Research, policy and knowledge flows in education: what counts in knowledge mobilisation?

'Knowledge transfer' has become established as shorthand for a wide variety of activities linking the production of academic knowledge to the potential use of such knowledge in non-academic environments. While welcoming the attention now being paid to non-academic applications of social research, we contend that terms such as knowledge transfer (and its subordinate sibling, knowledge translation) misrepresent the tasks that they seek to support. By articulating the complex and contested nature of applied social research, and then highlighting the social and contextual complexities of its use, we can see that other terms may serve us better. Following from this analysis, we suggest that 'knowledge interaction' might more appropriately describe the messy engagement of multiple players with diverse sources of knowledge, and that 'knowledge intermediation' might begin to articulate some of the managed processes by which knowledge interaction can be promoted. While it might be hard to shift the terminology of knowledge transfer in the short term, awareness of its shortcomings can enhance understanding about how social research can have wider impacts.

The field of knowledge mobilisation (KM) addresses the multiple ways in which stronger connections can be made between research, policy and practice. This paper reviews the current situation around knowledge mobilisation in education. It addresses changing understandings of KM, considers some of the main issues in conducting empirical research in the field, and looks at the state of activity to promote and increase KM, offering commentary and suggestions in each area.