Knowledge Hub Vetting Processes

The Engaged Center Knowledge Hub will function as a national hub for medical rehabilitation researchers, disability community members, and community organizations by developing, synthesizing, and disseminating evidence-informed resources that advance community-engaged, disability-inclusive, and accessible medical rehabilitation research (MRR).

The Knowledge Hub is an online repository grounded in knowledge translation strategies and community-engaged research principles. The Knowledge Hub will use an iterative, stakeholder-informed process to ensure that resources align with the priorities, needs, and lived experiences of people with disabilities while strengthening national MRR infrastructure.

The vetting process for creating and maintaining the Knowledge Hub is as follows:

  1.     Priority identification and needs assessment
  2.     Resource inventory and gap analysis
  3.     Resource selection

These steps are outlined below.

Steps

Step 1: Priority Identification and Needs Assessment: The Resource Core will identify priority resources through internal mechanisms (coordinating cross-core activities) and external mechanisms (soliciting suggested topics and gaps).  Sources will include:

  • Internal Engaged Core recommendations and findings
  • Recommendations from people with disabilities and community organizations
  • Recommendations from interdisciplinary researchers
  • Emerging evidence, practice, and national research priorities

Step 2: Resource Inventory and Gap Analysis

Based on the identified priorities, we will curate a variety of existing resources for the Knowledge Hub while concurrently defining a focused set of priority topics for targeted ongoing resource curation. We will review and assess existing resources, identifying gaps relevant to inclusive, community-engaged rehabilitation research. Each review will assess:

  1. Availability of high-quality resources
  2. Attention to disability, accessibility, and inclusion
  3. Alignment with community-engaged research principles
  4. Responsiveness to stakeholder-identified needs

Step 3: Resource Selection

Products may include:

  •       Peer-reviewed academic literature
  •       Research briefs, guides, and toolkits
  •       Community-engagement frameworks
  •       Training curricula, case studies, and promising practices
  •       Plain-language, accessible materials for community partners
  •       Lived-experience narratives and storytelling products
  •       Webinars, training videos, and other digital resources

Resources will be selected following a Knowledge Hub quality screening process. Submission will be through completion of a short form outlining the type of resource, target audience, purpose of resource, initial quality screening, summary, and recommendation. The Resource Core will review submissions and make final recommendations. This process will identify opportunities to leverage existing resources, avoid duplication, and prioritize key topics for further development.