Knowledge Mobilization and Academic Health Science Centres in Australia: Comment on "Academic Health Science Centres as Vehicles for Knowledge Mobilisation in Australia? A Qualitative Study"

Extant research on knowledge mobilization points to barriers and opportunities for innovation. Edelman et al paper "Academic Health Science Centres as Vehicles for Knowledge Mobilisation in Australia? A Qualitative Study" builds nicely on the existing knowledge base by evaluating the early stages of organisational development of Academic Health Science Centers in Australia. This commentary discusses their research findings by drawing on relevant themes including knowledge mobilization initiatives that have been developed globally to bridge the research-practice gap and knowledge brokering roles for service improvement. Following which, the commentary draws on organizational capabilities literature for knowledge brokering to happen, the latter including the need for measuring implementation fidelity amongst other capabilities. Finally, building on Edelman et al call for more attention to action-oriented roles and knowledge mobilization processes to deliver strategic goals the commentary concludes with a note for collective leadership as an enabler of knowledge mobilization with impact and at scale.

​Strategic Role of Indian State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) in Rural Development: A Review

State Agricultural Universities (SAUs), in India, have adopted the U.S. land-grant model to meet its goals. They are autonomous organisations with state-wide responsibility for agricultural education, research and extension education. Through teaching, research and extension activities the 64 SAUs across 28 states of India are significantly contributing to agricultural production and productivity of their respective states directly and therefore to the rural development. SAUs rural development strategies include technologies and innovations, extension and human resource development. Regional Agricultural Research Stations in various agro-climatic zones have strengthened research-extension-farmer (REF) linkages. KVKs under administrative control of SAUs serve as farm science centres of their respective districts. In this paper, the rural development approaches of Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Guntur Andhra Pradesh is detailed. Furthermore, strategic planning by the SAUs to increase their effectiveness for direct rural development should be sustained.

When Health Systems Consider Research to Be Beyond the Scope of Healthcare Delivery, Research Translation Is Crippled Comment on "Academic Health Science Centres as Vehicles for Knowledge Mobilisation in Australia? A Qualitative Study"

Edelman and colleagues’ analysis of the views of Board members of Australian Research Translation Centres (RTCs) is well timed. There has been little study of Australian RTCs to date. We focus on their recommendations regarding knowledge mobilisation (KM) to open broader debate on the wisdom of regarding UK practices as a blueprint. We go further and ask whether successful RTCs might, as a result of responding to local context, create idiosyncratic structures and solutions, making generalisable learning less likely? There has been much invested in Australian RTCs and implications of government’s formative evaluation of their work is discussed. Five recommendations are made that could help RTCs: allowing system end-users a greater say in funding decisions, taking a broader, more democratic approach to kinds of knowledge that are valued; investing in methodologies derived from the innovation space; and, a creative attention to governance to support these ideas.

“We had to be very clear that they weren't going to try to break into any of the cases”: what potential do ‘escape rooms’ offer as a science communication technique?

‘Escape rooms’ are a recent cultural phenomena, whereby a group of ‘players’, often friends or colleagues, are ‘locked’ in a room and must solve a series of clues, puzzles, or mysteries in order to ‘escape’. Escape rooms are increasingly appearing in a range of settings, including science centres and museums, libraries and university programmes, but what role can an escape room play in science communication? In this commentary, we explore the emerging literature on escape rooms as well as thoughts from a small number of escape room creators in the U.S. and U.K.

Knowledge◦Room exploring social justice by going beyond ‘traditional’ spaces and activities of science centres

This article describes an example of science engagement striving for social justice by invigorating neglected spaces. The pop-up science centre “Knowledge◦Room“ in Vienna encourages learning, participation and engagement and provides accessibility to different groups regardless of their background. Based on a case-study of a bottom-up event at the Knowledge◦Room, we show how science communication can create a trust-based connection with disadvantaged groups in society and inspire their curiosity in science. We argue that science communication can be used as a tool for advancing social justice in the wider sense and facilitate encounters between diverse groups within society.

Impact of entrepreneurship training on clinician engagement in innovation creation: an evaluation of the Johns Hopkins Hexcite programme

BackgroundAcademic health science centres are an ideal location to translate innovative discoveries into clinical practice. However, increased cost, decreased time and encroaching technology are few of the challenges that academic clinicians face in an increasingly digitised healthcare industry. Academic health science centres have begun creating training to involve clinicians in developing and deploying innovative solutions. Few of these programmes engage clinicians in interactive and interdisciplinary activities.ApproachHexcite is a 16-week entrepreneurship training programme at Johns Hopkins. During the programme, clinicians with innovative clinical software ideas learn how to launch start-ups. Clinicians accepted into the programme team up with a business expert, design expert and technical expert. Teams participate in 15 expert-led interactive 3-hour workshops, interview potential customers, regularly pitch their ideas to industry experts and iteratively refine their products.MethodsThis report examined anonymous participant feedback, quantitative data from team productivity reports, and interview responses between 2015 and 2019. Outcomes were assessed using the Kirkpatrick Model.Results and conclusionMany clinicians reported improved understanding of team building, design thinking and marketing communications as well as increased involvement in innovation. Many teams received funding after Hexcite. Outcomes from previous cohorts will guide more robust evaluation measures for future cohorts.

Academic Health Science Centres as Vehicles for Knowledge Mobilisation in Australia? A Qualitative Study

Background: Despite increasing investments in academic health science centres (AHSCs) in Australia and an expectation that they will serve as vehicles for knowledge translation and exchange, there is limited empirical evidence on whether and how they deliver impact. The aim of this study was to examine and compare the early development of four Australian AHSCs to explore how they are enacting their impact-focused role. Methods: A descriptive qualitative methodology was employed across four AHSCs located in diverse health system settings in urban and regional locations across Australia. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews with 15 academic, industry and executive board members of participating AHSCs. The analysis combined inductive and deductive elements, with inductive categories mapped to deductive themes corresponding to the study aims. Results: AHSCs in Australia are in an emergent state of development and are following different pathways. Whilst varied approaches to support research translation are apparent, there is a dominant focus on structure and governance, as opposed to action-oriented roles and processes to deliver strategic goals. Balancing collaboration and competition between partners presents a challenge, as does identifying appropriate ways to evaluate impact. Conclusion: The early stage of development of AHSCs in Australia presents an important opportunity for formative learning and evaluation to optimise their enactment of knowledge mobilisation processes for impact.

Impact of Training Programmes of KVKs in Terms of Adoption of Technologies: A Gender Analysis

The present study was conducted to determine the impact of training programmes of KrishiVigyan Kendra’s (KVKs-Farm Science Centres) in terms of adoption of technologies as a result gender analysis. This study was undertaken with a view on 200 respondents selected by random sampling technique from four KVKs i.e. western (Bhiwani and Fatehabad) and eastern (Rohtak and Jhajjar) zones of Haryana in India. Out of total 29 areas in which both male and female respondents attended trainings, female participation was more in three areas of trainings i.e. value addition, processing and cooking and cutting and tailoring whereas in rest all of the trainings male participation was more. In case of eastern zone KVKs, 35.0 and 23.0 per cent male and female respondents were partial followed by no adoption (12.0% male and 14.0% female) and full (12.0% and 4.0%) adoption of technologies. Pooled data revealed that 31.5 and 25.0 per cent male and female had partial followed by no (11.0% male and 13.5% female) and full adoption (15.5 % male and 3.5% female) of demonstrated technologies.