Mobilizing Knowledge Inside the University / Mobiliser les connaissances dans l’université

Mobilizing knowledge inside the university
Bugs and ballet make for an interesting combination and they illustrate that knowledge mobilization can happen within the university as effectively as between university and community.
ResearchImpact-RéseauImpactRecherche (RIR) has posted 279 blogs on Mobilize This! Our readers have viewed the blog 73,133 times (as of November 6, 2011). Every single one of them dealt with some form of knowledge mobilization (KMb) and advocated connecting university research and talent with non-academic audiences to inform decisions about public policy and professional practice.
Until now.
KMb is a process that connects researchers to decision makers. Sometimes decision makers are other researchers. Sometimes knowledge brokers need to broker relationships inside the ivory tower. That’s where Bugzzz comes in.
On August 25, Y File published, “Dance and theatre professors begin work on ‘Bugzzz’”. As reported by Y File “Bugzzz aims to challenge the notion of progress, particularly our uncritical obsession with technology. The project proceeds as if human civilization has self-destructed because of our over consumption of resources. Only insects remain and it is they who take an archeological look at the value of civilization through art, specifically through Giacomo Puccini’s opera, Tosca.”
Side bar: my PhD was in invertebrate (ie bug) immunology and I recently started dancing again after a 7 year break from the ballet studio. That’s why Bugzzz caught my attention.
I contacted one of the principals behind Bugzzz, Gwen Dobie, and asked if she had ever spoken to any of York’s entomologists (bug experts) to inform her creative work. Gwen replied “We’d be pleased to meet with any bug researchers you may know. It would certainly enrich our process.” I was offering to help her connect to scientific research and expertise to inform her creative and artistic decisions about movement, sound, behavior and design (costume, lighting, stage etc.). Very knowledge mobilization. All inside the university.
On October 13 I had the pleasure of introducing Gwen Dobie (Theatre) and her colleagues William Mackwood (Dance), Barbara Evans (Film) and Teresa Przybylski (Theatre) to three faculty from the Department of Biology: Andrew Donini (mosquitoes and midges), Amro Zayed (bees) and Laurence Packer (dead bees…with over 100,000 specimens of bees he has the largest bee collection in Canada with bees the size of the head of a pin and bees bigger than 3 cm….some black and yellow…some black…some blue!!!).
The scientists showed off their facilities, pictures and bugs and the artists asked lots and lots and lots of questions, about colony vs. individual behaviours (do bugs have empathy?), what/how do bugs hear and the waggle dance (see video below).
The scientists were incredibly giving of their time and expertise. The creative artists were engaged, intrigued, enthralled. I had a blast since it allowed me to reflect on two interests: bugs and ballet. The scientists and artists all felt that the morning was valuable. Feedback from participants included:
I’m so pleased we were able to have this opportunity to receive a small insight into your very interesting investigations. It will deeply inform our own research/creative process (Gwen Dobie).
It was fun. Best wishes for your production and feel free to visit again if you wish (Andrew Donini).
Thanks to all for their interest. Thanks to Amro who gave us honey from his bee hives and thanks to Barbara Evans for the pictures from the morning. Be sure to check out the following video about how bees communicate and manage to give directions all without a GPS.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7ijI-g4jHg
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Mental Health for York and York / La santé mentale à York et York

By David Phipps, RIR-York On Friday October 7, 2011, York University’s Faculty of Health and Faculty of Education invited researchers and educators to meet with representatives of York Region’s community mental health agencies. It was intended to be a day of priority setting for York U and York Region.  It was a day of knowledge […]

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Two Steps Forward for KMb at UQAM / Deux pas en avant pour la mobilisation des connaissances (MdC) à l’UQAM

Luc Dancause and Jérôme Elissalde (RIR – UQAM) Mobilize This! first published this post in French on September 13, 2011.  We re-publish it here translated into English. In 2011-2012, almost 200 new researchers will join UQAM. In an effort to provide more support to these newcomers regarding knowledge mobilization, UQAM is launching a new website […]

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Mobilizing Knowledge… with Comic Books? / La mobalisation des connaissances … à l’aide de bandes dessinées?

Dale Anderson, RIR- UVic There’s lots of ways to mobilize knowledge—open access publishing, briefing notes for policy makers, face-to-face meetings, KMb Expos—all these sound familiar. But have you ever thought of using comic books? One faculty member at the University of Victoria has. Il y a plusieurs manières de mobiliser les connaissances. Les publications en […]

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David Phipps and York’s KMb Unit named Canada’s biggest influencers

The following article appeared in York University’s YFile on September 28, 2011 and is reposted with permission. David Phipps, director of York’s Research Services and Knowledge Exchange, has been named the most influential knowledge broker in Canada, according to a report by Knowledge Mobilization Works, a consulting and training company based in Ottawa. The Canadian Knowledge Mobilization […]

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CanAssist Boosts Independence for Seniors, People with Disabilities / CanAssist accroit l’autonomie des personnes âgées et de celles ayant un handicap

By Dale Anderson (ResearchImpact, University of Victoria) CanAssist, a university-based organization dedicated to developing and delivering technologies, programs and services that improve the quality of life of those with special needs, and just received $3.5 million to continue its work—a shining example of knowledge mobilization in action at UVic. CanAssist est une organisation liée à […]

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KMb Journal Club / Le comité de lecture de la MdC

The ResearchImpact-RéseauImpactRecherche journal club is a new web feature that will make KMb related academic research accessible to knowledge brokers. Le comité de lecture de ResearchImpact-RéseauImpactRecherche est une nouvelle initiative en ligne qui va rendre la recherche académique sur la mobilisation des connaissances accessible aux courtiers de connaissances What were you doing on April 30, […]

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Stand Up for United Way / Prenez position pour Centraide

By David Phipps (ResearchImpact, York) An inspiring speech by United Way of York Region calls on all knowledge brokers and social innovators in York Region to stand up for change. Join York University and stand up for knowledge mobilization and social innovation at your university and local communities. Un discours inspirant du United Way (Centraide) […]

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Rethinking Research Impact / Repenser l’impact de la recherche

By David Phipps (ResearchImpact, York) Some new thinking from researchers helps to refine our thinking about the impact of research and how we measure the “impact” (or “contribution”) research might have on policy and practice decisions. De nouvelles réflexions de chercheurs nous aident à redéfinir notre compréhension de l’impact de la recherche et la manière […]

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YorkU’s KMb Expo 2011- there’s still time to register!

Join us next week on Wednesday, June 15th, 2011, when York University’s KMb Unit will host their annual KM Expo at the Markham Convergence Centre. The theme of the YorkU KMb Expo 2011 is “Putting the Social in Innovation for York Region”. The 4th annual York KMb Expo will explore the relationship between knowledge mobilization and […]

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