Frayme's Knowledge Mobilization Fellowship

Overview

The purpose of this fellowship program is to provide an intensive six (6) month training opportunity, leading to skill development for members of Groundbreakers who join the program as Fellows, as well as former fellows, who take on leadership roles as a peer mentors and the production and dissemination of knowledge products within the YMHSU system.

This means that through this program, Fellows and Peer Mentors have the opportunity to:

  • Gain and enhance skills related to professional knowledge mobilization, advocacy, knowledge equity, project management, and harnessing lived expertise
  • Meet new people and connect with organizations
  • Lead and/or support the publication of a knowledge product through Frayme channels

The skills gained through this experience ultimately contributed to the Fellow’s and Peer Mentors competitiveness in the employment and academic sphere. In addition to the skills gained, connections made, and knowledge produced, each participant received a certificate and had an opportunity to request letters of reference at the end of the program.

 

Read the FAQ

 

About the Fellowship Program:

Knowledge Mobilization (KMb) is all about turning knowledge into action. In the mental health space, knowledge is generated through a variety of sources and may come from research, new or innovative practices, or most importantly, from people with lived and living expertise. At Frayme, we aim to capture and share knowledge across the youth mental health and substance use system. Our goal is to influence policies and programs and ultimately help shape practice and improve mental health and substance use services for youth. Thus, we aim to have a system-level impact through knowledge use. 

Unfortunately, simply creating knowledge does not ensure use. This is because organizations that produce and use knowledge are often siloed, and information is not always shared in ways that are accessible and inclusive. In addition, youth mental health can undergo rapid changes and the evidence base must change and grow as well. Therefore, it’s important for organizations to have access to timely, accessible, inclusive and relevant knowledge. Including those with lived and living experience in the creation of knowledge products is one way to help ensure this relevance.
 

Who: Frayme’s KMb Fellowship originated from the need for knowledge products to be relevant and actionable. By having our Groundbreakers co-create knowledge products, we were able to walk alongside youth and caregivers but let them lead the way in product creation. The fellowship provided training and skill development to 10 Groundbreaker KMb Fellows.

What: These Fellows worked in pairs to co-create meaningful knowledge products, and they collaborated with Frayme to showcase and disseminate their products within the youth mental health and substance use (YMHSU) system.

Why: From this program, we were able to create community, increase connections, build capacity and create new opportunities among Frayme Groundbreakers.
 

Fellowship Process

The fellowship program runs for a duration of 4 - 6 months, depending on the year. During this time, Fellows participated in 5-6 training sessions focused on the fundamental skills and theories of knowledge mobilization. During the training, Fellows work with Frayme to combine personal passions with sector knowledge gaps to create a knowledge product of their choosing. Based on their interest, Fellows worked together in pairs to co-develop a knowledge product. During this time, they had bi-weekly allyship check-ins with a Frayme ally, regular one-on-one and group check-ins with their peer mentors, independent peer-review sessions led by fellows, and completed bi-weekly evaluations. At the end of the fellowship, Fellows and peer mentor present their products and share their experiences from the program at Frayme’s annual Learning Institute to a national audience that typically exceeds more than 500 attendees. They also received a certificate from Frayme for completing the training and fellowship program. Below, we showcase these products.

Cohort #1 Projects

Meet our first round of Fellows!

Throughout four months (Fall 2021 to Winter 2022), 10 Fellows participated in Frayme's intensive Knowledge Mobilization Fellowship to learn and co-create together. During this time, they developed several knowledge products to inform the youth mental health and substance use sector by harnessing the power of their lived expertise to fuel the design, development, and implementation of their work. 

These brilliant Fellows coined themselves the "K Stars" and presented their work at #Frayme2022 to showcase how their lived/living expertise was at the forefront of their learnings. In the video below, hear firsthand from youth and caregiver advocates across Canada about how to combine lived expertise, knowledge mobilization, and evidence meaningfully. Spanning topics from Virtual Care Solutions to Integrated Youth Services and Newcomer Youth, the shared content and learnings were just as diverse as our Fellows. ​

Testimonials from our first Cohort

“Keep up the energy and care! Everyone is doing so fantastic. I can tell they really care. I know it takes a lot of energy to do all those small acts and it seems like they don't make a impact... but they have made a huge impact on me and have made me feel happy to participate!” 

