Jonathan Martinis and Barry Whaley on Knowledge Translation and the Future of Disability Employment Policy

“Let’s Get to Work:” A Podcast from the Disability Employment Policy Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (DEP RRTC) – Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University.

 

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.”

• •  Listen: Let’s Get to Work: Knowledge Translation and the Future of Disability Employment Policy
  •  Transcript: Let’s Get to Work: Knowledge Translation and the Future of Disability Employment Policy [PDF file]
  •  Episode page: Let’s Get to Work: Knowledge Translation and the Future of Disability Employment Policy

About the Let’s Get to Work Podcast

The Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University, in collaboration with Harvard Medical School, Rutgers University, Cornell University, and Mathematica, invites you to listen to our podcast series: “Let’s Get to Work: Reimagining Disability Employment Policy”. “Let’s Get to Work” features guests with unique knowledge and experience who share their perspective on disability employment policy as part of the work of the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR)-funded Disability Employment Policy Rehabilitation Research and Training Center. Join us and Let’s Get to Work!

Meet the Let’s Get To Work! Sponsors

The Disability Employment Policy Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (DEP RRTC)

The Disability Employment Policy Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (DEP RRTC) is funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR, grant #90RTEM0016) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University, Harvard Medical School, Rutgers University, Cornell University, and Mathematica are partnering to design and implement a series of studies that produce new data and evidence on disability employment policy to enhance employment outcomes for persons with disabilities.

Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University (BBI)

The Burton Blatt Institute reaches around the globe to advance the civic, economic, and social participation of people with disabilities through innovative research that informs policy, programs, and practice development. BBI builds on the legacy of Burton Blatt, a pioneering disability rights scholar. BBI has offices in Syracuse, New York and Lexington, Kentucky.

Southeast ADA Center

Based in Lexington, Kentucky, the Southeast ADA Center (SEADA) is one of ten regional ADA Centers in the ADA National Network. ADA Centers provide information, training, and guidance on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). SEADA is a project of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University. The Center is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration on Community Living (ACL), National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR).