Factors Influencing Transfer Of Research Knowledge To Practice: A Case Of Selected Projects At The International Centre Of Insect Physiology And Ecology, Nairobi County, Kenya.

Abstract

This study aimed at establishing the factors that determine the transfer of research knowledge to practice with reference to the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Nairobi County. The study was informed by the following objectives; to determine how organization strategies influence the transfer of research knowledge into practice, to establish how management commitment influences the transfer of research knowledge to practice, to determine how the knowledge -transfer skills among the researchers in the organization influence the transfer of research knowledge into practice and to determine how community involvement influences the effective transfer of research knowledge into practice. All these were studied in relation to the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, ICIPE, Nairobi. The project was based on the Knowledge Theory which focuses on the intersection between beliefs, truth and justification, as well as the Performance Theory whose rationale is that humans are able to make extra ordinary accomplishments, produced from high level performances. It also highlighted other authors‟ insights on the factors that determine the effective transfer of research knowledge into practice with reference to ICIPE. A descriptive survey design was adapted seeing that the variables under investigation could not be quantified but could only be described in descriptive statistics. Using the Krejcie & Morgan Table (1970), a total of 106 respondents were selected from a total population of 150 people, picked from selected projects in the institution. Data was collected through the administering of a questionnaire to the respondents. Quantitative and qualitative techniques of data analysis methods were used to analyze the collected data through the use of SPSS software. Data was presented using tables to make the data more reader friendly. Ethical issues related to the study were addressed by maintaining high level confidentiality of the information volunteered by the respondents. The study found out that transfer of research knowledge was taking places and significant changes were noted from this with 60% agreeing to this. It also established that organization strategies, management commitment, acquiring of research knowledge transfer skills and community involvement all positively influenced transfer of research knowledge with each having a composite mean of 1.98, 2.2, 2.36 and 2.37 respectively. The study concluded that organization strategies put in place and management commitment encouraged transfer of research knowledge to practice, knowledge transfer skills were necessary for effective transfer and community involvement was key as created a sense of ownership of the project thus commitment to it even past the project life. The study recommended awareness creation of existing knowledge transfer objectives, the merging of related projects at point of research knowledge transfer, the allocation of more time and resources by project managers towards knowledge transfer activities, the equipping of the project teams with the necessary knowledge transfer skills, the involvement of the communities in all stages of the project and the intensification of follow-up activities post end of the project. Areas of further research work include the establishment of other factors influencing the transfer of research knowledge, the impact of effective involvement of communities in transfer of research knowledge into practice and the ways of improving management commitment for effective transfer of research knowledge.