Help improve your local community by participating in a Discovery Workshop near you.

• Workshop Schedules

• Workshop Presentations 

• Workshop Reports

• Knowledge Syntheses

What are the Discovery Workshops?

The Discovery Workshops are critical to the success of the KIS project. The workshops bring academics together with community leaders who are familiar with the knowledge needs and resources of their region.

These workshops serve two purposes. First, they provide the KIS team with a better understanding of the knowledge needs and resources of Eastern Ontario, which allows the team to focus its efforts in the right areas. Second, the workshops build strong ties between community decision-makers and the KIS team.

Each region in Eastern Ontario will participate in one workshop. These workshops, held on Wednesdays throughout the fall of 2008 and winter/spring 2009, involve a short lunch or dinner, followed by a two-hour discussion.

What results can be expected and how will the KIS project benefit my community?

The Discovery Workshops shape the efforts of the KIS team in your area. In particular, the team will be better equipped to benefit your community in the following four ways:

• First, the project is developing critical communication channels between academics and those who put knowledge into practice in your community. Not only are the Discovery Workshops a venue for building these communication channels, but they also let academics know what kinds of research are useful and relevant, and where.

• Second, the KIS project allows the sharing of business experience across Eastern Ontario. Through this sharing, businesses can learn from one another about what works locally. The Discovery Workshops tell the KIS team the types of experiences it should pass along.

• Third, through this knowledge hub website, businesses across Eastern Ontario have access to a pool of business tools, reports, and practitioner-oriented academic research. The Discovery Workshops allow this hub to showcase the most relevant materials.

• Last, the KIS team is providing direct services to businesses across Eastern Ontario. These include free student consulting services, as well as surveys designed to measure and improve employee engagement. The Discovery Workshops give the providers of these services important background and context information so they can maximize their community impact.

For more information, download a copy of the Discovery Workshop Flyer (Français).