Knowledge transfer and exchange (KTE) is a burgeoning organizational practice at research institutions worldwide. Funders and policy-makers demand to know whether their investments are making a difference. However, the effectiveness of current KTE practices has not been routinely or consistently evaluated. KTE practitioners note the need to evaluate both how well plans are being implemented and the impact of these plans in order to improve KTE practices. The paucity of valid and reliable tools may be one reason for this lack of evaluation. As the concept of knowledge to action moves to the forefront in the research community, a common set of quality tools could provide opportunities to consistently evaluate the impact of KTE implementation.
To that end, a team led by the Institute for Work & Health conducted a systematic review to look across a wide variety of research fields to identify tools that could accurately and reliably measure how well KTE activities bring research evidence to practitioners and change their knowledge, attitudes or behaviour. What the team found is detailed in this report.