The third main content area for the NCCHPP is methodologies for knowledge synthesis and exchange that are appropriate to the field of healthy public policy. Over the last ten years, the Canadian health research community has placed an increased emphasis on the use of research knowledge by practitioners and policy makers. The cumulative reflection on this experience is producing an important body of knowledge that will be integrated into and informed by the work of the NCCHPP. There are implications for the methodologies of both knowledge synthesis and knowledge exchange if we are to work effectively across the many ways people understand and use information in creating public policy.
Methodologies for knowledge synthesis and exchange appropriate to the field of healthy public policy are an important preoccupation for the NCCHPP. We know that important attributes of knowledge transfer, in addition to better, more user-friendly, presentation of information, are an emphasis on context, relevance, and use, with interactive methods. However, in our view, the knowledge synthesis community should also promote acceptance of a broader approach to “science.” We know that public policy interventions often cannot be evaluated by controlled experimental methods. An approach to science as systematic study will allow additional sources of knowledge to be considered. However, we also know that some methods are more systematic than others. The NCCHPP will add to efforts in the knowledge synthesis community to incorporate methods to optimize both the relevance and trustworthiness of information.
The NCCHPP has a pilot project on obesity intended to complement the extensive research efforts on this topic. We designed a research protocol to test appropriate methods for knowledge synthesis, including reviews of scientific and other literature, as well as expert opinion and deliberative methods. For more details on this project, please contact the NCCHPP.