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 by: MaryAnn Notarianni and Angela Yip 9-10 June 2014 Canadian Knowledge Mobilization Forum Saskatoon, SK

1. 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

2. Introductions
2
Presenters:
MaryAnn Notarianni
Angela Yip

3. 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.

4. eenet.ca
eenetconnect.ca

5. 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.

6. Session goals
6
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

7. Background

8. 8
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.

9. 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.
9
CoI vs. CoP

10. Communities of Interest (CoIs): Outcome map
Activities
Short-term
Outcomes
Intermediate
Outcomes
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.
Goals
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.

11. 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
11
CoIs, CoPs and KMb

12. 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
12
CoIs and KMb

13. • Time frame
• Personnel changes
• Lack of resources and
funding
• Meeting face-to-face
• Sustainability
• Evaluation
13
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

14. • In person opportunities
• Technology
• Seed funding
• Learning from other CoIs
• Knowledge broker support
• Partnerships strengthened
14
Success factors
“There has been a
good cross-pollination
of work. We’re not
duplicating or
competing.”
CoI Lead

15. • Still a very new role in the healthcare field
• Lots of different terms:
– Boundary spanners
– Bridge builders
– Research mediators
– Intermediary role
15
2. What’s a knowledge broker (KB)?

16. 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)
16
What’s a knowledge broker?

17. 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.”
17
What’s a knowledge broker?

18. 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)
18
What’s a knowledge broker?

19. 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)
19
KB activities and tasks

20. 20
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

21. • 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!
21
Success factors

22. 22
3. Lessons learned

23. 23
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!

24. 24
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!

25. 25
Lessons learned – Partnership
• Opportunity for cross-organizational capacity-
building
• Ability to leverage resources
• Models collaboration
• Aligns, rather than duplicates
• Promotes ongoing learning

26. 26
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