"i've enjoyed the little community we've built together - seeing everyone's peer prototype and having that space to be able to learn from each other and seek feedback - it was really helpful and absolutely informed our knowledge mobilization product; before the peer prototype week we thought we were very very behind and not on track so it was reassuring to know that we were all sort of working away at it at our own pace and none of us were actually behind - it was a big relief to know that and i don't think we would've known had the peer prototype session not happened" 

“The people I've met and connections I've made - so far I've never left a training/meeting without having smiled at least once (and it's just because everyone is so wonderful!) " 
 

 

 

Explore their KMb products

Mikaela and Zee

Themes: youth anxiety and depression, virtual intervention

Micaela and Zee chose to create a Zine based on Frayme's Town Hall Report. Frayme partnered with Homewood Research Institute to identify valid and reliable measurement scales for anxiety and depression for digital interventions (e.g., apps) targeting youth between ages 13 and 25. As part of this work, we hosted one town hall and one focus group with 36 youth and caregivers with lived and living expertise (PWLE) to share their experiences. The Zine explores these findings using creative storytelling methods. Fun fact: Zee drew all these illustrations!

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Lauren and Hajar

Themes: newcomer youth, prevention, promotion

Lauren and Hajar chose to create a white paper exploring newcomer youth mental health, specifically focusing on prevention and promotion strategies. The Fellows led this work and were not based on previous Frayme projects. They also connected with a community partner who supported newcomer youth to better integrate lived expertise into their white paper.

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Ervis and Braeden

Themes: newcomer youth

Braeden and Ervis also explored newcomer youth mental, creating an evidence brief that explores how to best address the challenges of newcomer youth through mental health services and supports. This document provides key considerations in newcomer youth mental health and substance use, as well as strategies to improve current services and address care gaps.  

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Angela and Anne Marie

Themes: integrated youth services

Anne Marie and Angela created a toolkit for youth to bring integrated youth services (IYS) into their communities. This toolkit was based on a report from The Grove Hubs (formally the Integrated Youth Services Network of Guelph/Wellington), which partnered with Homewood Research Institute to evaluate their IYS model. Using the Grove Hubs as an example, the toolkit explores key considerations in successfully bringing IYS into one's community, including engagement, collaboration, and equity.

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Katelyn and Yvonne

Themes: youth and caregiver engagement, virtual care

Yvonne and Katelyn created products based on two Frayme projects. The ASK document was based on Frayme's engagement literature review and explored questions to ask from both a service provider and youth/caregiver lens when engaging in opportunities. They also created a Virtual Care checklist, which explores questions to reflect on following a virtual care session. 

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Cohort #2 Projects

MEET OUR SECOND ROUND OF FELLOWS AND OUR FIRST ROUND OF PEER MENTORS!

Throughout six months (Fall 2022 to Winter 2023), 8 Fellows and 2 peer mentors participated in Frayme's intensive Knowledge Mobilization Fellowship to learn and co-create together. During this time, Fellows developed several knowledge products to inform the youth mental health and substance use sector by harnessing the power of their lived expertise to fuel the design, development, and implementation of their work. Peer mentors had the opportunity to utilize their expertise and past experiences to be a leader within the program, creating spaces for empowered brainstorming, bi-directional learning, and creative problem solving, among other things. 

These incredible Fellows and Peer Mentors presented their work at #Frayme2023 to showcase how their lived/living expertise was at the forefront of their learnings. In the video below, hear firsthand from youth and caregiver advocates across Canada about how to combine lived expertise, knowledge mobilization, and evidence meaningfully. Spanning topics from Virtual Care Solutions to Integrated Youth Services and Newcomer Youth, the shared content and learnings were just as diverse as our Fellows. ​

Testimonials from our second cohort

“I have been so happy with my experience in the fellowship thus far. Not only are the meetings extremely educating on behalf of the wisdom of Travis and Micaela, but in each meeting, I can develop meaningful relationships with fellows passionate about enacting change. I am so excited to continue my training in the fellowship and to continue learning from the faculty and my fellows. I want to thank the Frayme team for making these meetings so accessible and fostering an inclusive and supportive environment where people feel safe to share and learn. “ 

