Three Close Cousins of Knowledge Mobilization that Illuminate the Path to Impact

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How many academics does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

It depends. Are they working with a commonly accepted definition of “lightbulb,” or will they need to agree on one before they can proceed with the task?

If you’ve spent any time in the academy, then you know how easy it is for researchers and administrators to get caught up in defining, and redefining, key concepts.

I experienced this dilemma of definition first-hand when I worked in the field of work-integrated learning (WIL) a few years ago, just as it was coming into its own. Now, I’m watching a similar drama play out in the domain commonly (but not exclusively) known as “knowledge mobilization.”

While precise definitions are important, they are not always as important as we experts think they are. Sometimes the quickest way to build understanding and trust with non-experts, including key stakeholders, is to offer an imperfect comparison. A sentence that begins, “Knowledge mobilization is kinda like…” can provide enough clarity to get collaborators on board and get a project moving.

As I explain knowledge mobilization (KMb) to people outside KMb circles, I often find myself turning to three different “kindalikes”: marketing, persuasive communication, and change management.

While none of these concepts perfectly matches up with the construct of KMb, each of them gives non-experts a glimpse into what KMb is and, more importantly, why it matters. You may find one or more of these close cousins to KMb useful as you engage with your various audiences and bring them on board your projects.

Doing knowledge translation for knowledge translation

“I feel I do a lot of KTing of KT.”

Those words came from an experienced knowledge mobilizer. (I could tell she was experienced because she used the term that’s now passing out of fashion in Canada, “knowledge translation,” rather than “knowledge mobilization.”)

She expressed a sentiment I’ve heard in many similar conversations. One of the toughest parts of being a professional knowledge mobilizer is explaining to colleagues and stakeholders just what it is you do.

For me, the need to “KT KT” feels like déjà vu. When I first worked in WIL, a lot of my time was spent researching, writing, and rewriting definitions of experiential learning and work-integrated learning. Even when Canadian post-secondary educators finally agreed on a standard set of definitions (which you can now read on the website of Cooperative Education and Work-Integrated Learning Canada), I still had to find shortcuts to quickly explain WIL to a new student, a potential employer, or a faculty member.

Examples came to my rescue. Even if an example doesn’t fulfill all the criteria of the ideal definition, it can quickly build shared understanding so that you spend less time discussing and more time doing. For instance, most people new to WIL have some sense of what an internship involves even if they can’t describe the exact features that qualify it as WIL.

In the KMb world, such examples of KMb in practice can also be useful, but the range of possibilities is so broad that a single instance of KMb won’t likely come close to carrying the full meaning of the overall concept. A more helpful approach, I find, is to compare the complex process of KMb to other complex processes that share certain similarities.

The three kindalikes

As a former researcher, I appreciate the need for precise descriptions of abstract concepts. There are some definition hills worth dying on.

At the same time, through my experience in the WIL world, I’ve seen what can happen when the act of defining takes center stage. We can get so caught up in trying to craft the perfect definition that we fall prey to analysis by paralysis.

As an imperfect alternative, I offer the four following concepts as rough analogies to the KMb process. Think of them as ways to invite non-experts into conversation. Once you’ve created that first plank of shared understanding, you can then introduce more sophisticated descriptors as needed.

1. KMb is like marketing in that it raises awareness and sells ideas, with the aim of driving a certain result. Like marketing, KMb is rooted in a deep understanding of the audience, and it targets specific outcomes, which can be observed or measured.
   
   When I think about the similarities between marketing and KMb, I find the concept of “ethical marketing” especially useful. Marketing that’s manipulative or exploitative is (or should be) far removed from the realm of KMb. That’s one of the reasons I challenge clients to be careful of how strongly they evoke negative emotions, such as fear or anxiety, in their KMb communications.
   
   Thinking of KMb as kindalike marketing can make you more sensitive to your audience, more creative, and more results-focused. A great primer on ethical marketing is Lynn Serafinn’s book The Seven Graces of Marketing: How to Heal Humanity and the Planet by Changing the Way We Sell.

2. Persuasive communication. KMb is kindalike persuasive communication in that it expresses ideas with the aim of producing a behavioral outcome.
   
   When I was in the academy, I thought I produced persuasive writing when I wrote scholarly papers arguing for a certain interpretation of a literary work. But argumentation is not persuasion.
   
   When we craft an argument, our purpose is to guide our audience to understand some version of what we consider the truth. (In my case, that “truth” was my particular reading of a poem or novel.) When we engage in persuasion, on the other hand, our aim is not simply to share our perspective or to invite our audience to share it. We’re seeking to drive some kind of change, most likely a change in the audience’s behavior.
   
   To my mind, a KMb initiative should never aim to merely “raise awareness.” That’s setting the bar far too low, at the level of argument rather than persuasion. In fact, I’d venture to say that many lacklustre KMb products and campaigns fail to deliver results because they don’t take persuasive communication seriously enough.
   
   Persuasive communication, like successful marketing, depends largely on your ability to connect with the audience. You must enter into their worldview before you can challenge it. You must nurture a positive, trusting relationship before you can produce outcomes. And if you are engaging in persuasion, not coercion, you must do this not only ethically but also with care and consideration.
   
   A great introduction to the art and science of persuasive communication is The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas by G. Richard Shell and Mario Moussa.

3. Change management. KMb is kindalike change management in that it requires systems-level thinking. It means viewing individuals as both agents and nodes in a network. It also means acknowledging the ways we are all enmeshed in structures bigger than ourselves and our immediate relationships.
   
   While KMb scholarship has given us many theoretical frameworks for promoting systemic change, we are just starting to gather evidence about how well these work. As a field of inquiry, change management boasts a longer pedigree, and if you’re working with stakeholders in government or business, they’re likely familiar with some of its basic tenets.
   
   One of the classics of change management is Peter Senge’s The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. Crack open its cover, and I think you’ll discover some familiar principles, especially the need to establish a shared vision, to foster dialogue, and to adopt a system-wide view. Stakeholders who may struggle to understand the arcane vocabulary of KMb may easily latch onto a conversation about some of the well-known principles Senge and his colleagues in the business world have been preaching since the early 1990s.

Finding the well-trodden path

Each of the kindalikes I’ve mentioned offers a familiar path into the world of KMb, which is still a wilderness to many of the people you want to engage with. When you’re trying to convince those folks to collaborate on a project or champion your cause, you may need to provide an alternative way into the complexity of the KMb process.

None of the kindalikes is synonymous with KMb; I offer them as close cousins of KMb, not identical twins. But the journey of KMb must start with a single step, and sometimes a rough or partial comparison is the simplest way to illuminate the path and help both you and your stakeholders find your footing.