Contribution Instructions – Canadian Knowledge Mobilization Forum

The Canadian Knowledge Mobilization Forum (CKF) is a biennial event that provides opportunities for professional development, learning and networking for those interested in knowledge mobilization, translation, and exchange. It brings together a community dedicated to sharing learnings, best practices, tools, and resources. 

CKF22 will be taking place in an online format during the week of June 13-17th 2022. In addition to the national event, we will be hosting regional half-day events in-person across the country. 

The goals of CKF22 include: 

  • Create a welcoming and engaging event to learn about knowledge mobilization in Canada 
  • Engage professionals across sectors to enable partnerships, collaboration, and networking 
  • Share tools and techniques related to knowledge mobilization in a variety of fields 
  • Facilitate discussions around current and emerging topics in knowledge mobilization 

The forum is a bilingual event. We highly encourage presentations in both English and French. 

Theme

“This year’s theme is: Responding to New Realities: Learning from the past and present to inform the future” 

Over the last two years we’ve been living and working through a time of great transition and change. More than ever, there is a need for us to reach out beyond traditional mechanisms for more accessible sharing and learning. 

Globally and in Canada, we are seeing a shift in how knowledge and research are connected and used.  

To create change in our communities, we must move beyond raising awareness in the what and why of our research. We must engage, learn, and co-create how to do this work together.  We hope that CKF22 provides a space for us to share and learn from each other, so we can do this work better.  

We want to hear your perspectives on how knowledge mobilization has informed your research and practice. If you have or want to play a role in the KMb community and see the importance of KMb in the work that you do, we invite you to contribute to the forum. This is an opportunity to learn from and connect with others doing this important work. 

We specifically encourage contributions that fit this theme, although you are not limited by it. 

Contribution Formats: 

We are seeking contributions in the following formats: 

  • 3 Minute Lightning Talk 
  • Workshop 
  • Catalyst Roundtable 
  • Poster Presentation 

Further details around contribution formats can be found under Contribution Instructions below. Please prepare a 250-word summary of your contribution, emphasizing the content, objectives, audience and/or format of the contribution, as well as a 200-word justification of the pertinence of the contribution. The contribution deadline for the forum is March 12, 2022 at 11:59pm.

Contributions must be sent in through the Contribution Form. You must make an account and log in.

Contribution Instructions

3 Minute Lightning Talk (3 minutes) 

You have the attention of the (Zoom) room for exactly 3 minutes. What knowledge do you want to share? What discussions will you spark? What questions will you leave them with? 

This format challenges you to share “what you need to know” about your work or topic of choice in under 3 minutes, using only ONE slide. Creative posters, infographics, or visualizations are highly encouraged.  

The goal of this format is to encourage short and highly engaging presentations that will expose participants to a range of topics in knowledge mobilization and spark further conversations.   

Each session will feature several Lightning Talks. Following the Talks, presenters and audience members will be divided into breakout rooms and given the opportunity to discuss and network. 

Format requirements: Maximum 1 slide and 3 minutes of presenting (we’re serious!). Presentations may be grouped by similar thematic content (ex: academic, practice-based, topic-based). 

Workshop (45 or 90 minutes) 

Is there a tool, framework, or methodology that you have found particularly useful to your practice? A specific skill that you’ve mastered and would like to support others in developing? 

Workshops are an opportunity to share methods and tools useful to the practice of knowledge mobilization professionals in an interactive and engaging format. The aim is to help participants to improve their skills and understanding of knowledge mobilization and to become better mobilizers. 

Alternatively, you are welcome to propose presentations which are less interactive and more informative. For both, presenters are welcome to consider non-traditional approaches for this exchange process: such as Fireside Chat; Debate; Panel Presentations or others. 

Format requirements: You will be asked to choose whether your workshop falls under the category of ‘interactive’ or ‘informative’. We want to indicate to the audience whether they should expect this to be a “hands-on” workshop. Any workshop materials may be made available to participants ahead of time. 

Due to popular request in previous Forums, this year we are offering a 90-minute workshop format to allow more time to “dig in” to the resource presented. Please note that this is only an option for workshops that will have an interactive component (breakout rooms, hands-on exercises, etc.) 

Catalyst Roundtable (10 minute presentation + 30 minute discussion) 

Is there a topic in knowledge mobilization that you would love to have a robust conversation about with others who do similar work? This could be about emerging practices of knowledge mobilization, new tools and methodologies, or anything else relevant to the field. The catalyst roundtable is an opportunity to bring together people across sectors to have focused discussions on different topics. 

For each session, a presenter or small group of presenters will each engage the audience with a focused 10–15-minute presentation. This will be followed by a 30-minute group discussion of the ideas presented, the connections that emerge, and the implications for knowledge mobilization practice. The presenters serve as the catalyst for conversation, and the value of these sessions emerges from the exchange of all participants.  

Format requirementsPresentations should aim to be around 10 and no more than 15 minutes each. If there are multiple presenters, you will share your time. Please fill out one contribution form as a group. Presenters should plan to engage the audience in conversation for 30 minutes. Each session will be moderated by a facilitator. 

Poster Presentation (5 minutes, asynchronous) 

Do you have a research or knowledge mobilization project that you would like to showcase? Our poster presentation format is an opportunity to do so!  

These presentations will take place in an asynchronous format. Attendees of the Forum will be able to interact and ask questions. The posters will be juried by an expert panel of knowledge mobilization practitioners. The poster should either be related to knowledge mobilization, or feature knowledge mobilization as a component of the project. 

Format requirementsPresenters will be asked to record a short video of their poster presentation, which will be available asynchronously throughout the duration of the Forum. Presentations should be no more than 5 minutes long.  You will also be asked to upload a PDF file of your poster to the platform. The size limit of the file is 10MB.