Yaffle: Discover Bishop’s New Knowledge Brokering Tool

In Spring 2021, thanks to Research Impact Canada, Bishop’s University was selected to become the first expansion of Yaffle, a powerful knowledge mobilization platform. Developed at Memorial University and launched in 2009, Yaffle is a cloud-based online public engagement tool that serves as a searchable repository of expertise and research projects. It is also a tool for brokering research collaboration opportunities between research institutions, other sectors and the public, as it acts as a window for the public to and from our institution. Any new instances of Yaffle that will be created will be searchable and able to communicate with each other, allowing for inter-university collaboration.

It is thus with great pleasure that the Office of Research and Graduate Studies can now announce the launch of our own instance of Yaffle. Starting December 8, 2021, members of the Bishop’s Community will be able to start exploring Yaffle. Members of the Bishop’s University research community will be invited by internal communications to complete their information for BU Yaffle.

The type of content that you will find in Yaffle includes:

Profiles are where a user’s information resides in the system. Customizable to your liking, it can include research interests, contact information, affiliations, expertise, projects, opportunities, and collaboration. The profiles will be searchable within the platform and can be filtered, making it easy for users to find individuals with expertise in a specific area of interest.

Projects are the activities of the users. Projects may include research, engagement, programs or publications- the sky’s the limit! Projects make the complex work of universities and research institutes available and usable to the public.

Opportunities are where it is open to collaboration. This includes research collaborations, searches for partnerships (academic or community), or ideas for engagement. It is through opportunities that Yaffle connects people and facilitates the co-creation of knowledge.

Networks can be created to form clusters of individuals working around specific topics or areas of interest. It is a way for groups to demonstrate their reach through the people with whom they collaborate and the work that they do.  Users can create content at any time, which will then need to be approved by the admins before it is published to the website.

To help you navigate this new platform, our knowledge brokering intern Salma Amazit is preparing a series of video tutorials that will be available here. We invite you to start exploring the platform, and join Salma on January 19, 12:00 p.m. (link on MyBU – Research Office) for an information and Q&A session on all things Yaffle!