Consulting as a strategy for knowledge transfer.

Academic researchers who work on health policy and health services are expected to transfer knowledge to decision makers. Decision makers often do not, however, regard academics' traditional ways of doing research and disseminating their findings as relevant or useful. This article argues that consulting can be a strategy for transferring knowledge between researchers and decision makers and is effective at promoting the "enlightenment" and "interactive" models of knowledge use.

Residential crisis units. Are we missing out on a good idea?

Residential Crisis Units (RCU) are non-hospital-based facilities that provide mental health crisis intervention. This paper reviews the RCU literature base and finds good evidence of the ability of RCUs to function as alternatives to hospitalization for many consumers, with equivalent effectiveness and for significantly less cost. Despite this promising research, the RCU model has not been widely adopted.

Rebuilding organizational culture in the wake of a merger.

More and more, corporate culture is being recognized as an important determinant of organizational effectiveness. This article describes how the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health proactively focused on rebuilding its culture after a mandated merger. The long-term effects of this effort need to be monitored.

Applying a 'stages of change' model to enhance a traditional evaluation of a research transfer course.

The aim of this study was to utilize an evaluation tool based on Prochaska's model of change in order to assess behaviour change as part of an evaluation process for a research transfer training programme (RTTP). The RTTP was a training programme offered to scientists in a psychiatry department and research institute to gain skills in research transfer. In addition to a traditional course evaluation framework evaluating overall satisfaction with the course and whether or not learning objectives were met, an additional 'stages of change' evaluation tool designed to assess change along a continuum was utilized.

Linkage and exchange at the organizational level: a model of collaboration between research and policy.

This paper describes an organization-level initiative designed to promote linkage and exchange between a research unit and the mental health policy branch of Ontario's provincial government. Using a framework that conceptualizes four tiers--inter-organizational relationship, interactive research projects, dissemination and policy formation--in the application of linkage and exchange to the research and policy development processes, we present an example in order to explore the issues that arise in each tier. We conclude that while such initiatives enhance the relevance of research in the policy development process, they also present challenges that must be recognized and managed.