Linking Research Findings and Decision Makers: Insights and Recommendations From a Wildfire Study

Abstract

Transformation of research findings into relevant policies and programs is a principle for ensuring the creation of usable science. One way of achieving this is to employ knowledge translation to disseminate findings between researchers and end users. In this article the process of achieving integrated knowledge translation (iKT) is discussed based upon our experiences conducting a study examining the human impacts of a wildfire. Reflections about this process revealed that the unique university–government relationship was the most important factor in addressing the needs of decision makers. The discussion of our challenges and successes is offered to other researchers who may be engaged in developing similar research dissemination strategies and hope to have a positive impact on policy development.

Keywords:

• dissemination
• government relations
• knowledge translation
• wildfire research

Acknowledgments

A heartfelt thank you all of the residents who experienced the Slave Lake wildfires who participated in the study.