Learning from one another: enriching interactive knowledge-sharing mechanisms to support knowledge brokering in European health systems

ABSTRACT

Policy-makers, stakeholders and knowledge brokers (including researchers) all have a great deal they can learn from one another. Policy-makers need access to good-quality health systems information that they can apply to a local issue. Stakeholders may seek to influence health policy as well as make decisions in their own spheres of responsibilities. Knowledge brokers need information about policy priorities and the policy context in order to produce, package and share health systems information that will be genuinely useful to decision-makers. The purpose of this BRIDGE summary is to encourage debate and innovation about the ways in which policy-makers, stakeholders and knowledge brokerscan, by working together, engage with health systems information so as to increase the likelihood that it will be understood and used. Current thinking about knowledge brokering is largely driven by anecdotal information; thisdocument presents real-world insights from research on knowledge brokering, primarily from Europe but drawing on global experience as well.This summary is intended not only for knowledge brokers whose work is dedicated to this role, but also for funders, researchers, policy-makers and stakeholders, all of whom can help to steer knowledge brokering by setting expectations for this work.