• This Knowledge Translation course provides fundamental concepts and theories of knowledge translation (through online didactics) and skills in knowledge translation approaches and tools (with globally available peers and mentors).  Knowledge translation(KT) refers to the activities needed to take the knowledge obtained in research to the people that can put it in practical use; it is a complex concept that will be addressed in module one. All parts of this training are free, including registration, learning, testing, and a certificate of completion. This course is intended for physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals in training and in practice.

    Special thanks to the Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research, developers of the  KT Curriculum1 upon which this course was built. The fair use and copyright for the KT Curriculum from CCGHR can be found below.

    This Knowledge Translation course was developed in partnership with the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research, the Marine Environmental Observation Prediction and Response Network, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Like all NextGenU.org courses, it is competency-based, using CEPH competencies. This course uses resources from world-class academic and governmental organizations such as the Center for Community Health and Development at the University of Kansas, the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the U.S. National Library of Medicine, and the World Health Organization. The course was compiled by Joanne Krupa, Ph.D. and course objectives adapted from the CCGHR KT Curriculum1.

    This Knowledge Translation course provides fundamental concepts and theories of knowledge translation (through online didactics) and skills in knowledge translation approaches and tools (with globally-available peers and mentors).  All parts of this training are free, including registration, learning, testing, and a certificate of completion. This course is intended for physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals in training and in practice.

    There are 7 modules to complete, which provide:

    1. Theoretical concepts and foundations of knowledge translation; 
    2. A summary of evidence and provide an understanding of issue polarization and of the barriers and facilitators to evidence-based policy; 
    3. A description of traditional research and policy-making processes and how knowledge translation can potentially alter them; 
    4. An introduction to knowledge approaches and tools, such as Stakeholder Analysis, Political Context Analysis, and Priority Analysis.

    Approximate time for completion of this course is 37 hours at an average reading rate of 144 words/minute.   

    The course requires completion of all required peer activities and a discussion forum. At the end of each lesson, there is a practice quiz. At the end of the course, after you’ve completed each lesson, quiz, and activity, you’ll have access to a final exam, and a chance to assess the training. Once you’ve passed that last test, you will be able to download a certificate of completion from NextGenU.org and our course’s co-sponsoring organizations (listed above). We keep all of your personal information confidential, never sell any of your information, and only use anonymized data for research purposes, and we are also happy to report your testing information and share your work with anyone (your school, employer, etc.) at your request. We hope that you will find this a rewarding learning experience, and we count on your feedback to help us improve this training for future students.

    Engaging with this Course:

    You may browse this course for free to learn for your personal enrichment; there are no requirements.

    To PASS and obtain a certificate:

    • Show in the registration fields that you have the appropriate prerequisites to be certified. This course requires the learner to have already obtained a college-level degree. 
    • Take the brief pre-test.
    • Complete all the reading requirements.
    • Complete all quizzes and pass with a 80% with unlimited attempts.
    • Complete 2 peer activity and associated certification quizzes.
    • Successfully complete the final exam with a minimum of 80%  and a maximum of 3 attempts.
    • Complete the self and course evaluation forms.

    To obtain credit: 

    • Complete all requirements listed above for the certificate. 
    • Your learning institution or workplace should approve the partner-university-sponsored NextGenU.org course for educational credit, as they would for their learner taking a course anywhere.  
      • NextGenU.org is happy to provide your institution with:
        • a link to and description of the course training, so they can see all its components, including the cosponsoring universities and other professional organization cosponsors;
        • your grade on the final exam;
        • your work products (e.g. peer and mentored activities), and any other required or optional shared materials that you produce and authorize to share with them;  
        • your evaluations -- course, self, and peer assessments;
        • a copy of your certificate of completion, with the co-sponsoring universities and other organizations listed.

    To obtain a degree, NextGenU.org co-sponsors degree programs with institutional partners. To obtain a degree co-sponsored with NextGenU.org, registrants must be enrolled in a degree program as a student of a NextGenU.org institutional partner. If you think that your institution might be interested in offering a degree with NextGenU.org contact us.

    We hope that you will find this a rewarding learning experience, and we count on your assessment and feedback to help us improve this training for future students.

    Next Steps

    • Complete the registration form.
    • Take the short knowledge pre-test below. It allows us to assess various aspects of the course itself.
    • Begin the course with Module 1: Knowledge Translation - The Basics. In each lesson, read the description, complete all required readings and any required activity, and take the corresponding quizzes.

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    1Campbell S. Knowledge Translation Curriculum. Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research: Ottawa. 2012.

    Fair Use and Copyright: The Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research (CCGHR) holds the copyright to its publications but encourages duplication and dissemination of these materials for non-commercial purposes. Proper citation is requested; modification of these materials is permitted. Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee and without a formal request provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial purposes and that copies bear this notice and full citation on the first page. Copyright for components of publications that are not owned by the CCGHR must be honored and permission pursued with the owner of the information. The CCGHR is interested in tracking the use and effectiveness of its published information, and receiving feedback from readers in order to improve this Curriculum.

  • Competencies covered in this module:
    • Understand the theoretical concepts and underpinnings of knowledge translation (KT)
  • Competencies covered in this module:
    • Understand how evidence typically interacts with the policy process.
  • Competencies covered in this module:
    • Understand how researchers and policy-makers interact, and how and where the research and policy processes overlap.
    • Understand the nature of the knowledge of knowledge translation, from individual to institutional, and from explicit to tacit.
  • Competencies covered in this module:
    1. Understand the approaches of Knowledge Translation (KT), along with some of the major differences among these.
    2. Understand practical mechanisms, strategies, and frameworks designed to bring together researchers and research-users in the generation, synthesis, and application of knowledge.
  • Competencies covered in this module:
    • Understand the core tenets of a stakeholder analysis (e.g., completing stakeholder sheets).
  • Competencies covered in this module:
    • Understand the rudiments of a political context analysis (e.g completing a force-field analysis or trend analysis).
  • Competencies covered in this module:
    1. Understand the overarching theory of priority setting, the two major types of priority setting, and the synergies that may exist between the two.
    2. Be able to roughly design a priority setting process of either type, using one or a combination of the presented models.
    3. Be completely up-to-date on major topics and themes within the priority setting literature.
  • To take the final exam, you must complete all quizzes and complete all the required activities. 

    To access the exam, click on the name of the exam provided above. On the following screen, click the Attempt Quiz button to respond to the questions.

  • In this section, you can provide feedback about this course to help us make NextGenU.org better. Once evaluations are completed, you will be able to download your certificate of completion.