Ashleigh Weeden (PhD student, School of Environmental Design & Rural Development, University of Guelph) will share insights and reflections on knowledge mobilization and provincial rural policy through a webinar hosted by Joshua Barrett and the Rural Policy Learning Commons on March 19, 2019 at 3:00pm (EST).

Titled “What’s the evidence on evidence-based policy? Reflections on knowledge mobilization in provincial rural policy,” the webinar will share insights from both the broader research literature and from recent interviews with public policy makers from across Canada on the challenges and opportunities of knowledge mobilization for evidence-based rural policy. The interviews were conducted as part of the broader “Making a Difference? Measuring Outcomes of Provincial Rural Policies and Programs” research initiative, led by Dr. Ryan Gibson and funded by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs under the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance program.

As governments across Canada continue to struggle to develop and implement robust, flexible, and effective rural policies and programs to meet the ever-changing contexts of rural communities and both policy makers and knowledge brokers struggle to bridge local knowledge and research evidence into the public policy process in meaningful ways, this webinar offers an opportunity for researchers and policy makers alike to learn and reflect on the challenges and opportunities involved in effective knowledge mobilization.

To register for the webinar, please visit: www.rplc-capr.ca/webinars/ or click here

To learn more about the Making a Difference research initiative, please visit www.ruraldev.ca/making-a-difference