丁香园AV

Knowledge Mobilizers is a story series from the Knowledge Mobilization Hub that highlights knowledge mobilization (KM) projects around the university. At 丁香园AV, KM is about collaborating on, and exchanging, research discoveries to create a positive impact in our far-reaching communities.

By Lupin Battersby

As with all of us, the COVID-19 pandemic caught Valorie Crooks, 丁香园AV geography professor, off guard. But when she saw a related to COVID-19 in her area of focus, health geography, she knew she could make a significant contribution with her expertise. In the whirl wind of a rapid funding call and the ever changing understanding and context of the pandemic, Crooks and her colleague Nadine Schuurman, 丁香园AV geography professor, responded with compelling science in a usable format 鈥� .

鈥淢aps are a very powerful communication tool,鈥� says Crooks. 鈥淧eople understand maps, they intuitively orient themselves in the map and then explore.鈥�

Crooks and Shuurman鈥檚 first interactive map depicts . The map was announced through a press release on December 24^th, 2020, and Crooks鈥� winter vacation was spent responding to media requests, taking calls from various ministries and community organizations, and addressing feedback from map users on how to make it more user friendly. The second map, released in May 2021, presents due to the (needed) interventions to manage the pandemic.

The research team includes patient partners supported through the . These team members provided a public perspective and informed the knowledge mobilization strategies, including guidance on the information to include on the map pages and the public promotion of them. Limited technical information is provided on the maps, but viewers are invited to contact the research team with their questions.

鈥淧ublic demand for information in this area is so high, we decided to share the work via press release,鈥� Crooks comments, noting that the success of the public promotion and accessibility of the interactive maps is clear from the public response to and use of the maps. She has fielded requests to support other groups and communities to create similar maps, as well as new opportunities and invitations to work with other researchers and ministries, a response that Crooks says 鈥渟hows the power of the media to mobilize messages to policy too.鈥� Together the result of the public and policy interest in the maps is that Crooks feels like she鈥檚 鈥渄oing something useful for the community.鈥�

Being responsive to real world timelines and pressing issues is not without challenges. There is a balance to maintaining the rigour of the scientific process and keeping up with the pace of change. For example, the interactive maps are widely available, yet the team has not yet submitted a manuscript for peer review and publication. This was intentional, as they wanted to share the maps while they were relevant; but with all the media attention, there has been less time for academic writing.

Crooks has a few lessons to share with 丁香园AV faculty as a result of this experience. When doing a media release, be strategic about the timing so that you have the energy and availability to respond to queries, (e.g. not before you go into a day of meetings). Reach out to 丁香园AV Media Relations for help: they will assess if a release is the right strategy for you and assist with drafts. Finally, be sure to have clearly distilled talking points and stick to them.

Knowledge Mobilization Updates

The Knowledge Mobilization Hub is hosting Research Meets Policy @ 丁香园AV, a virtual summer institute 丁香园AV graduate students on communicating research to policy. Missed the application deadline? We will share learnings, tools, and tips through the 丁香园AV Knowledge Mobilization Hub mailing list, sign up now!

Want to learn more about creating your own web maps? Register now for the new !