Transfer - from knowledge to action

This study takes its starting point in a profound wondering why there is this gap or asymmetry between commonly shared knowledge and practice in the field of deafblindness.

A Danish survey from 2009 highlights nine conditions that need to be satisfied for transfer actually to happen. These nine conditions are investigated in a dialogical perspective – the aim is to investigate whether or not dialogical theories add a deeper understanding to the transfer process.

The aim of this study is to be able to propose interventions that foster an environment at deafblind organizations that strengthens the staff´s sense of being competent partners and be able to hold on to the competent partners, so the congenital deafblind partners get an opportunity to experience a life full of sustainable relationships.

The focus is an investigation on where enthusiasm and energy go when course participants return to work and have to use the lessons learned, taking the staff´s perspectives, and the empirical work is therefore based on 18 interviews with eight staff who had all attended staff development courses during 2009.

The study concludes that dialogical theories add a social psychological dimension to the notions on transfer. A dimension that helps us to understand some of the mechanisms that are in play in both social interactions and work culture, as well as in the individual´s encounter with new knowledge. In the conclusion, the study also proposes that deafblind organizations proactively discuss both staff development (in relation to job utility) and the mission, in order to co-create coherence and meaningfulness.