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#UKKMbF2025

About the Forum

The UK Knowledge Mobilisation Forum is an annual event for all those with a passion for ensuring that knowledge makes a positive difference to society. We are delighted to welcome you to our 2025 Forum, which is set to be a virtual extravaganza! To keep our small friendly feel, we have built-in opportunity for online networking. All our structured sessions are interactive, so be prepared to join in. We don’t plan to record anything, as the ethos of the forum is about participation and interaction.

The forum brings together practitioners, researchers, students, administrators and public representatives who are engaged in the art and science of sharing knowledge and ensuring that it can be used; and is designed as a space for learning and reflection, providing an opportunity for sharing knowledge, experiences and methods, and access to some of the most up-to-date thinking and practice in the field.

…and if you’re wondering what we mean by ‘knowledge’ – we are as interested in practical know-how, skills and experience as in research findings or evaluation data.

We are really excited to have keynote speakers Davide Nicolini and Catherine-Rose Stocks-Rankin. Our programme allows plenty of time to share our experience and stories and plan our future tales. There will be lots of opportunities to network, virtually wander around our interactive knowledge fayre demonstrations and discussions, question and engage with our presenters, be creative and work collaboratively.

Email: ukkmbforum@gmail.com
Remember the hashtag: #UKKMbF2025

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Monday 28th April 11.30 to 14:00

Location: Zoom (available to ticket holders via the password protected website that we will share with you shortly before the event)

Welcome to the Forum and Keynote Speaker

11.30am-12pm Online registration.

Please arrive between 11.30am to 12pm to register your attendance and chat with other delegates.

12pm Welcome to the Forum

12.30pm Keynote with Davide Nicolini

Tuesday 29th April 12:00

Location: Zoom

Knowledge fayres

You will be allocated to a small group at the start of the session. Stallholders will rotate around the groups, spending 15 minutes with each group. This way you will get the chance to hear from everyone!

We conclude with optional breakout rooms for people to go back and continue discussions.

Wednesday 30th April 2025 12:00

Location Google Drive and Zoom (ticket holders will find the link to the Google Drive on the password protected website sent shortly before the event)

Interactive Posters

From Monday 14:00 to Wednesday 10:00: posters are available to view and comment on Google Drive. Please leave comments, observations and questions for each poster contributor using the add comment function.

12:00-13:00 Plenary discussions with poster contributors

Capacity Building
Building the capacity for engaging with research in older adult social care settings
Supporting local authorities to use insight from rapid evidence searches to inform decision making: A case study from the Health Determinants Research Collaboration North Yorkshire
Support for health knowledge and library specialists mobilising knowledge

Engagement, collaboration, co-production, creative dissemination
Building knowledge and understanding of the intersection of race and disability in accessing pediatric rehabilitation services
Digital Storytelling for Research
Use of bioaerosol stakeholder mapping and engagement for the development of future strategy: A UK perspective

Evaluation
Understanding the who, why and how of implementing strategic long-term regional academic-policy engagement in London
Maximising impact of a multi-partner KMb platform – a planning and learning framework

13:05-13:50 Themed group discussions

Thursday 1st May 2025 12:00

Location: Zoom

Knowledge fayres

You will be allocated to a small group at the start of the session. Stall holders will rotate around the groups, spending 15 minutes with each group. This way you will get the chance to hear from everyone!
We conclude with optional breakout rooms for people to go back and continue discussions.

• Creating and testing visual metaphors to enable critical reflection and dialogue on knowledge mobilisation challenges around health and wider inequalities
• ‘There is something missing out there’: Using performative portraiture for knowledge mobilisation through a case study
• Embedded Impact Research at the Wales Centre for Public Policy
• Accentuating the negative – what ISN’T knowledge mobilisation?
• Hidden Talents: Understanding core competencies of knowledge mobilisers working in academic-policy engagement
• Role-Playing the Risks and Rewards of Academic-Policy Engagement

Friday 2nd May 12:00

Location: Zoom

12:00 Keynote Speaker – Catherine-Rose Stocks-Rankin
13:30 Closing reflections

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Our Keynote Speakers

Davide Nicolini is Professor of Organization Studies at Warwick Business School, where he co-directs the PhD programme, leads the IKON Research Centre, and coordinates the Practice, Process and Institution Research Programme. His current research focuses on developing the practice-based approach and its application to shed new light on phenomena such as organizational attention, expertise, managerial knowing, collaboration, safety, and technological innovation in organizations. Over the years, he has used these approaches to study healthcare organizations, managerial work, construction sites, factories, public organizations, cybersecurity, pharmacies, scientific labs, and investment ecosystems. Davide’s talk will revisit the relationship between academic theory and work practices in view of some recent and not-so-recent developments in praxeological thinking, suggesting that while practitioners can benefit from access to “theory,” the “theory” they need may be different from that produced by current academic practices and a praxeological orientation invites us to expand what counts as academic “theory” and re-think the relationship between theory, practice, theory-makers and practitioners.

