enough the importance of an international experience» and that «the confidence and self - awareness students gain from putting down roots somewhere new, is an asset for any business».
ECA is a national organisation that has a longstanding reputation as a high - quality
assured knowledge broker, supported by our ethical advertising standards.
While real estate will always be face - to - face and relationship - oriented, agents powered by Buyside will emerge as
true knowledge brokers, guiding consumers through a complex process with the most comprehensive, data - driven insights powering each step.
«We're seeing that companies want to have a picture of who the
key knowledge brokers are in their organization,» says [Prof. Rob Cross, of UVA's McIntire business school].
Even when you have a position that's focused
on knowledge brokering, expect this to be only one aspect of your job.
K * has been putting together a collection of toolkits that are being used around the world
in knowledge brokering and related professions.
The Foundation functions as
a knowledge broker, bringing together people and knowledge to provide the most current and comprehensive research, analysis and information on Canada's transpacific relations; it is defined as a government institution under the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.
As well as leading on and participating in a range of research and evaluation projects, the team also contributes to the development of effective policy and practice through the interpretation, synthesis and dissemination of research findings, and acts as
a knowledge broker between policy and practice stakeholders, researchers and the academic sector (in the UK and Europe) to strengthen links and collaboration.
Meanwhile,
knowledge brokers have been organizing and creating their own support system.
Someone who is interested in becoming
a knowledge broker should also take advantage of any training in project management at your university, she advises.
Knowledge brokers are often found in organizations at the interface of research and policy, but they can also work at the boundaries between research and health care, research and business, research and the public, and even between different areas of research, Knight says.
There's a close connection between
knowledge brokering and certain areas of science policy, for example, and also technology transfer, where the goal is to establish business relationships between academic scientists and the for - profit sector.
The K * Initiative has been gathering assessments of the importance and impact of
knowledge brokering so that knowledge brokers can use the data to win the support of colleagues and management at their institutions.
Another challenge that the K * Initiative has taken on is
knowledge brokers» struggle to find the tools they need to do the job.
«Being
a knowledge broker means you can help make a difference,» he says.
But
knowledge brokering has emerged only in recent years as a distinct profession with its own label and job opportunities, say Meyer and other experts.
Knowledge brokers try to bridge the gap that can exist between those two worlds and build connections,» explains Morgan Meyer, a postdoc at the Center for the Sociology of Innovation at the École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris who researches knowledge brokering.
«
A knowledge broker... sits in between knowledge producers, [such as] scientists... and those who use knowledge, such as policymakers, the general public, or people working in the health domain.
But what exactly is
a knowledge broker?
Not many people working in this sector have «
knowledge broker» in their job title, Meyer says.