Knowledge Mobilisation
The National Institute for Health and Social Care Research (NIHR), as well as other funders, are increasingly requiring Knowledge Mobilisation approaches to be incorporated into research grant applications to strengthen pathways to impact. Knowledge mobilisation is used to share knowledge between different communities, to create new knowledge and catalyse change. Academics at the Applied Research Collaboration West have been exploring and developing these approaches for the past decade and have worked with colleagues at the NIHR. This course will highlight the latest developments in the field, as well as how to design a Knowledge Mobilisation strategy for a research project.
| Date | 17 March 2025 |
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| Fee | £0 (pilot course) |
| Format | Online |
| Audience | Internal University of Bristol only, pilot course (prerequisites apply) |
In our 2024-2025 programme this course ran as a pilot, open to University of Bristol staff and PGR students only. We intend that this course will be available to all in our 2025-2026 programme. Find out more about pilot courses.
Course profile
This course aims to explain the use of knowledge mobilisation approaches and how they can strengthen the impact pathway within research studies.
Please click on the sections below for more information.
This course will be conducted over 1 day of live online sessions with interactive discussions. There will be a time commitment of a full day of 7 hours.
By the end of the course participants should be able to:
- explain what knowledge mobilisation is and what it is not, to describe its relationship with impact, dissemination and coproduction;
- describe how to integrate knowledge mobilisation approaches throughout the research cycle and how to evaluate them; and
- design an initial knowledge mobilisation strategy for a research topic area or project.
This course is suitable for researchers applying for funding (particularly from the National Institute of Health and Social Care).
This course will cover:
- an explanation of what knowledge mobilisation is, including a definition of terms and differences in terminology internationally;
- the evidence base for knowledge mobilisation and the role of knowledge mobilisation in facilitating impact;
- how to design a study to incorporate knowledge mobilisation, including knowledge mobilisation theories, stakeholder analysis, knowledge sharing approaches and evaluation; and
- knowledge mobilisation approaches for different stakeholders, including practitioners, policy makers and public contributors. The use of different ‘co’ approaches will be discussed.
Dr Helen Baxter previously held an NIHR Knowledge Mobilisation Research Fellowship and was later employed by the NIHR as a Senior Research Fellow, to advise on knowledge mobilisation techniques, approaches and resources. She now advises and publishes on knowledge mobilisation approaches at NIHR ARC West.
Dr Clare Thomas provides advice and guidance on knowledge mobilisation through a role as a Knowledge Mobilisation Research Fellow at the Health Protection Research Unit and the Population Health Sciences Institute. Clare now holds a Knowledge Mobilisation Research Fellow post at NIHR ARC West.
Professor Sabi Redwood, is Professor of Social Science Applied to Health and Care, Implementation Lead and Acting NIHR ARC West director, with long standing experience in advising on impact, knowledge mobilisation and implementation.
Ms Zoe Trinder-Widdess, is Head of Communications at NIHR ARC West and NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre, supporting dissemination and knowledge mobilisation across an array of studies. She also brings experience from a range of sectors, having led communications teams at the National Trust and the Audit Commission.
To make sure the course is suitable for you and you will benefit from attending, please ensure you meet the following prerequisites before booking:
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Eligibility |
This course is available to University of Bristol staff and postgraduate researchers only. Candidates must be able to fully attend the course and provide feedback. |
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Conditions |
Ability to actively participate in online sessions, with camera and audio available. Pilot courses are extremely popular and all live sessions must be attended in full. You should only book onto this course if you are able to commit to attending in full and have time to provide detailed feedback. Attendance is monitored. Failure to attend in full, without a valid reason, will result in your access to pilot course materials being rescinded and you will not be permitted to attend any further pilot courses within the same academic year. |
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Knowledge |
Candidates should be aware that this course will focus on knowledge mobilisation for research design, so candidates will need to have an interest in and an understanding of designing research projects. The delivery of knowledge mobilisation will be focused on in a separate course. |
Before booking this course, please make sure you read the information provided above about the target audience and prerequisites. It is important that you have access to the relevant IT resources needed for the course and meet the knowledge prerequisites to ensure you can get the most from the course.
We do not charge fees for pilot courses, nor do they count against your allocation of free course places. However, in return we ask that you take the time to provide full and thorough feedback so we can effectively evaluate the success of the course.
Pilot courses are extremely popular and all live sessions must be attended in full. You should only book onto this course if you are able to commit to attending in full and have time to provide detailed feedback. Attendance is monitored. Failure to attend in full, without a valid reason, will result in your access to pilot course materials being rescinded and you will not be permitted to attend any further pilot courses within the same academic year.
Bookings are taken via our online booking system, for which you must register an account. To check if you are eligible for free or discounted courses please see our fees and voucher packs page. All bookings are subject to our terms & conditions, which can be read in full How to pay your short course fees..
For help and support with booking a course refer to our contact us, here or feel free to booking information page directly. For available payment options please see: FAQs
Participants are granted access to our virtual learning platform (Blackboard) 1 to 2 weeks in advance of the course. This allows time for any pre-course work to be completed and to familiarise with the platform.
To gain the most from the course, we recommend that you attend in full and participate in all interactive components. We endeavour to record all live lecture sessions and upload these to the online learning environment within 24 hours. This allows course participants to review these sessions at leisure and revisit them multiple times. Please note that we do not record breakout sessions.
All course participants retain access to the online learning materials and recordings for 3 months after the course.
Please note that this is a pilot course and therefore no Materials & Recordings (UoB only) option is available.
91% of attendees recommend this course*.
*Attendee feedback from March 2025.
Here is a sample of feedback from the last run of the course:
“Lots of examples - which was helpful. The randomised coffee trial worked well - was good to meet with others on the course and share knowledge! The end-of-day surgery session was particularly useful to discuss my own project/plans and get some specific advice." - course feedback, March 2025
“This was a really great topic to have covered in a short course, with lots of brilliant local examples of good practice. I enjoyed all of the talks, perhaps especially Michelle Farr's talk and also the 1:1 surgery at the end. The randomised coffee chat was also great, and care had obviously been taking when pairing people up." - course feedback, March 2025
“The course content was great and gave me a much better understanding of what knowledge mobilisation means and what it entails. I think the tutors were very knowledgeable and it was clear they were passionate about the subject. I liked the structure of the course and although I didn't take up the offer of the clinic, I can imagine it's a really great opportunity for researchers to get 1:1 advice on their own projects. " - course feedback, March 2025
“Friendly and knowledgeable faculty." - course feedback, March 2025
“I now have a clearer idea as to what knowledge mobilisation is and what it can entail. The 'five evidence-based KM approaches' and examples given for each of these were particularly helpful." - course feedback, March 2025
“Very engaging and clear course, despite being online! Enjoy the 1:1 surgery at the end - really useful." - course feedback, March 2025
“I enjoyed the variety of speakers and the structure of the day and thought that the surgeries at the end of the day was an excellent idea for those starting their own research." - course feedback, March 2025
“Well planned day, really engaging speakers, lots of practical tips to take away and put into practice." - course feedback, March 2025
“I enjoyed learning about a new topic and the breakout rooms were a good way to break the day up and get us speaking to others." - course feedback, March 2025
“Understanding in more detail about KM and how this links with existing activities / plans e.g. PPIE and methods of dissemination etc. I am now more confident in being able to describe how these are KM processes - as well as getting more ideas for further KM." - course feedback, March 2025
I liked the emphasis on ideas around knowledge mobilisation happening often organically in lots of different ways, that it's not "one size fits all", that it's centred on relationship building, and the importance of documenting it." - course feedback, March 2025