Over the past few months, CDPA has been asked by several groups to offer advice about translating knowledge to policy makers. In the course of one such event, we had the good fortune to meet Dr. Aryeh Gitterman, Distinguished Visiting Professor at Ryerson University, and former Assistant Deputy Minister for Ontario’s Ministry of Children & Youth, responsible for policy on special needs. In his TED Talk he does a great job of describing the similarities and differences between researchers and policy makers. His take-home message is one that we advocate at CDPA:
“Knowledge can only be effectively shared in the context of a relationship, and that relationship takes time and effort to cultivate and maintain”.
Click to view his 9-minute TED Talk, Mind the Gap: Interactions of Policy and Research.