Catherine-Rose Stocks-Rankin is a knowledge mobiliser and has worked across different areas of policy and practice, including community development, health, social care, youth justice, children and family services and public health. Her research brings together an ethics of care and the sociology of knowledge. She is also an experienced evaluator using creative methods and contribution analysis.

At her heart, Catherine-Rose is a carer – someone who looks to the ways we can repair and heal. She was a young carer and a care worker. Then she studied systems of care. Now, she works to repair the systems of support we have around us. As the Co-Director of the Scottish Policy & Research Exchange, Catherine-Rose is focused on supporting just and equitable governance in Scotland by connecting decision makers with a diversity of research about the problems we face. As the Co-Chair of Social Action Inquiry Scotland, Catherine-Rose supported a four-year learning process about how change happens when it is led directly by communities.

Knowledge Fayres

Value what you have: the Using Evidence Resources Guide
“Value what you have when you have it.” This is a good maxim for knowledge as there is a danger that we keep ‘adding’ rather than ‘valuing’ what has already been contributed. We have developed the Using Evidence Resources Guide (https://insightcollective.socialcare.wales/our-work/coaching-and-advice/developing-evidence-enriched-practice-deep/the-using-evidence-resource-guide) to help navigate existing resources about doing research and evaluations. This knowledge fayre session will introduce the guide and how it was developed through a co-productive approach. It will discuss the practicalities of keeping the guide engaging and relevant. It will also consider evaluation opportunities and how a co-production approach could be continued.

Gill Toms, Bangor University

Accentuating the negative – what ISN’T knowledge mobilisation?
Come along and explore knowledge mobilisation with me focusing on what it isn’t. This interactive session uses real-world examples and boundary cases to challenge assumptions, refine understanding, and spark discussion about what makes 1a ‘good’ KMb activity.

Lucy Rycroft-Smith, University of Cambridge

Knowledge mobilisation and distributed leadership: lessons learnt from implementing a digital app to support people with low back pain in the NHS
Knowledge mobilisation and implementing innovations are rewarding but can be challenging. In this knowledge fayre we encourage discussion around how distributed leadership can play an important part in achieving success. We will use our own experience of implementing an evidence-based app for people with low back pain to contribute to the discussion. Knowledge Fayre participants will be encouraged to share their views and experiences.

Tina Hadley-Barrows, Benjamin Jeeves, Dominic Ellington, Christian Jensen, Soren Kleberg, Jane Southam, Deborah Hickson.
Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, Impact Accelerator Keele University, SelfBack.

Role-Playing the Risks and Rewards of Academic-Policy Engagement
What is risky about academic-policy engagement – and for whom? This interactive presentation explores different types of risks for researchers, knowledge mobilisers, professional services staff, policymakers, and other actors involved in the practice of academic-policy engagement. Taking a futures thinking approach, we will facilitate a role-playing exercise that invites participants to discuss key considerations, best practice, and experiential advice around negotiating and managing risk, from a variety of perspectives.

Sinéad Murphy and Olivia Stevenson, University College London Public Policy

Creating a collaborative license to operate: operationalising and implementing collaborative approaches to academic-policy engagement
This session will share key insights from the CAPE project on the why and what of collaboration in academic-policy engagement and will offer practical strategies for how to make collaboration work. It will be highly interactive, deploying a hypothetical academic-policy engagement scenario with participants to test a practice-based toolkit on collaborative project scoping. Participants will share their own knowledge and gain actionable insights to operationalise collaboration, as well as to building a wider network of those interested in collaborative strategies.

Sarah Chaytor and Olivia Stevenson, University College London Public Policy

Embedded Impact Research at the Wales Centre for Public Policy
The Wales Centre for Public Policy is a knowledge brokering organisation based at Cardiff University. To better understand and capture the impact of our work we have recently introduced an Embedded Impact Researcher to support project teams working on Welsh Government and public services projects in conducting a range of impact evaluation activities including stakeholder analysis, impact mapping, reflective logs, stakeholder interviews, and reflection sessions. This session will give you an insight into the development of this role, our reflections on its benefits and challenges, and an opportunity to discuss how it may relate to your own knowledge brokering work.

