Coaching as a Knowledge Mobilization Strategy: Coaches' Centrality in a Provincial Research Brokering Network

Abstract

Ontario’s Child and Youth Mental Health (CYMH) program is a provinciallysponsored  initiative that aims to build school district capacity for developing research-informed school mental health policies. This article reports findings from a mixed-methods study that employs social network theory and analysis tools to explore the centrality of CYMH coaches within this research brokering network. Overall, CYMH coaches are central within these social networks, although the patterns of interaction differ from the program’s original design, with some coaches being more central than others. While formal CYMH professional development events appear to be the most direct approach to connecting research, policy, and practice, informal social networks provide the support necessary to make sense of research-based materials for use in local policymaking.