Increasing and Showcasing Knowledge Mobilization Capacity Thanks to the RESEARCH SUPPORT FUND, Research Impact Canada, and Future Skills Canada
 

Increasing and Showcasing Knowledge Mobilization Capacity Thanks to the RESEARCH SUPPORT FUND, Research Impact Canada, and Future Skills Canada

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.

This year, funds from the RSF are helping Bishop’s University increase the impact of our research through a membership in Research Impact Canada. Research Impact Canada (RIC) is a pan-Canadian network of universities committed to maximizing the impact of academic research for the public good in local and global communities. Committed to developing institutional capacities to support creating and assessing impacts of research, scholarship and creative activities, RIC develops and shares best practices, services and tools among their members. Bishop’s involvement with the network will connect us with experts and provide us with education materials and funding to support and grow our institution’s capacity for knowledge mobilization.

With this recent inclusion to the RIC network, Bishop’s was provided an opportunity to support knowledge mobilization among our student population more concretely. Thanks to RIC and Future Skills Canada, Bishop’s is creating a fellowship opportunity for alumni of our unique graduate certificate in knowledge mobilization. This program will offer the awardees the opportunity of working over a five-month period with one of Bishop’s University’s Canada Research Chairs to assist in the mobilization and dissemination of their research. This program will provide an intensive training opportunity for our recent graduates who are transitioning into knowledge mobilization as a profession. They will offer our awardees with an opportunity to advance their applied knowledge mobilization skill set, enhance their portfolio and increase their competitiveness as they move into the knowledge mobilization job market, while enhancing the research impact and visibility of our Canada Research Chairs.

For more information on the RIC – Future Skills – Bishop’s Knowledge Mobilization Fellowships, please visit the Internal Funding Competitions page of our website. Recent graduates of the Knowledge Mobilization Certificate have until September 30, 2020, 16:00 p.m. to apply.

If you are interested in knowledge mobilization, you can visit the website of our graduate certificate. Graduates of this certificate will be appealing to employers such as government, NGOs and healthcare organizations, to name a few, and will have the necessary skills to introduce evidence-base new practices outside of academia.