Knowledge brokering
A knowledge broker tailors the communication of specific information according to their audience and can play a significant facilitatory role in communicating concepts and synergies across disciplines, across diverse knowledge systems, and across partners and stakeholder groups.
“In practice, I think that it helps a lot if there is at least one individual that can translate between disciplines in a way that respects the core meanings among each of them. This requires at least a basic understanding of each of the disciplines. And the only “approach” to developing this capability is for the prospective translator to learn the basics of each of the disciplines that they are required to translate between and to develop a working translation.”
Broad understanding of knowledge brokering encompasses a range of functions that can be viewed on a spectrum from one-way information dissemination through to knowledge co-production.
A spectrum of intermediary and brokering functions (from Harvey et al. 2012)
Suggested reading
Cummings, S., S. Kiwanuka, H. Gillman, and B. Regeer. 2019. The future of knowledge brokering: perspectives from a generational framework of knowledge management for international development. Information Development 35:781–794.
Cvitanovic, C., R. J. Shellock, M. Mackay, E. I. van Putten, D. B. Karcher, M. Dickey-Collas, and M. Ballesteros. 2021. Strategies for building and managing ‘trust’ to enable knowledge exchange at the interface of environmental science and policy. Environmental Science & Policy 123:179–189.
Harvey, B., T. Lewin, and C. Fisher. 2012. Introduction: Is Development Research Communication Coming of Age? IDS Bulletin 43:1–8.