Is Your Research Getting Heard?
Get the Targeted Help Your Team Needs to Share Knowledge and Ignite Change
Tired of Getting Those Glazed-Eye Looks?
You're passionate about your team's research because you know it can transform lives. But somehow the potential of your findings isn't clear to the people who could help turn your ideas into real-world results.
You've tried "dumbing down" your findings and patiently educating non-experts, but the time you put into explaining and re-explaining hasn't paid off. You know you need to do something differently so you can persuade others to join you in your mission to drive significant change.
Through our four-step coaching approach, we help researchers :
- Identify barriers to knowledge-sharing and stakeholder engagement
- Brainstorm creative approaches to overcoming those obstacles
- Develop effective research translation strategies and practices
- Build the skills and confidence needed to turn vision into concrete action
For a one-minute introduction to our approach, check out the video from our Founder and Head Coach Dr. Dawn Henwood .
What happens to a research dream deferred?
A decade before the Americal Civil Rights movement, the African American poet Langston Hughes asked the disruptive question, "What happens to a dream deferred?" In his 1951 poem "Harlem," he uses powerful images to convey the experience of human potential squashed by racial oppression: a shrivelled-up raisin, an oozing wound, a slab of rancid meat, an explosion.
What images come to your mind when you think of what will happen if your research dream is deferred? Patients missing out on life-saving treatments? Industries ignoring opportunities that could mitigate the effects of climate change? Social injustices persisting because policy-makers ignore simple solutions?
We'll help you articulate your vision, bring to life the dream driving your research, and kindle the enthusiasm of your key stakeholders. The path to impact may be more straightforward than you think, and creative, compassionate communication paves the way.
Get Stakeholders Excited About Your Vision
You have a clear view of the big picture, the life-changing (maybe planet-changing) difference your research could make. Your mind has already made the leap from vision to reality, and it can be frustrating when others don't see what you see.
To attract others to your vision, you'll need to do more than create a stakeholder map or do a Plain Language edit of your communication materials. You'll need to adopt specific communication strategies and techniques so you can connect with non-expert audiences at a deep level, at the place where emotions and values drive their decision-making.
Our coaching approach provides personalized, wraparound support to help you generate enthusiasm for your innovative work, build high-trust relationships, and get the help you need to take your discoveries to the next stage. We work with small teams, large groups, and individuals, providing the customized help you need to achieve your specific goals.
Team Coaching
Combine informal training sessions for your whole team with individual coaching and feedback on work-in-progress. You'll build team capacity for research translation while producing high-quality communications.
Perfect for teams of 3 to 10 people who want to improve their collaborative processes, build on individual strengths, and create a strong culture of knowledge-sharing.
Group Training
Gather your whole team for hands-on training, online or onsite, tailored to your particular challenges and opportunities. You'll establish a culture of effective research translation and equip your team with helpful tools to support their daily work.
Perfect for groups of 10 to 25 who value the chance to level-set skills and develop common practices aligned with the organizational values and culture.
Content Creation
Our collaborative approach enables you to express your ideas through language and visuals that ring true to you and respect the accuracy of your findings. We'll help you brainstorm fresh approaches, structure your ideas so they're easy for non-experts to navigate, and create a style that resonates with your target audience.
Perfect for clients who already have a communication strategy in place but need a creative partner to help execute it.
We collaborate with:
- Academic Researchers
- Clinical Researchers
- Researcher-Founders
- Industry Researchers
Research Translation Is Complex, But It Doesn't Need to Be Complicated
Researchers have created a lot of different terms to explain the process of repackaging academic knowledge into forms laypeople can understand. At Clarity Connect, we don't spend too much time agonizing over definitions; we're more interested in producing results.
When describing the process of transforming research findings into clear, relevant insights for lay audiences, we tend to use these terms interchangeably: research translation, knowledge translation (KT), and knowledge mobilization (KMb).
We're happy to debate the question of appropriate conceptual labelling (who doesn't love an academic argument over language?). But we're much more interested in questions like these:
- What does effective research translation mean to you?
- What's your motivation for sharing your specialized knowledge outside your research community?
- What concrete outcomes do you want to achieve through sharing your knowledge?
Our outcomes-focused approach brings research communication down to the human level. Regardless of your discipline or industry, it will help you engage, educate, and inspire the collaborators you need to drive your mission forward.
Make Your Findings Resonate So You Can Drive Change
If you've taken some introductory training in knowledge translation (KT) or research dissemination then you've probably discovered the "execution gap."
Knowing the theory of how to move research from the academy into practice is one thing. Making research dissemination or knowledge translation happen is another.
We'll help you move from high-level concepts to practical methods so you can foster postive relationships, connect with your audience at a deep level, and drive change.
I'm Dr. Dawn Henwood, Founder of Clarity Connect
I started Clarity Connect to help research teams in academia, industry, and not-for-profits share their life-changing discoveries and drive change.
My background includes a PhD in English literature from the University of Toronto and 20+ years of experience working in business, academic, and government contexts. I've developed and directed a national writing program for IT consultants in a Big Four consulting firm in the US, and I've created a Technical Writing Certificate program for Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
I've also published two books on business communication: A Writing Guide for IT Professionals (Oxford UP) and Business Writing for Innovators and Change-Makers (Business Experts Press).
Because I've come to research translation through the humanities, I understand it as a relational activity. At the end of the day, you're never communicating with a label on a framework. You're communicating with human beings who are wondering whether they should trust us and work with us.
Clarity Connect supports researchers across a wide variety of disciplines. Whether you're working in health care, life sciences, IT, engineering, or another specialized field, we'll help you build skills and confidence so you can amplify your impact.
“Clarity Connect offers practical, personalized training services. Dawn's approach makes it easy to translate research into bite-sized bits of information for different audiences. In the world of research, it can be challenging when we work every day in our area of expertise. With Dawn's help researchers are able to put their new skills into immediate action. We chose Clarity Connect to support the great research ecosystem here in New Brunswick and support our world-class researchers. ”
“As an academic, I have found knowledge translation to be an invaluable tool in disseminating my research to a wider audience. Leveraging her years of experience in knowledge translation, Dawn helped me communicate the significance and relevance of my work to individuals outside of my field, including policymakers, community leaders, and members of the general public. Working with Dawn has really enhanced my ability to impact the world through my research. Thanks again, Dawn!”
The Clarity Connect Approach Could Work For You If...
- You're on a mission to make meaningful change in the world.
- You want to get people outside your research community excited about your discoveries so they will move your findings into action.
- You harbor a healthy skepticism about outsourcing knowledge translation and don't want your complex ideas squished into soundbites.
- You're willing to consider creative approaches to communication that might feel awkward at first.
- You're looking for a strategic thought-partner, not a "scribe" or "wordsmith."
- You have time and energy to invest in collaborating on knowledge translation.
What Are Your Research Translation Goals?
Book a chat to explore ways we could work together to achieve them!