Knowledge Mobilization and Impact

Effective knowledge mobilization (KMb) maximizes the impact of your work by clearly communicating to relevant audiences throughout the research process. 

There is no single definition or standard way to “do” knowledge mobilization. It is an “umbrella term” that covers activities such as communication, dissemination, partnership building, community engagement, and more. The best strategy and methods for KMb depend on your audience and your goals (Research Impact Canada). 

The Library can engage with researchers to grow their impact by: 

  • Helping create knowledge mobilization plans for grant applications, 
  • Identifying and providing access to infrastructure, guides, and other asynchronous resources to support knowledge mobilization activities, and 
  • Delivering on demand training and workshops.

Examples of the library’s existing KMb supports and infrastructure

Infographics are visual representations of data and other forms of information. They combine text, images, illustrations, and data visualizations like charts and graphs to communicate ideas in ways that are quick and easy to understand. They typically aim to inform the reader about a topic or persuade people about a particular claim or argument. 
Explore our Introduction to Infographics guide to find resources and learn skills and strategies to create your own infographics.

A research poster is a popular means to communicate research information to a general audience. The best posters combine a general summary of the research with tables, graphs, and photos/images that will enlighten the reader and hopefully generate discussion. 

Explore our Research Posters & Creative Displays guide to find resources and learn skills and strategies to create your own research posters.

A presentation of a presentation of a narrative through an interactive, multimedia platform. You can weave together multi-media elements such as images, music or audio clips, text, and video to create narratives in all subject areas. 
Explore the Digital Storytelling Library guide to find resources and learn skills and strategies to create your own digital story. 
The Digital Storytelling Quercus course (login only) is available to members of the University community and serves as an introduction and toolbox for digital storytelling. Take the series or select individual training on topics such as video editing or digital accessibility. 
ArcGIS StoryMaps is software created by ESRI that allows you to create inspiring, immersive stories by combining text, interactive maps, and other multimedia content.

The library is proud to work with institutional and community partners on the digitization, description, and preservation of unique digitized and born digital special collections. 
TSpace is a free and secure research repository established by University of Toronto Libraries to disseminate and preserve the scholarly record of the University of Toronto community. It accepts materials ranging from grey literature to published papers. All items in TSpace are openly accessible, either immediately or after publisher's embargo period. Submit your work to an existing U of T Scarborough collection or the Public Policy Reports collection.

PressBooks is an online book and document formatting system that you can use to create books that are accessible on all platforms. It is a key part of eCampusOntario's Open Library Publishing Platform. 
eCampusOntario H5P Studio is your one stop shop to create, share, and discover interactive learning objects. This site uses H5P, an open source plugin, to allow content authors to easily create interactive content for their courses or other instructional projects.

A podcast is a form of digital media that consists of an episodic series of audio or digital radio, subscribed to and downloaded through web syndication or streamed online to a computer or mobile device. 
Explore our Introduction to Podcasting guide, join the Makerspace’s podcasting workshops (Introduction to Podcasting, and Podcasting: Beyond the Basics) or make use equipment through the library’s technology lending collection or Podcast Room.

Additional Resources

Research Impact Canada - Resources intended to help strengthen your understanding of KMb concepts and help you develop related skills.

Measure Research Impact & Establishing your Researcher Identity 

Measuring how your research impacts a field or discipline and how it impacts the world around you can support your application for tenure or promotion, strengthen your grant application, and identify collaborators. Our Research Impact & Researcher Identity guide provides an overview of resources and methods for scholars to measure their research impact and how to create and update researcher identifiers on various platforms. 

Contact Us 

Have questions about mobilizing your research and measuring its impact? Contact your liaison librarian.