title: A roadmap for knowledge exchange and mobilization research in conservation and natural resource management.
abstract: Scholars across all disciplines have long been interested in how knowledge moves within and beyond their community of peers. Rapid environmental changes and calls for sustainable management practices mean the best knowledge possible is needed to inform decisions, policies, and practices to protect biodiversity and sustainably manage vulnerable natural resources. Although the conservation literature on knowledge exchange (KE) and knowledge mobilization (KM) has grown in recent years, much of it is based on context-specific case studies. This presents a challenge for learning cumulative lessons from KE and KM research and thus effectively using knowledge in conservation and natural resources management. Although continued research on the gap between knowledge and action is valuable, overarching conceptual frameworks are now needed to enable summaries and comparisons across diverse KE-KM research. We propose a knowledge-action framework that provides a conceptual roadmap for future research and practice in KE/KM with the aim of synthesizing lessons learned from contextual case studies and guiding the development and testing of hypotheses in this domain. Our knowledge-action framework has 3 elements that occur at multiple levels and scales: knowledge production (e.g., academia and government), knowledge mediation (e.g., knowledge networks, actors, relational dimension, and contextual dimension), and knowledge-based action (e.g., instrumental, symbolic, and conceptual). The framework integrates concepts from the sociology of science in particular, and serves as a guide to further comprehensive understanding of knowledge exchange and mobilization in conservation and sustainable natural resource management.
authors: Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology and Environmental Science Institute, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada.
authors: Vivian M
authors: VM
authors: Nguyen
authors: School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada.
authors: Nathan
authors: N
authors: Young
authors: Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology and Environmental Science Institute, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada.
authors: Steven J
authors: SJ
authors: Cooke
mesh_terms: D044822:Biodiversity; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D006801:Humans; D000067936:Natural Resources; D009938:Organizations; D012106:Research
keywords: acción científica; compartir conocimiento; comunicación de la ciencia; interdisciplinario; interdisciplinary; knowledge management; knowledge sharing; knowledge-action gap; manejo del conocimiento; política de la ciencia; red social; science action; science communication; science policy; social network; vacío conocimiento-acción