“The tight knit community that is being formed during the sessions and the fact that there is no expectation of being experienced in the area of knowledge mobilization has been really helpful and enhanced my experience thus far. The emphasis of there isn’t a wrong answer or failure makes me motivated to engage and connect with the material. “

“I have enjoyed the level of engagement and support from both the other fellows and team at Frayme. I've gotten to know the other fellows and engage in interactive activities through the training, which have allowed me to get to know the others. The Frayme team does everything they can to make you feel comfortable and safe during the sessions. They also keep us well up to date on any changes and our weeks at a glance.” 

Julia and Abeer

Themes: integrated care pathways

Julia and Abeer share their use of the HSO toolkit and future implementation plans on Frayme’s podcast. Frayme partnered with the Health Standards Organization (HSO) to help create a Pathways Toolkit to Help Advance People-Centred Integrated Care. This toolkit is designed to help teams develop context-driven and evidence-based integrated care pathways in partnership with their community. The podcast episode explores how Julia and Abeer implemented aspects of the toolkit in their own work and local context of Prince Edward Island. 

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Monica and Mishika

Themes: stepped care

Monica and Mishika created a Stepped Care toolkit for Functional Neurological Disorder. Stepped care is a framework for developing a health system, and involves incorporating a variety of interventions across a continuum of support that can be matched to a client’s needs and preferences. This toolkit is based on work supported by Frayme that identified guiding principles for how to implement stepped care in the mental health sector. 

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Stacie and Jill

Themes: integrated youth services

Stacie and Jill created the grassroots advocacy website One Step Together, which encourages local action to implement integrated youth services. This work is based on a report exploring Integrated Youth Services (IYS) as they currently exist in Canada. Commissioned by the Bell-Graham Boeckh Foundation Partnership, the report outlines the foundational principles and core components of IYS, its evolution and related research evidence, as well as its achievements, challenges, and opportunities, moving forward. 

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Sam and Justin

Themes: knowledge equity

Sam and Justin created a graphic zine exploring the concept of knowledge equity from an LGBTQ+ lens. The zine explores the queer experience in the mental health sector, and how knowledge equity can be integrated into mental health research and service provision to better integrate the lived experiences of queer youth. 

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Lessons Learned

Lessons Learned - Fellowship 1
The biggest lesson learned was to walk alongside youth and caregivers, but let them lead the way- the journey will surprise and inspire you. We were constantly impressed by the creativity of our Fellows and were thrilled by the Fellows' evaluation of the program. One of the major success factors was capacity building, with Fellows reporting increased knowledge, a sense of accomplishment and skills gained. Another success factor was mentorship and connection. Fellows valued the opportunity to learn and grow from others, appreciated the authentic and genuine engagement from Frayme, reported a real sense of community in the fellowship, appreciating Frayme’s support, care and flexibility. Finally, Fellows reported increased opportunities, as they were able to attend free training, present to an international audience and disseminate knowledge products to the border YMHSU sector. Going forward, we will continue to focus on quality by increasing support, extending the length of the fellowship, and focusing on relationship building and mentorship.

Lessons Learned - Fellowship 2
Though the lessons from our second Fellowship cohort mirror those of the first significantly, what we learned through this cohort will help us to continue to grow and improve the Fellowship program as a whole. One of the biggest lessons through this cohort was the importance of working in partnership with stakeholders from the beginning, and the importance of staying flexible and adaptable with challenges or changes that may arise. Another learning opportunity came through the continued creativity and passion that shines through in these projects. Balancing these important, valued traits within the timelines of a 6-month program is both challenging and rewarding. This can be further supported by creating a sense of community and shared understanding, through safe spaces, support, guidance, and group brainstorming, which were essential to developing successful projects and meaningful engagement. As with our previous cohort, we look forward to taking these lessons learned and integrating them into our 2023/2024 Fellowship program. 
 

APPLICATION

Questions about your application to the KMb Fellowship? Email our Engagement Team at Frayme.Engagement@theroyal.ca for specific inquiries.

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Cohort 3: Apply now 

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