Mobilizing Bishop’s University Knowledge in Partnership with The Conversation Thanks to the RESEARCH SUPPORT FUND

The Research Support Fund (RSF) of the Government of Canada is a program that provides funds to cover a portion of the costs associated with managing the research funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). Research Support Fund grants are based on the funding received by researchers from the three federal agencies in the three most recent years for which data are available. One major objective of the RSF is to help promote knowledge mobilization, the act of transforming knowledge into action. Bishop’s University is committed to knowledge mobilization, which is reflected in our Research Strategic Plan. Bishop’s student and faculty researchers contribute and must continue to contribute to the generation of new knowledge, to mobilizing this knowledge to relevant community partners and users of the research and, in doing so, contribute to innovation and economic development of the region, province and country.

Funds from the RSF are helping Bishop’s University increase the impact of our research through a membership in The Conversation Canada. Launched in 2017, The Conversation Canada/La Conversation Canada is a daily independent online source of news and views, from the academic and research community, delivering analysis and explanatory journalism directly to the public. To be published by The Conversation, you must be currently employed as a researcher or academic with a university or university-affiliated research institution. Professional editors work with academics and researchers to make their knowledge accessible and free to a wider public. In 2021, more than 500 media outlets around the world republished The Conversation Canada articles in Canada and beyond. Publishing in The Conversation often leads to further outreach, such as providing research expertise to media outlets to comment on current events.

Since 2018, Bishop’s University researchers have published 42 articles with The Conversation. The reach of these articles extended to more than 800,000 views – an average of more than 19,000 views per article. All authors have access to an analytics dashboard that illustrates the impact of their articles, an invaluable tool to demonstrate knowledge mobilization activities, an increasingly important element in grant applications. On his experience publishing with The Conversation, Dr. David Webster of the Department of History and Global Studies has this to say: I have had thousands of reads and lots of engagement with my research through The Conversation. It offers a splendid chance to reach the public and excellent editing help. In the age of paywalls, The Conversation is a terrific example of opening access to research findings.

Interested in publishing with The Conversation? On April 6, 2022, at noon, come and meet Editor-in-Chief Scott White who will explain the mission of The Conversation Canada, offer some background on how it helps academics with knowledge mobilization and give some tips on how to pitch a really great story idea. This is an interactive workshop where participants are encouraged to bring story ideas to discuss. No registration required: Click here to join the meeting