The function and effectiveness of knowledge brokers in health-related settings

"As knowledge managers, linkage agents, and capacity builders, KBs performed many and varied tasks to transfer and exchange information across health-related stakeholders, settings, and sectors. How effectively they fulfilled their role in facilitating KT processes is unclear; further rigourous research is required to answer this question and discern the potential impact of KBs on education, practice, and policy."

Exploring the function and effectiveness of knowledge brokers as facilitators of knowledge translation in health-related settings: a systematic review and thematic analysis
CC Bornbaum, K Kornas, L Peirson, LC Rosella
Implementation Science, 2015, 10:162

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Better Knowledge, Better Care animations

NHS Improving Quality has produced a set of animations to help people understand what is meant to have 'better knowledge' in health care. More details are available here, and the four animations are:

• What is knowledge?
• Knowledge through the ages
• Introducing knowledge management.
• Better knowledge, better care.

How do third sector organisations use research and other knowledge?

"Third sector organisations (TSOs) are a well-established component of health care provision in the UK’s NHS and other health systems, but little is known about how they use research and other forms of knowledge in their work."

How do third sector organisations use research and other knowledge? A systematic scoping review
R Hardwick, R Anderson, C Cooper
Implementation Science, 2015, 10:84

Read more here.

Intra-Action Report: A dynamic tool for emergency managers and policymakers

"In contrast to an After-Action Report, which focuses on recently completed response and recovery for application to a future incident, the IAR is intended for dynamic use to inform and guide ongoing response and recovery efforts, capturing experiences and learning and applying lessons during an emergency that unfolds over a protracted time frame (that is, the IAR is not applicable to an incident for which response requires only hours or days)."

Intra-Action Report: A dynamic tool for emergency managers and policymakers: A proof of concept and illustrative application to the 2014-2015 Ebola Crisis
M Chamberlin, A Okunogbe, M Moore, M Abir
RAND Corporation
February 2015

Read more here.

Better together: sharing learning to improve care

"This report follows an evaluation of NHS Kidney Care Learning Networks, and highlights good practice and learning with regard to what worked well within the learning networks, and why."

Better together: sharing learning to improve care
M Barclay
NHS Kidney Care
December 2012

Read more here.

Advancing the science and practice of scale-up and spread in health

"Conference attendees identified and prioritized five recommendations (and corresponding sub-recommendations) for advancing scale-up and spread in health: increase awareness, facilitate information exchange, develop new methods, apply new approaches for evaluation, and expand capacity."

A stakeholder-driven agenda for advancing the science and practice of scale-up and spread in health
WE Norton, CJ McCannon, MW Schall, BS Mittman
Implementation Science, 2012, 7:118

Read more here.

Cumbria Partnership Journal of Research, Practice and Learning

The Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust publishes an academic journal, the Cumbria Partnership Journal of Research, Practice and Learning, in both print and electronic format. The electronic version is freely available on their website at this link:

The content is grouped under the following headings:

• Research reports
• Education and learning
• Quality/organisational change
• Reflective practice/case studies

The way forward: strategic clinical networks

"Combining the experience of clinicians, the input of patients and the organisational vision of NHS staff clinical networks have supported and improved the way we deliver care to patients in distinct areas, delivering true integration across primary, secondary and often tertiary care."

The way forward: strategic clinical networks
NHS Commissioning Board
July 2012

Read more here.

Knowledge management practices and healthcare delivery

"Being a knowledge driven process, healthcare delivery provides opportunity to incorporate knowledge management practices to improve processes."

Knowledge management practices and healthcare delivery: a contingency framework
P Bordoloi, N Islam
Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management, 2012, 10(1)

Read more here.

Research Impact Journal Club

This space is designed to make KMb [Knowledge Mobilization] research more accessible to KMb practitioners.

Read more here.

Communities of practice in health

"Communities of Practice (CoPs) are promoted in the healthcare sector as a means of generating and sharing knowledge and improving organisational performance."


How and why are communities of practice established in the healthcare sector? A systematic review of the literature
G Ranmuthugala, JJ Plumb, FC Cunningham, A Georgiou, JI Westbrook, J Braithwaite
BMC Health Servics Research, 2011, 11:273

Read more here.

Sharing commissioning experiences

"The Casebook series works on the principle of ‘caveat lector’ - to encourage routine sharing of work there is no formal peer review, so readers should use their own judgement when interpreting and applying work to their own situation.

If you would like to add to this Casebook series please contact us via our website “Meet the team” page." 

The Right Care Casebook Series: Volume 1
Public Health Commissioning Network
September 2011

Read more here.

Uncovering tacit knowledge

"This pilot demonstrated that front-line public health workers draw upon both tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge in their everyday lived reality."

Uncovering tacit knowledge: a pilot study to broaden the concept of knowledge in knowledge translation
AR Kothari, JJ Bickford, N Edwards, MJ Dobbins, M Meyer
BMC Health Services Research, 2011, 11:198

Read more here.

Lessons from the business sector for successful knowledge management in health care

"Only recently has knowledge management been receiving attention by the health care sector, in part due to the ever growing amount of information that health care practitioners must handle."

Lessons from the business sector for successful knowledge management in health care: a systematic review
A Kothari, N Hovanec, R Hastie, S Sibbald
BMC Health Services Research, 2011, 11:173

Read more here.