Measurement of the take-up and use of information may be the most important measurement focus in the vast array of indicators that have emerged over the past 20 plus years. Beyond simple observation of the amount of interest in this type of indicator, it is logically a ‘keystone’ indicator for most performance frameworks. A good measure of the take-up and use of information is most often the vital link between what an organization or program puts out, and what a target recipient, client or stakeholder does with the information which in turn links to mission achievement and desired impacts.
Enter Canadian Kelly Skinner. In 2007 – the then doctoral student in the Department of Health Studies at University of Waterloo attempted to tackle the research vs adoption of ‘better’ practices gap in diabetes treatment by conducting extensive research and developing a rating system based on the work of Knott and Wildavsky (1980).[1] This study carefully considered approaches over time and developed and pilot tested a model survey which distils the concept of take-up and use into a sequence of easy to answer questions.
In 2017 – Performance and Planning Exchange chose to contribute support to Dr. Skinner and her prime researcher Dr Jasmin Bhawra to conduct a scoping review (see link below) and early user review (publication pending) to go along with a number of volunteer trials to hone the tool for various uses and purposes.