Let's Get To Work: Knowledge Translation and the Future of Disability Employment Policy

Jonathan Martinis, Director of Knowledge Translation for the DEP RRTC, and Barry Whaley, Director of the Southeast ADA Center, join the DEP RRTC’s Let’s Get to Work podcast to discuss how knowledge translation can connect research, policy, and real-world impact. Peter Blanck, University Professor and Chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University and Principal Investigator of the DEP RRTC, hosts a conversation focused on the importance of “conveying information to people that is useful, robust, accessible, and in plain language to both improve disability employment policy and disability employment.” To that end, Jonathan explains that knowledge translation is more than just providing information; it’s about connecting information to action. “Knowledge translation is a bridge,” he says. “It is a bridge between what we know or what we're going to find out and what we're doing.” Barry emphasizes that knowledge translation must engage stakeholders and be responsive to their needs, saying, “unless there is communication with the people receiving that information and that it is useful to them, then we've not succeeded in our mission.” Together, Jonathan and Barry discuss how the DEP RRTC and Southeast ADA Center are using multiple tools to translate complex research and resources into practical guidance, with a clear focus: “Knowledge translation is what makes good information into good policy and practice.”