Publisher
Elsevier
Abstract
Interdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder research is increasingly being promoted and implemented to
enhance understanding of global environment change, identify holistic policy solutions, and assist
implementation. These research activities are social processes aiming to enhance the exchange and
translation of knowledge. Emphasis on the design and management of knowledge exchange is
increasing, but learning about how to do this better is hampered by lack of conceptual development and
appropriate methods to evaluate complex and multifaceted knowledge exchange processes. This paper
therefore develops principles for the evaluation of knowledge exchange in interdisciplinary, multistakeholder
environmental change research. The paper is based on an analysis of 135 peer-reviewed
evaluations of knowledge exchange from diverse disciplines. The results indicate strong relationships
between the field of study (e.g. health care, environmental management), the way knowledge and
knowledge exchange were conceptualised and implemented, the approach used for the evaluation, and
the outcomes being evaluated. A typology of seven knowledge exchange evaluations is presented to
guide discussions about the underlying assumptions of different approaches to knowledge exchange and
its evaluation. Five principles for knowledge exchange evaluation are also identified: (i) design for
multiple end users; (ii) be explicit about why a particular approach to knowledge exchange is expected
to deliver its outcomes; (iii) evaluate diverse outcomes; (iv) use evaluations as part of the process of
delivering knowledge exchange; and (v) use mixed methods to evaluate knowledge exchange. We
conclude that a catch-all approach to evaluation is neither appropriate nor desirable. Instead,
approaches that focus on understanding the underlying processes of knowledge exchange, assess the
relative contribution of other factors in shaping outcomes in addition to knowledge exchange, and that
involve multiple stakeholders in implementing evaluations, will be the most appropriate for evaluating
knowledge exchange in interdisciplinary global environmental change research.
Year
2014
Category
Refereed journal