By Dr. Jacob Barry, Knowledge Translation and Engagement Lead, Arcana Creative – a social impact design studio based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

---

Every year, nonprofits invest significant resources into research and program evaluation, only to watch the findings sit in a PDF that almost no one reads. Knowledge translation (KT) is the practice of turning research into accessible, usable resources that reach the people who need them. For nonprofits working with communities, policymakers, funders, and frontline staff, strong knowledge translation is how research becomes change.

This guide walks nonprofit communicators and program staff through a practical, step-by-step approach to knowledge translation, from identifying the right audiences to choosing formats that actually get used.

Why Most Research Reports Go Unread

The problem is rarely the quality of the research, more likely it’s the format. A 60-page academic report written for peer review will not reach a community member navigating a health decision, a frontline worker looking for a quick reference tool, or a city councillor preparing for a budget meeting. Different audiences need different things, and a single report format cannot serve all of them equally well.

Knowledge translation asks organizations to stop thinking about research dissemination as a final step and start treating it as a design problem: who needs to know this, what do they need to do with it, and what format will actually reach them?

7 Steps to Stronger Knowledge Translation for Nonprofits

1) Start with audience and action, not content

The most common approach folks take is deciding on a format as the first step in knowledge translation. The idea of a report, or a comic, or a social media post might be what’s most comfortable, or even exciting. But before deciding on the output, nonprofit teams should ask two questions: Who needs to know this? And what do we want them to be able to do with it? A funder who needs to make a renewal decision needs something different from a community member who needs to understand whether a program is right for them. Identifying the specific audience and the specific action they should take is the foundation of a strong KT plan.

2) Name the gap your research closes

What did people believe or do before this research existed? What should they believe or do after engaging with it? The distance between those two things is the KT project. Organizations that can articulate this gap clearly will produce sharper, more focused outputs, along with stronger grant applications.

3) Match the format to the audience

Once the audience and action are clear, the right format usually follows naturally. Decision-makers and policymakers respond well to brief policy summaries and one-pagers with clear recommendations. Community members often engage more deeply with illustrated narratives, social media campaigns, plain-language briefs, or short videos. Frontline workers benefit from practical tools like checklists, reference cards, and training resources. Many research projects require more than one format, and planning for that is part of a good process.

4) Apply plain language from the start

Plain language is a writing practice that should be applied throughout content development. This means using short sentences, active voice, everyday vocabulary, clear headings, and testing content with real readers before finalizing it. Plain language standards are well-established and widely accessible.

5) Involve the audience in the process

The most effective KT outputs are developed alongside the communities they are meant to serve. This might look like a community advisory review of draft materials, focus groups with intended users, or co-design sessions that bring community members into the process from the beginning. Organizations like Arcana Creative structure KT projects around this kind of participatory approach, which consistently produces materials that communities recognize themselves in and trust.

6) Plan for distribution before the product is finished

A well-designed report that sits on a website with no traffic is still a report that nobody reads. Distribution planning — like who will share this, through which channels, to which audiences, and when — should happen alongside content development. This includes thinking about social media assets, partner sharing agreements, email campaigns, and in-person presentations.

7) Repurpose strategically across outputs

One research project can fuel many KT outputs over time. A full report can generate a plain-language summary, a series of social media graphics, a slide deck for presentations, and an illustrated narrative, all drawing from the same source material. Planning for repurposing at the start of a project makes each output less expensive and time-consuming to produce, and helps organizations build a consistent body of communications around their research over time.

---

---

Common KT Mistakes Nonprofits Make

Even well-resourced organizations run into the same pitfalls. Writing for “the general public” without specifying who that actually is, leaving KT planning to the last week before a grant submission, underfunding translation, design, and accessibility work, and producing outputs without a plan for getting them in front of the people who need them.

The Research Activation Studio at Arcana Creative works with nonprofits, research teams, and community organizations to address all of these challenges, from early-stage KT strategy through to final design and distribution planning.

---

Real-World Examples of Knowledge Translation Done Well

The Community-University Institute for Social Research (CUISR) partnered with Arcana Creative to transform a dense academic housing report into an accessible, visually engaging community report that advocates could take directly to City Hall. The same research also fueled the design of the 2024 Saskatoon Point-in-Time Homelessness Count report, giving frontline organizations a powerful tool for public engagement.

---

SaskPain and the Saskatchewan Health Authority worked with Arcana to translate chronic pain and substance use research into graphic medicine comics — a format that healthcare providers are now using in clinical conversations across the province. The comics were co-created with Elders, researchers, and people with lived experience, ensuring the final outputs were accurate, trauma-informed, and culturally safe.

---

Getting Started

Strong knowledge translation doesn’t require a large budget or a dedicated communications team. It requires asking the right questions early: Who needs this? What should they do with it? What format will actually reach them?

Organizations that build KT into their project planning from the beginning consistently produce research that reaches further, lasts longer, and creates more meaningful change. For nonprofits looking to deepen their KT practice, Arcana Creative’s Research Activation Studio offers workshops, strategy sessions, and full-service KT support. Teams can also reach out directly to discuss what knowledge translation could look like for their next project.