Enhancing Technology Transfer in the Canadian Beef Industry

Background

The BCRC developed a “Knowledge Dissemination and Technology Transfer Strategy” during the first Beef Science Cluster and implemented it during the second Beef Science Cluster. These technology transfer efforts have greatly increased producer and industry awareness about the importance and relevance of applied beef and forage research and have transformed scientific research results into understandable and useful information and tools that have been delivered into the hands of producers. An important step has been to identify the key “influencers” that producers turn to for advice (e.g. veterinarians). The Beef Cluster’s technology transfer efforts have centered on the www.beefresearch.ca website and the videos, webinars, infographics, production tools and other producer resources that are posted there. This site has seen wide acceptance by the agricultural media as well. An extension workshop in the fall of 2016 brought together technology transfer and extension experts from across Canada, and identified some key technology transfer initiatives with national relevance that everyone could work on together under the third Beef Science Cluster to effect lasting change and adoption of changes deemed to be critically important to Canada’s beef industry.

Objectives

• Support and deliver a range of technology transfer mechanisms that effectively accelerate the uptake of research outcomes by industry,
• Enhance extension initiatives through greater communication, collaboration, and tools that empower technology transfer agents.

What They Will Do

The BCRC extension team will support and deliver numerous technology transfer mechanisms that speed the uptake of promising research outcomes by industry, and to enhance extension initiatives through greater communication, collaboration, and tools that empower technology transfer agents. They will:

• regularly communicate with industry (e.g. articles, fact sheets, videos, infographics, radio clips, webinars, USBs),
• produce new resources (e.g. more of the above, plus interactive decision making and cost analysis tools; multi-media, timed appropriately, aimed at multiple audiences, particularly early adopters)
• lead innovative efforts to increase the impact of knowledge and technology transfer efforts (e.g. Bov-Innovation, measuring adoption, feedback from producers and extension experts to better understand why things are adopted and adapted or rejected and fail),
• enhance website functionality (www.beefresearch.ca) the framework for most Beef Cluster extension efforts),
• engage researchers with industry (e.g. Beef Researcher Mentorship), and
• evaluate and appropriately modify the Knowledge Dissemination and Technology Transfer Strategy and the Canadian Beef Research and Technology Transfer Strategy (measuring traffic, feedback, adoption, etc. and modifying as indicated).

Implications

This project will make key research results available to producers, other industry end-users, the public and policy makers via www.beefresearch.ca, webinars, on-farm decision making tools, and other avenues to encourage the rapid adoption of new science and innovations, thereby providing a return on industry and public investments in the Beef Science Cluster.