K* Conference 2012 - Panel Descriptions

Case study & Marketplace templates now available for download, see below.

• As a result of the breadth of experience and expertise at the summit, the panels have been designed to be as interactive as possible.  To maximize interaction they will be kept small and—as much as possible—they will use a case study approach (i.e. asking panelists to give an example of K* in practice from their individual perspective).
• From the participants’ point of view the panels will encourage them to learn from experiences in as wide a variety of sectors and countries as possible.  A key theme from the panels is to identify the tools, techniques and approaches that have been effective for accomplishing K* in resource-limited contexts and that can be readily transferred and translated in between sectors and countries. 
• We would like to see the K* summit kick-starting this process: to see participants coming away with a sense of the breadth of work that has already been done and have some tools and techniques that they can apply in their own practice.  This is not a summit for pushing the analytical or conceptual boundaries, but for learning from practice – we would like them to leave thinking “I wish I’d known 5 years ago what I know now”.
• Because the panelists will come from different sectors and different countries it was felt that the panels would be more productive if discussions were focused on a set of simple questions that provide clear insights instead of complex questions that lead off on tangents.   This will make it easier for the organizing committee to draw together the common themes for subsequent discussions and the Green Paper, whilst generating a raft of practical material.  The panels will be organized/led by members of the International Advisory Committee (please revisit this page as panels are assigned to the members).

• Group-specific panels

   

• These are the panels on K* with community and civil society, K* with industry, K* with practitioners and K* with government.  Instructions to panelists will be: please describe a particular piece of work you have done on K* to this group, and as you go through your presentation please help us answer the questions below:

  1. 1. Who do you include in the group (i.e. community and civil society/ industry/practitioners /government)?  What is it that defines them as a group?
  2. 2. What value does K* work add to what this group does?
  3. 3. How do you know that your K* work has had an impact?  
  4. 4. What are the lessons from this work that others need to know about?

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• K* with civil society & community organizations [Top of page]

   

• Civil society and community organizations are diverse:  their needs for knowledge can vary widely depending on who they represent and what issues they address.

• • • Are there any ground rules that K* practitioners should be aware of as we work with civil society and community groups?
  • • One of the purposes of K* is to promote social learning and innovation, but should this be an active goal of all K* work with civil society and community groups?  If not, why not? 
  • • What would we need to consider in building our actions?  Does this change as we work with organizations representing the less privileged in society?

  • Moderator: Derek Brien - Executive Director, Pacific Institute for Public Policy (Vanuatu)
    

  • Case Study Presenter: David Phipps - Director, Research Services & Knowledge Exchange, York University (Canada) [Download case study]

  • Case Study Presenter: Leandro Echt - Civil Society Analyst, Center for the Implementation of Public Policies Promoting Equity and Growth (CIPPEC) (Argentina) [Download case study]

  • Case Study Presenter: Glowen Wombo Kyei-Mensah - Country Coordinator of the Mwananchi Ghana project (Ghana) [Download case study]

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  K* with the private sector [Top of page]

   

• Knowledge gives industry a competitive advantage, but generating and translating/mobilizing/brokering knowledge can be an expensive process.   The drivers for K* in industry are different from those in the public sphere or in civil society, and there is often little sharing between them.

• • • What is it that is specific to K* in the private sector in terms of the challenges, added value and impacts, that K* has? 
  • • Are there differences between K* to industry and to the service sector and if so, why is this?
  • • What can the private sector learn from the K* work done in the public sector, and what lessons does it have to share? 
  • Moderator: Jason Blackstock - Visiting Fellow, Institute for Science, Innovation and Society - University of Oxford (United Kingdom)
    
  • Case Study Presenter: Karen Buchanan - Programme Development Manager, Wageningen University (Holland) [Download case study]
  • Case Study Presenter: Jeff Kinder - Manager, S&T Strategy, Natural Resources Canada [Download case study]
  • Commentator: Colin Isaacs - President, CIAL Group and editor, Gallon Environment Letter (Canada)

• K* with practitioners [Top of page]

   

• Knowledge practitioners are those at the sharp end of policy delivery, responsible for both using and generating knowledge about what works in practice.

  • • What are the main issues related to K* with practitioners?
  • • What are your best ways/ approaches to be successful at K* with practitioners?
  • • Is K* with practitioners different in different sectors?
  • • How can K* with practitioners’ workers get recognition for these activities?
  • Moderator: Elin Gwyn, Research Analyst Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) (Canada)
    
  • Case Study Presenter: Andrew Campbell, Director, Research Institute for Environment and Livelihoods Charles Darwin University, Charles Darwin University (Australia) [Download case study]
    
  • Case Study Presenter: Pierre Ongolo Zogo, M.D.,Centre for the Development of Best Practices in Health (Cameroon) and McMaster University (Canada) [Download case study]
    
  • Commentator: Laurens Klerkx, Professor, Communication and Innovation Studies, Wageningen University (Holland)
    

• K* with government [Top of page]

   

• Ensuring effective K* with government involves the key challenge of identifying practical mechanisms to influence policy and decision making. Featuring panelists with experience in the broad policy world of water management, this session will consider how knowledge brokers can play a central role in helping governments successfully engage with knowledge to inform and advise decision making.

• Table Discussion Topics

  1. 1. What does the policy to science interface need to look like (both its governance/structure and skill sets) in order for K* to government to happen effectively?
     
  2. 2. How can K* professionals ensure their work is seen as providing best overall knowledge to support decision makers, rather than advocating for specific decision outcomes?
     
