The National Institute for Health and Care Research’s (NIHR) use of the term ‘knowledge mobilisation’ is not new, as illustrated by their Knowledge Mobilisation Fellowship Scheme launched in 2012. However, as indicated by the national Research Design Service’s blog on Getting Knowledge Mobilisation Embedded in Research as well as NIHR’s recent webinar on knowledge mobilisation, the term has gained more prominence over the last couple of years.

This growing prominence in part reflects the creation of the NIHR Centre for Engagement and Dissemination (CED) which brings together two aspects of the NIHR mission:

  1. championing effective public involvement and engagement
  2. supporting dissemination and knowledge mobilisation.

It is in light of these developments that this blog considers the relationship between knowledge mobilisation and public involvement. Moreover, it aims to draw attention to the opportunities for enhancing the ways in which public involvement is commonly practiced and the role it plays in mobilising knowledge.

So, what is knowledge mobilisation?

Put simply, knowledge mobilisation is the process of moving knowledge into practice. This process is not merely confined to ‘dissemination’ and ‘implementation’, but rather traverses the various phases of creating and utilising knowledge. For instance, activities such as involving stakeholders in research priority setting or involving service users in the co-creation of interventions can be thought of as knowledge mobilisation because they are focused on making research relevant and useable.

Knowledge mobilisation and public involvement – long-time bedfellows?

If we look at how NIHR has historically promoted public involvement, we can see how the logics of public involvement and knowledge mobilisation have long been articulated together. For instance, on p34 in Best Research for Best Health (the policy document that paved the way for the NIHR), public involvement is promoted as a way to make ‘research that is more relevant to people’s needs and concerns, more reliable and more likely to be put into practice’.

This connection between public involvement and knowledge mobilisation is further revealed in the ways in which NIHR has encouraged researchers to involve members of the public throughout the various phases of creating and utilising knowledge. For instance, the 2012 edition of NIHR INVOLVE’s briefing notes for researchers outlines how public involvement can be embedded in all stages of a ‘research cycle’ that spans from ‘identifying and prioritising’ through to ‘implementing’.

New opportunities?

While public involvement and knowledge mobilisation have long been connected, NIHR’s more recent vocalisation of knowledge mobilisation is opening up opportunities to advance public involvement practices and the role they play in mobilising knowledge.

One key opportunity is the ability to overcome a risk that can characterise common forms of public involvement such as public advisory groups: that is, the voices of public contributors remaining ‘siloed’ and not being brought into active dialogue with the voices of other stakeholders. As Langley, Wolstenhome and Cooke (2018) show, knowledge mobilisation places an emphasis on valuing and bringing together the diverse knowledges of different stakeholders. In this way, a heightened focus on knowledge mobilisation could stimulate collective modes of involvement where public contributors not only actively work with researchers but also other stakeholders.

A second key opportunity is the possibility of embedding public involvement throughout the various phases of creating and utilising knowledge. While guidance such as the previously-mentioned NIHR INVOLVE briefing notes for researchers promotes public involvement in relation to the implementation of research, in practice public involvement is more prominent in the earlier phases of the knowledge creation and utilisation process (such as research priority setting and designing and undertaking research).

An enhanced focus on knowledge mobilisation could change this as it compels us to think of ways of involving public contributors in the communication and actioning of knowledge. For example, and as Burton and Rycroft-Malone (2015) suggest, public contributors could potentially take on the role of ‘knowledge brokers’ who help to facilitate the movement of knowledge by building links between researchers and end-users.

Further reading

Burton, C., & Rycroft-Malone, J. (2015). An untapped resource: Patient and public involvement in implementation: Comment on” Knowledge mobilization in healthcare organizations: a view from the resource-based view of the firm”. International Journal of Health Policy and Management, 4(12), 845

Davies, H. T., Powell, A. E., & Nutley, S. M. (2015). Mobilising knowledge to improve UK health care: learning from other countries and other sectors–a multimethod mapping study

Langley, J., Wolstenholme, D., & Cooke, J. (2018). ‘Collective making’ as knowledge mobilisation: the contribution of participatory design in the co-creation of knowledge in healthcare. BMC health services research, 18(1), 1-10

Knowles, S. E., Allen, D., Donnelly, A., Flynn, J., Gallacher, K., Lewis, A., … & Drinkwater, J. (2021). More than a method: trusting relationships, productive tensions, and two-way learning as mechanisms of authentic co-production. Research involvement and engagement, 7(1), 1-14

Rycroft-Malone, J., Burton, C., Wilkinson, J. E., Harvey, G., McCormack, B., Baker, R., … & Williams, L. (2015). Collective action for knowledge mobilisation: a realist evaluation of the collaborations for leadership in applied Health Research and care. Health services and delivery research, 3(44).