Findlay Smith and Hannah Durrant, Wales Centre for Public Policy, Cardiff University.

Creating and testing visual metaphors to enable critical reflection and dialogue on knowledge mobilisation challenges around health and wider inequalities
Do we have shared diagnosis of what is holding us back in our responses to complex social issues like health and wider inequalities? Do we a shared sense of what needs to change to realise more creative and ambitious action on inequality? Come along to this knowledge fayre to hear about a work-in-progress booklet of visual metaphors that have been designed specifically to support these kinds of conversations, and to help in both unlearning narrow and limited ways of thinking and working, and in exploring the value and application of emerging alternatives.

Naoimh McMahon, Lancaster University

‘There is something missing out there’: Using performative portraiture for knowledge mobilisation through a case study on what it is like to be diagnosed with dementia and plan for the future
This knowledge fayre is suitable for those who are interested in Arts-Based Research Methodologies and Dementia and Future (Anticipatory) Care Planning. We will showcase the use of Performative Portraiture as a research methodology to create an easier-to-access, non-textual research output for wider audiences. The session begins with the introduction of the Performative Portraiture approach. This is followed by Dave’s story, a showcase of a dementia video monologue, based on the collective experiences of 13 people living with dementia, narrating their daily life challenges. The session finishes with the step-by-step performative portraiture creation process and discussion, where we will support you throughout.

Dr Edgar Rodriguez-Dorans, University of Edinburgh and Dr Tharin Phenwan University of Dundee

How can knowledge worlds collide for good? Reflecting on epistemic friction and knowledge (in)justices in co-design processes
We all agree that co-design processes in policy, research and practice should include diverse stakeholder perspectives. When different knowledge worlds collide, stakeholders will ideally be open to contrasting viewpoints resulting in positive forward action. But there is also a chance that these spaces reinforce epistemic injustices, where more powerful knowledge worlds continue to dominate. How, then, can we ensure that epistemic frictions are productive rather than detrimental? In this session, we will use a case example of epistemic frictions arising between health and social care stakeholders engaged in policy co-design as a jumping off point for discussion and reflection.

Jenna P Breckenridge, University of Dundee

Equipping Local Authority Staff with Research Skills
Addressing and prioritising knowledge mobilisation is the key to increasing the impact that research can have. It is important for researchers to consider knowledge mobilisation throughout their research process, however it can also be championed from another direction. Research around wider determinants of health often leads to recommendations and suggestions that could be enacted by local authorities in the UK. However, getting this information to the right people who can make change is challenging. That’s where Leicestershire HDRC is making a difference. We are equipping our local authority staff to access, understand and apply research in their daily working. We are doing this in a systematic way, we started by conducting a survey of staff, to identify current research skills and understanding and to highlight areas that needed further development. We used the results of this survey to design a staff research conference, held in November 2024, where we hosted seminars, poster presentations and research advice stations for all local authority staff to attend. Since this event, we have designed a training programme for this upcoming year with topics identified by staff members via our skills survey and through an evaluation survey of the conference. We are engaging our staff to increase their research literacy and skills, allowing research to be used more commonly in our local authority setting and to ensure smoother knowledge mobilisation.

Sarah Mcneill and Stewart Smith, Health Determinants Research Collaboration, Leicestershire County Council

Hidden Talents: Understanding core competencies of knowledge mobilisers working in academic-policy engagement
Knowledge mobilisation is crucial in strengthening the interface between academic research and public policy. However, knowledge mobiliser roles and competencies are poorly understood and frequently overlooked within universities. We present 5 core competencies for knowledge mobilisation in academic-policy engagement, developed from analysis of 100+ job descriptions and 21 in-depth interviews, alongside insights from our own practical experience. These illustrate the considerable complexity of knowledge mobiliser roles. We invite participants to make their own suggestions on core knowledge mobilisation competencies and on how to support improved recognition of their importance in enhancing evidence use in policymaking.

