By Anne Craig, Communications Officer

Bridging the gap between ideas and action is the focus of the second annual Knowledge Translation for Global Health Summer Institute at Queen’s University. The conference offers upper-level students, graduate students, researchers and professionals an opportunity to learn about global health and social problems and how best to move evidence into action to improve or solve them.

Co-chair Colleen Davison.

“We cannot ignore the gap between knowledge and action,” says event co-chair Colleen Davison (Public Health Sciences). “Knowledge translation is important in many areas. We need to move apply knowledge towards improving health in vulnerable populations, food security and even service reconstruction in areas of conflict. This workshop will provide the tools for bridging the gap that so often exists between the knowledge of solutions and their implementation.”

Based on feedback following the inaugural conference, the organizers have developed a new two-day option this year that is designed to emphasize skill-building. Participants in the two-day workshop will build competences in such areas as deliberative dialogue, partnership building and message communication.

The original five-day workshop will involve a more comprehensive approach to building knowledge translation understanding through a small group, problem-based learning experience. In addition to attending the skills workshop, students in this option will have opportunities to apply their new skills to a current global health project with the help of an experienced mentor. One of the main goals of the event is to build a supportive community for knowledge translation and mentors who have experience in the field will be available for one-on-one support throughout the week.

As an opportunity for public participation, there is a free public roundtable discussion titled “Knowledge Translation in Context: Lessons from the Poorest Countries to the Richest.” Keynote speakers include Margaret Biggs, the Skelton-Clark Fellow in the School of Policy Studies and former president of the Canadian International Development Agency, and Ian Graham, former vice-president of Knowledge Translation at Canadian Institutes of Health Research and senior scientist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. This event will take place on Tuesday, June 3 from 6:30- 8 pm at the New Medical Building .

The Global Health Summer Institute runs June 2-6 and early bird registration is now open.