title: Building knowledge development and exchange capacity in Canada: lessons from Youth Excel.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Youth Excel was a 3-year pan-Canadian initiative to advance youth health through improving knowledge development and exchange (KDE) capacity. KDE capacity refers to an improvement cycle linking evidence and action. Capacities include local surveillance of youth behaviours; knowledge exchange; skills, resources and a supportive environment to use knowledge; and evaluation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Interviews were conducted with Youth Excel members, including 7 provincial teams and 2 national organizations. Interviews explored participant experiences with building KDE capacity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Local surveillance systems were considered the backbone to KDE capacity, strengthened by co-ordinating surveys within and across jurisdictions and using common indicators and measures. The most effective knowledge exchange included tailored products and opportunities for dialogue and action planning. Evaluation is the least developed KDE component. Building KDE capacity requires frequent dialogue, mutually beneficial partnerships and trust. It also requires attention to language, vision, strategic leadership and funding.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Youth Excel reinforces the need for a KDE system to improve youth health that will require new perspectives and sustained commitment from individual champions and relevant organizations.
authors.affiliation: Propel Centre for Population Health Impact, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Riley
authors.affiliation: Propel Centre for Population Health Impact, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: Propel Centre for Population Health Impact, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Manske
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D002170:Canada; D057191:Capacity Building / Q000458:organization & administration*; D002648:Child; D003146:Communications Media; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004032:Diet; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006306:Health Surveys / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007857:Leadership; D009043:Motor Activity; D011159:Population Surveillance; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012907:Smoking; D057170:Translational Research, Biomedical; D035502:Trust
keywords: capacity building; evidence to action; evidence-informed public health; knowledge development and exchange; local surveillance; youth health