Balancing exploration and exploitation in transferring research into practice: a comparison of five knowledge translation entity archetypes
نویسندگان
چکیده
BACKGROUND Translating knowledge from research into clinical practice has emerged as a practice of increasing importance. This has led to the creation of new organizational entities designed to bridge knowledge between research and practice. Within the UK, the Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) have been introduced to ensure that emphasis is placed in ensuring research is more effectively translated and implemented in clinical practice. Knowledge translation (KT) can be accomplished in various ways and is affected by the structures, activities, and coordination practices of organizations. We draw on concepts in the innovation literature--namely exploration, exploitation, and ambidexterity--to examine these structures and activities as well as the ensuing tensions between research and implementation. METHODS Using a qualitative research approach, the study was based on 106 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with the directors, theme leads and managers, key professionals involved in research and implementation in nine CLAHRCs. Data was also collected from intensive focus group workshops. RESULTS In this article we develop five archetypes for organizing KT. The results show how the various CLAHRC entities work through partnerships to create explorative research and deliver exploitative implementation. The different archetypes highlight a range of structures that can achieve ambidextrous balance as they organize activity and coordinate practice on a continuum of exploration and exploitation. CONCLUSION This work suggests that KT entities aim to reach their goals through a balance between exploration and exploitation in the support of generating new research and ensuring knowledge implementation. We highlight different organizational archetypes that support various ways to maintain ambidexterity, where both exploration and exploitation are supported in an attempt to narrow the knowledge gaps. The KT entity archetypes offer insights on strategies in structuring collaboration to facilitate an effective balance of exploration and exploitation learning in the KT process.
منابع مشابه
Translating Evidence into Healthcare Policy and Practice: Single Versus Multi-Faceted Implementation Strategies – Is There a Simple Answer to a Complex Question?
How best to achieve the translation of research evidence into routine policy and practice remains an enduring challenge in health systems across the world. The complexities associated with changing behaviour at an individual, team, organizational and system level have led many academics to conclude that tailored, multifaceted strategies provide the most effective approach to knowledge translati...
متن کاملUsing Complexity to Simplify Knowledge Translation; Comment on “Using Complexity and Network Concepts to Inform Healthcare Knowledge Translation”
Putting health theories, research and knowledge into practice is a challenge referred to as the knowledge-toaction gap. Knowledge translation (KT), and its related concepts of knowledge mobilization, implementation science and research impact, emerged to mitigate this gap. While the social interaction view of KT has gained currency, scholars have not easily made a link between KT and the concep...
متن کاملTRANSLATING CULTURAL SIGNS IN CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOKS
Every happening in one's life may be regarded by her/him as a leading phenomenon to other happenings. This leading phenomenon which can anticipate the subsequent happenings is called SIGN. Signs are unique for every group of human being and hence culture-specific. This is even true for every individual. Signs permeate in every aspect of universe. Among these fields, children's literature is stu...
متن کاملUsing Complexity and Network Concepts to Inform Healthcare Knowledge Translation
Many representations of the movement of healthcare knowledge through society exist, and multiple models for the translation of evidence into policy and practice have been articulated. Most are linear or cyclical and very few come close to reflecting the dense and intricate relationships, systems and politics of organizations and the processes required to enact sustainable improvements. We illus...
متن کاملHealth Services Research Spending and Healthcare System Impact; Comment on “Public Spending on Health Service and Policy Research in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States: A Modest Proposal”
The challenges associated with translating health services and policy research (HSPR) evidence into practice are many and long-standing. Indeed, those challenges have themselves spawned new areas of research, including knowledge translation and implementation science. These sub-disciplines have increased our understanding of the critical success factors associated with the uptake of research ev...
متن کامل