Director:
| El-Jardali, Fadi |
| Instructors of Public Health Practice: | Abou Samra, Clara; Bou Karroum, Lama;
Fadlallah, Racha; Jamal, Diana
|
Knowledge to Policy (K2P) Center draws on an unparalleled breadth of synthesized evidence
and context-specific knowledge by producing briefs and conducting policy dialogues to impact
policy agendas and action. K2P produces high quality policy products to help policymakers
and stakeholders have the clearest understanding of the most important messages, options
and recommendations to address pressing health and social system problems.
K2P harnesses the best available evidence on pressing health and social systems priorities;
convenes concerned policy makers, stakeholders, thinkers, researchers and doers;
and prepares leaders to meet pressing health issues by building their capacity in public
policymaking.
The K2P team comprises a program manager, communication officer, an advocacy lead and
several evidence lead specialists.
K2P Functions and Activities
- Inform the production, packaging and sharing of research data and evidence
in an objective manner and based on current and emerging policymaking priorities
- Utilize a rapid response system to inform policymaking in an objective manner
using the best available evidence that can be prepared and packaged within time
and resource constraints
- Conduct evidence informed advocacy and support implementation in policy
and practice
- Conduct policy tracing research and develop models for knowledge translation that
are context-specific, culturally appropriate, relevant and effective for the region
- Support research networks, civil society, researchers, policy makers and the media
- Engage with citizens to enhance their involvement in the decision and
policymaking process on high priority issues
- Build the capacity of researchers, policymakers and media in knowledge translation
(KT) and evidence communication methods to influence policy, practice and action
K2P develops a diverse set of KT products including K2P Policy Briefs, K2P Briefing Notes,
K2P Rapid Response, K2P Evidence Summaries, K2P Dialogue Summaries, K2P Advocacy
Briefs, K2P Citizens Briefs, K2P Citizen Consultation Summary, and K2P Media Bites. Through
its signature Mentorship Program, K2P is developing a sustainable capacity for evidence-informed decision-making in low and middle-income countries (LMICS) in the six regions
of the World Health Organization (WHO). This Program constitutes the first arrangement
of its kind in LMICs for promoting sustainable capacity development in evidence-informed
decision-making. The recently launched K2P Policy Fellowship Program also offers a unique
opportunity to strengthen capacity in evidence-informed decision-making by utilizing
immersive methods of experiential learning and professional cross-placements. K2P leads the
COVID-19 Rapid Response Series. Through this initiative, K2P Center has been contributing
to the different aspects of the pandemic response by harnessing the best available evidence
& data on emerging priorities and making them accessible to policymakers, stakeholders,
and citizens in short periods of time.
Collaborations
K2P collaborates with national and international partners including Center for Systematic
Reviews on Health Policy and Systems Research (SPARK) and Issam Fares Institute for Public
Policy and International Affairs (IFI) at the American University of Beirut; and McMaster Health
Forum in Canada and the Evidence Informed Policy Network (EVIPNet) at the World Health
Organization (WHO) in Geneva.
WHO Collaborating Center for Evidence-Informed Policy and Practice
Since 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) has designated K2P Center twice as a
WHO Collaborating Center for Evidence-Informed Policy and Practice. This re-designation,
effective for another four-year term, is unique since the K2P Center is the only WHO
Collaborating Center for Evidence-Informed Policy and Practice in Lebanon and the region,
and is the second WHO Collaborating Center of this kind globally after McMaster Health
Forum in Canada.