KT research development within a national knowledge translation trainee collaborative

Knowledge translation (KT) is a rapidly advancing field. Increasingly KT research has attracted a growing number of trainees (students, fellows, residents and other learners) from a wide variety of backgrounds. Training opportunities must continue to grow to meet the needs of this group of trainees. In March 2010 the Knowledge Translation Trainee Collaborative (KTTC) was created to help meet these needs. This trainee-led collaborative has grown from 30 to 77 members from across Canada. The KTTC aims to create opportunities for collaborative work, collaborative learning, networking and professional development for members. To date the KTTC has held two in-person meetings to define common goals and create an infrastructure. The collaboration has a relationship with KT Canada and maintains a group blog. The next steps for the KTTC are to develop and participate in research projects. The goal of the research projects is to advance the field of KT through a variety of approaches while reinforcing collaboration. The objective of this planning grant is to hold an in-person meeting to develop research projects, explore new KT priorities and network with members from across Canada. We have two research projects that are ready to be developed further: one examines our own network using social network analysis techniques; the other looks to develop and assess a national mentoring program. We will also explore new opportunities for research by networking and discussing KT priorities among our group as well as with KT researchers. The outcomes of the meeting and planning activities will be research plans ready to be funded and a list of new research priorities. We will also seek to publish a paper about the most exciting research priorities that come out of our discussions. These outcomes match up nicely with those of CIHR and will help to sustain a national trainee network.