On September 30, 2008, the York University KM Unit held its first KM in the AM for the 2008-2009 academic year. KM in the AM is our flagship event: a thematic breakfast that provides space for community and government agencies to meet and interact with York faculty and graduate students. The KM Unit has been holding these breakfasts regularly since 2006, and our September 30 event was one of our most successful yet.
This month’s theme was Collaborative Planning and Partnership Building, featuring a panel of five experts sharing their own experiences and research findings.
– Prof. Debra Pepler of the LaMarsh Centre for Research on Violence & Conflict Resolution
– Jane Wedlock of the York Region Alliance to End Homelessness
– Prof. Celia Haig-Brown of the York University Faculty of Education
– Susan Taylor Simpson of ProAct Ideas
– Prof. Uzo Anucha of the York University School of Social Work
Each panelist gave a thorough and illuminating presentation, outlining their organizations’ histories, successes, collaborative projects, and challenges.
Prof. Pepler explained the four strategy pillars used by her organization, PREVNet, to build relationships with other organizations. Jane Wedlock discussed the infrastructure challenges facing her organization, and explained how these were overcome via collaboration with another organization. Prof. Haig-Brown’s presentation revolved around on her work in the Aboriginal community, and the importance of working to maintain relationships. Susan Taylor Simpson discussed the importance of leadership to collaboration. Prof. Anucha focused on the need for trust and community dialogue in order to achieve a successful collaboration.
The panelists then took questions from the other attendees on various topics, including the advancing use of technology to facilitate collaborations, the need for catalytic leadership, and the need for someone to “own” any project.
Using our unvalidated but objective measure of engagement, one community partner stayed chatting GIS mapping with a graduate student for 3 hours after the session – that’s A LOT of mobilization!
If you are interested in learning more about any of these panelists’ work, or about future KM in the AM breakfasts, please contact Michael Johnny (mjohnny@yorku.ca) or Krista Jensen (kejensen@yorku.ca), or visit www.researchimpact.ca