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 the director, an assistant director for operations, senior scientific officer, research manager, program manager, communication officer, project coordinators, and several 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 Policy Memo, K2P Citizens Consultation Summary, and K2P Media Bites. The center also published the K2P Crisis Chronicles, the K2Parliament Series and the K2P COVID19 Series Initiative in response to pressing national and global policy priorities, The center also launched the K2P Mentorship Program that supports research and policy organizations in the six regions of the World Health Organization (WHO).
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 thrice as a WHO Collaborating Center for Evidence-Informed Policy and Practice. This designation, which has been in effect for three consecutive 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 center of its kind globally after McMaster Health Forum in Canada.