Research Collaboration & Knowledge Translation

Within academia, research collaboration involves partnering to design, conduct, and disseminate research through publishing (print and digital), colloquia/symposia, and public lectures. Within businesses and organizations, research collaboration includes partnerships with individual scholars, academic institutions, and other businesses/organizations to conceive and develop innovative products and services. Yet knowledge gained from research is not intended to reside within the halls of academia or be isolated within research and development departments. Increasingly, funding sources are requiring scholars and innovators to develop plans for how their knowledge will be translated into society. Knowledge translation (KT) involves moving knowledge into action to be used by people for the purpose of improving organizations and systems that benefit humanity.

 Knowledge translation is a dynamic process for creating knowledge products and tools aimed at solving specific problems. The iterative KT process involves adapting knowledge for local context, assessing barriers to knowledge use, tailoring and implementing interventions, monitoring knowledge use, evaluating outcomes, and sustaining knowledge use. Knowledge in need of translation need not be restricted to research. Five knowledge cultures are found in any society: individual, community, specialized, organizational, and holistic. Knowledge at each of these five levels can be translated for the purpose of bridging gaps between what is known and what is done.

Whether you are situated in academia or the business and nonprofit sectors, we excel in the areas of conceiving, conducting, and communicating research as well as translating knowledge for action. Dr. Debra Fisher’s aim as a research collaborator and knowledge translator is to support your efforts to make advancements in your spheres of influence that ultimately contribute to the betterment of humanity and building up of societies. As a research analyst, Dr. Fisher produces written analysis and interpretation of (1) relevant literature and discourses, (2) historical trajectories in thought development needed to bound and contextualize social problems, and (3) patterns in research findings (internal and external to the organization) that can inform decision-making specific to the design/redesign, implementation, monitoring, and measurement of solutions. In her role as a knowledge translator, she works across disciplines to form teams and guide them through the process of developing KT plans.

Advanced Studies Research and Education

During Dr. Debra A. Fisher’s tenure at Canyon Institute for Advanced Studies (CIAS), the John Templeton Foundation collaborated with CIAS for the purpose of administering The Templeton Prize for Progress Toward Research of Discoveries about Spiritual Realities. Dr. Fisher worked with Templeton Prize laureates and other scholars representing multiple disciplines to disseminate their research through publications, colloquia/symposia, and public lectures. Select list of scholars includes:

• John D. Barrow, Ph.D. Cosmologist, Physicist, and Professor of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Cambridge. Templeton Prize laureate (2006). Read more

• Paul Davies, Ph.D. Regents’ Professor and Director of the Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science, co-Director of the Cosmology Initiative, Principal Investigator in the Center for the Convergence of Physical Science and Cancer Biology, all at Arizona State University. Templeton Prize laureate (1995). Read more

• George F. R. Ellis, Ph.D. Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Complex Systems in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Templeton Prize laureate (2004). Read more

• Peter W. Flint, Ph.D. (1951-2016). Former Director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Institute at Trinity Western University in British Columbia, Canada. Read more

• Michal K. Heller, Ph.D. Professor of Philosophy at the Pontifical University of John Paul II in Cracow, Poland. Adjunct member of the Vatican Observatory staff. Templeton Prize laureate (2008). Read more

• William B. Hurlbut, M.D. Adjunct Professor and Senior Research Scholar in Neurobiology at the Stanford Medical School. President’s Council on Bioethics (2002-2009). Read more

• Dennis O. Lamoureux, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Science and Religion at St. John’s College in the University of Alberta. Read more

• Bruce Lundberg, Ph.D. Assistant Physics Chair and Professor of Mathematics at Colorado State University-Pueblo. Read more

• Andrew Newberg, Ph.D., M.D. Director of Research at the Marcus Institute of Integrative Health. Professor and physician at Thomas Jefferson University and Hospital. Read more

• Don N. Page, Ph.D. Distinguished Professor of Science and Physics, University of Alberta, Canada. Read more

• William R. Shea, Ph.D. Professor and Galileo Chair of History of Science at the University of Padua, Italy. Visiting Scholar at Max Planck Institute for History of Science, Berlin, Germany. Read more

• Charles M. Taylor, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus at McGill University, Montreal, Quebec. Templeton Prize laureate (2007). Read more

• Hava Tirosh-Samuelson, Ph.D. Director of Jewish Studies, Irving and Miriam Lowe Professor of Modern Judaism, and Professor of History at Arizona State University. Read more

• John Walton, Ph.D. Professor of Old Testament in Biblical and Theological Studies at Wheaton Graduate School. Read more

• Rogier A. Windhorst, Ph.D. Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Arizona State University. Read more

Research and Instruction

• Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership/United States Naval Academy

• Pepperdine University

• Grand Canyon University

• Arizona State University

• Krisis Institute for Community Readiness, Response, and Recovery

• The Hauer Group, LLC

• Public/Private University Doctoral Programs

• Public health/homeland security/emergency management policy makers, administrators, and practitioners

• Medical researchers, healthcare professionals, and clinical product specialists