David Phipps

Hello, my name is David Phipps. I have a PhD in science and an MBA. I lead the research office at York University which includes our Knowledge Mobilization Unit. I am the Knowledge Translation Lead for Kids Brain Heath Network and I am the Network Director for Research Impact Canada.

Whatever you call it (KMb, KT, etc.), what I do is help researchers, students and their non-academic (community, government) research partners collaborate so they can maximize their health, economic, social, environmental and cultural benefits to society. In other words, I help research teams and their partners achieve impact. In some cases, the new knowledge that results from research projects is what makes a difference, but sometimes it is more concrete like a commercial product that is tested thoroughly before it is sold to solve a real societal problem.  I have expertise in both the application of new knowledge to benefit society, as well as the commercialization process for products that have been developed within the context of a research project.

My primary focus is on supporting impact by helping the researchers in our academic research environment to have the resources they need. Over 12 years our work has helped attract more than $60M in external research income for research projects that involve a community partner. The types of projects are diverse; within the faculties of health, social sciences, environmental sciences, with some humanities and engineering projects.

I am also very interested in the global conversation on impact. I have worked on impact with colleagues from the UK, US, Australia, New Zealand and some in Europe and Africa. I have just been named the inaugural co-chair of the Engagement and Impact Working Group for the International Network of Research Management Societies working with 18 research management societies from around the world. There is a global conversation emerging on the impacts of research and how to achieve and evaluate them.  For me, it is fascinating to understand the differences in cultures and make connections among the similarities.

I work at a systems level. My passion is to help my institution and others to develop strategies (policies, practices, services) that ultimately help researchers and their partners plan for, conduct and assess research impact.