Ideas in Action
Introduction
The department is engaged in applied research, which is both policy relevant and has impact on policy and practice in public, private and third sector organisations. We employ a dedicated Knowledge Exchange specialist, and are committed to engaging key stakeholders in our research and disseminating our findings to diverse audiences through knowledge mobilisation activities.
Case Studies
Moving towards a Culture of Knowledge Exchange:
a case study from the Centre for Housing Research
The Centre for Housing Research (CHR), adopted a knowledge exchange and mobilisation approach when it hired a knowledge exchange (KE) and housing specialist in January 2010. With the launch of its collectively produced strategy statement, the Centre described its immediate KE priorities to be increasing its presence in the housing policy realm and to hold an ongoing series of conferences to engage local, national and international practitioners, academics and policy makers. In launching initiatives to increase engagement and collaboration with policy makers and practitioners, relationships were built early on that have provided conduits for a dynamic conversation between academics and key stakeholders.
The re-launch of the centre’s website provided an opportunity to provide up to date news and promote our events. A newsletter CHR: Byte Size sends regular news of the centre to our mailing list. Our underlying goal continues to be to produce high quality published outcomes and, through effective knowledge exchange strategies, provide ideas and evidence for better housing and place policies in Scotland, the UK, the internationally. To deliver this goal, CHR has convened 6 conferences targeted to audiences beyond academia since January 2010:
- The Changing Urban Frontier and Youth Homelessness, February 2010
- Neighbourhood effects: theory and practice, February 2010
- Implementing a Knowledge Exchange/ Knowledge Mobilisation Practice, June 2010
- Investing in Better Places, March 2011
- New Demographics and the Housing System, April 2011
- Neighbourhood Effects: neighbourhood based problems and international policy solutions, April 2011
CHR academics have also provided keynote addresses at a variety of non-academic events: including conferences organised by the Chartered Institute of Housing, Employer’s in Voluntary Housing, and the Scottish Council for Development and Industry.
Research staff have had opportunities to enter into discussions about policy making at the local and national levels. CHR’s relationship with local housing providers in Fife led to an invitation to work with their umbrella association to lead a discussion day and produce a report on the challenges they face and their options for moving forward. Led by Professor Duncan Maclennan and sponsored by Fife Housing Partnership, the event in June 2010 was attended by around 100 housing and planning staff from the community and local government sector. In another example of local engagement, Dr Kim McKee was invited to a lead a response to the Scottish Government’s 2011 Regeneration Discussion Document on behalf of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations. Indeed, the Scottish Minister for Communities, Alex Neil MSP, along with senior research staff from the Scottish Parliament visited the Centre for a roundtable discussion with research staff in January 2011. This was intended as an opportunity to align some of the Centre’s research priorities with areas of strategic policy importance.
More recently, CHR has launched an international knowledge exchange project: New Times, New Businesses. Responding to the severe pressures placed upon social housing providers in many countries to live with reduced capital funding and provide support in a changing and for many harsher world, leaders from Canada, Australia, Europe and the UK, have come together to provide funding for joint investigations into the pernicious issues they face. The project will report its findings in 2012.