Jonathan Breckon, Sarah Chaytor, Alison Clark, Hannah Durrant, Olivia Stevenson.
Breckon Consulting, Insights North East, UCL, Wales Centre for Public Policy

Interactive Posters

Building knowledge and understanding of the intersection of race and disability in accessing paediatric rehabilitation services
This poster showcases co-production tactics that transferred decision-making power from the researchers to people with lived experience to enhance the uptake and dissemination of the survey. Empathy mapping was used to co-create archetypes that were referenced when reviewing, selecting, and confirming demographic and inclusion questions. The advocates developed two archetypes to provide a universal, ‘good-for-all’ lens on the opportunities and challenges racialized families may encounter when completing the survey.

Dr. Taryn Eickmeier, Dr. Meghann Lloyd, Maritza Basaran, Janicka Auguste, Anagha Sumant, Sandi Graham, Danielle Parris, Ahching Tseng, Sam Micieli
Grandview Kids, Ontario Tech

Use of bioaerosol stakeholder mapping and engagement for the development of future strategy: A UK perspective
Bioaerosols is an area overlapping multiple disciplines and are studied by several Health Protection Research Units. We present an overview of the stakeholder mapping exercise that we have undertaken as a collaborative exercise with several academic partners, research networks and a government agency. There are few examples of stakeholder mapping in the existing scientific literature of direct application to research fields. I will share data from a survey and outcomes from workshops, which included discussions on missing stakeholders, skills and knowledge gaps, the uses of stakeholder mapping, and how to facilitate skills sharing, collaboration and effective progress in the future.

Kerry A Broom, Emma-Jane Goode, Joshua Vande Hey, and Karen Exley, Emma Marczylo, Philippa Douglas
UK Health Security Agency, University of Leicester, Imperial College London.

Building the capacity for engaging with research in older adult social care settings
We will share the multiple strands of activity that we are undertaking to facilitate research capacity building for those working in and with and receiving services in older adult social care. The knowledge mobilisation activities include supporting people with little research knowledge to engage with research knowledge, share learning and ignite an interest about research in others. We will share our learning from the mid-point of this project and invite discussion of our experience to date and help inform this work in the future.

Jo Day, Alice Garrood, Rohini Terry, Vicki Goodwin, PenARC, University of Exeter

Digital Storytelling for Research
This interactive poster will provide an overview of a Health Research Board (HRB)-funded knowledge translation project incorporating the elements of storytelling and digital media to improve understanding and awareness of the associated research. The project will outline the key steps taken, lessons learned and planned evaluation activities to help illustrate how creativity and technology can be leveraged in knowledge translation activities for research.

Susan Calnan and Renira Narrandes, University College Cork.

Understanding the who, why and how of implementing strategic long-term regional academic-policy engagement in London
Understanding the who, why and how of implementing strategic long-term regional academic-policy engagement in London – from the lived experiences of academic researchers, policy professionals and knowledge brokers.

Sarah Jasim, NIHR ARC North Thames, London School of Economics

Supporting local authorities to use insight from rapid evidence searches to inform decision making : A case study from the Health Determinants Research Collaboration North Yorkshire
The Health Determinants Research Collaboration North Yorkshire supports evidence-informed decision making in local government to help reduce health inequalities. Public Health staff at North Yorkshire Council identified an increase in the number of overweight reception age children and asked HDRC staff to gather evidence on weight management interventions. A summary report was produced using results from a rapid search for systematic reviews. This informed the Public Health Team’s discussions leading to a shift from parent-focused interventions to delivery through early years settings. Feedback on the report highlighted the value of evidence-informed summaries for decision making in local government.

Jane Deville and Sarah Greenley, University of Hull.

Maximising impact of a multi-partner KMb platform – a planning and learning framework
Starting work with impact in mind can be difficult, but it brings huge benefits for planning, learning and improvement, as well as demonstrating impact. This poster sets out an example of working in this way for a large, multi-partner KMb project. Come and learn about our three phases of work and find out about a practical impact planning approach you can use yourself.

Lupin Battersby, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver and Sarah Morton, Matter of Focus

Support for health knowledge and library specialists mobilising knowledge
What support would be helpful to health knowledge and library specialists (KLSs) as they expand their role to take their place in the broader organisational process of knowledge mobilisation? In financially challenging times, what peer support can be provided within the health and care library community? How can they navigate and influence a sometimes hierarchical and risk averse organisational culture? How can individual KLSs and library teams be developed to take their place as knowledge mobilisers?
This poster will present a snapshot of some answers to the above questions as they have emerged from two workshops with KLSs working in health and care organisations in England.

Ruth Muscat, Peter van der Graaf, Tracy Finch, Mandy Cheetham, Allison Farnworth, Joanne Naughton, Northumbria University