  3. 3. How can K* professionals enable governments to more effectively inform the research community about what research would be most useful to their decision making?

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    Moderator: Bernadette Conant - Executive Director, Canadian Water Network (Canada)
    
  • Case Study Presenter: Frederique Martini - Chief, European and International Affairs, ONEMA (French National Agency for Water and Aquatic Environments) (France) [Download case study]
  • Case Study Presenter: Dominic Mazvimavi - Director, Institute for Water Studies, University of Western Cape (South Africa) [Download case study]
  • Commentator: Peter Moll, International Analyst and Consultant, Science Development (Germany)
  • Process-specific panels – K* processes

     

  • These are the panels on linkage and exchange (networks, partnerships); K translation; data/knowledge management; and K transfer.  Again, we will ask panelists to describe an example of K* in practice from their perspective and help us answer the questions:

    1. 1. What do you mean by (this process)?
    2. 2. Why is it important?  What are the sorts of impacts you can have?
    3. 3. What are the elements of best practice?
  • Linkage and exchange (events, networks, partnerships)

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  • It is often said that the best communication happens face to face but this is often simply not possible.  As we try to improve our understanding of what works in other countries and other sectors so that we don’t continually reinvent the wheel; what are the relative merits of events, networks, partnerships and other forms of linkage & exchange mechanisms?   What are the ground rules for running these sorts of processes, what are the resource costs and what impacts do they have?

  • Moderator: Nicole Arbour - Team Lead, Science & Innovation Network, British High Commission (UK)
  • Case Study Presenter: Amanda Cooper - KNAER Program Manager, Knowledge Network for Applied Education Research (KNAER) (Canada) [Download case study]
    
  • Case Study Presenter: Andrew Clappison - Communications Manager, CommsConsult Ltd (UK) [Download case study]
  • Commentator: Catherine Fisher - Capacity Support Coordinator, Institute of Development Studies (UK) [Download case study]

  • Translation [Top of page]

     

  • In an increasingly interconnected world we still operate in silos: working in our familiar sectors or countries and often building up bodies of knowledge that are context specific and have developed their own languages.  What do we need to do to ensure that others can profit from our experience—do we need to focus much more on developing a common language?  Or is this impossible given the contextual nature of much of what K* practitioners do? 

  • Moderator: Barbara Marshall - Surveillance Epidemiologist, Public Health Agency of Canada (Canada)
    
  • Case Study Presenter: Mayada Elsabbagh - Knowledge Translation Manager, Neurodevnet and Professor, McGill University (Canada) [Download case study]
    
  • Case Study Presenter: Nyokabi Musilla - Research and Knowledge Translation Scientist, African Institute for Development Policy (Kenya) [Download case study]
    
  • Commentator: Jacqueline Tetroe - Senior Advisor, Canadian Institutes for Health Research (Canada)

  • Data/knowledge management [Top of page]

     

  • With the internet-fuelled explosion of accessible knowledge, managing and storing it systematically has never been more important.  What are the cutting-edge solutions to data and knowledge management that K* workers need to be aware of and what sorts of impacts could they have on their work?  How can we continue to profit from what is being done in other sectors and other countries?

  • Moderator: Jon Gregson - Head of Knowledge Services, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex (United Kingdom)
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    Case Study Presenter: Ingo Peters - President, Domingo Informatics and Associate, Knowledge Mobilization Works (Canada) [Download case study]
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    Case Study Presenter: Andrew Dansie - Fellow, Freshwater Programme UNU-INWEH (United Nations) [Download case study]
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    Commentator: Gabriel Accasina - Director Knowledge Management, UNDP (United Nations)
    

  • Transfer [Top of page]

     

  • The processes of communicating knowledge to others are increasingly well researched, but what is happening in practice?  Where are the exciting new developments in terms of reaching the underprivileged, the public or those who are traditionally hard to engage?  What can we see coming over the horizon and what might this mean for K*?

  • Moderator: Gerd Schonwalder - Director, Policy and Planning, IDRC (Canada)
    
  • Case Study Presenter: Charles Dhewa - Managing Director, Knowledge Transfer Africa (Zimbabwe) [Download case study]
  • Case Study Presenter: Sarah Morton, Co-Director (Knowledge Exchange), Centre for Research on Families and Relationships and Scottish School for Public Health Research [Download case study]
  • Commentator: John Holmes - Senior Research Fellow, University of Oxford (United Kingdom)
• Other: Dianne Russell
  • Open spaces

     

  • A key feature of the K* summit will be the emphasis on interaction between participants so are proposing two open space-type sessions:

     

  • Marketplace [Top of page]

     

  • We are keen to showcase some of our delegates’ work to this global audience.  This highly interactive and fast-paced session will consist of a series of short roundtables so that participants can learn from as wide a range of experiences as possible.  The marketplace will encourage participants to move between tables, with 5 minutes listening to brief presentations and up to 10 minutes of discussion and knowledge exchange.  Timing depends entirely on how many people want to present. 

     

  • All templates received -- whether presented in person or not -- will be displayed and help to augment the Green Paper. Download the template, or see an example of how it could be filled in.
  • DOWNLOAD all Marketplace templates (one pdf file)

  • Open space [Top of page]

     

  • This session will provide a platform for delegates to discuss their top two topics along with any topics or areas that they want to follow up on, continue discussions from previous sessions or learn about an area of K* that they are unfamiliar with, for example.  Groups will be formed according to the major areas of focus that have been identified at the start of the session, to be led by a facilitator accompanied by a rapporteur.