A story of quid pro quo knowledge transfer

This research project (undertaken as part of a PhD thesis) exemplifies a proposed model for initiating and fostering knowledge transfer in local community health and social care services. The project stemmed from me contacting local service providers and commissioners (within one local authority in the South of England) with a view to establishing a quid pro quo relationship. In return for the opportunity to research how service users and providers experienced the transition to the ‘new age’ of social inclusion services (see research abstract below), I undertook a mixed methods independent evaluation of the current provision. The audit incorporated a formal internal report, with recommendations for practice, which has since been used to help restructure the social inclusion service. The report then formed the basis for a recently submitted research paper highlighting the practical, ethical and theoretical issues that emerge when translating contemporary social inclusion policy into practice.

My presentation will begin by contextualising the project in terms of research aims and how initial community links were established. I will then briefly summarise the methodology, main research findings and research impact. I will finish by outlining my recent efforts to initiate a similar impact model local to UEL, and by opening up for discussion the opportunities for, and barriers to, extending this type of knowledge transfer initiative.