NEWARK, Del. — The Education Knowledge Broker Network (EKBN) will bring together education knowledge brokers from across roles, organizations, and settings for its second annual Forum, Knowledge Brokering for a Changing World: Navigating Complexity. Building Trust. Creating Impact., February 23–25, 2027, in a fully virtual event hosted on Zoom Events.
The Forum comes at a moment when the work of connecting research, policy, and practice is becoming both more complex and more essential. Rapidly evolving technologies are changing how information is produced and accessed. Questions of trust and credibility increasingly shape whether evidence is heard and used. And across education, organizations and communities are looking not simply for more information, but for ways to translate knowledge into decisions, practices, and meaningful results.
The 2027 EKBN Forum is designed around three interconnected content strands that speak directly to those realities:
Navigating Complexity asks how knowledge brokers adapt to a rapidly evolving information landscape. Sessions will explore the intersection of AI, emerging technologies, future trends, and adaptive leadership—and what those shifts mean for the people and organizations working to connect evidence with practice and policy.
Building Trust centers the human relationships at the heart of knowledge brokering. This strand will examine how knowledge brokers can deepen relationships, center equity, maximize engagement, and foster authentic partnerships that strengthen both the production and use of research.
Creating Impact focuses on what happens when knowledge moves into action. Participants will explore effective knowledge mobilization, evaluation methods, and approaches for understanding and communicating impact, with attention to how evidence, relationships, and ideas can contribute to meaningful and measurable results.
Together, the three strands reflect a central reality of knowledge brokering today: navigating change, building relationships, and creating impact do not happen in isolation. Effective knowledge brokers must often do all three at once—making sense of an increasingly complicated information environment, developing the trust necessary for knowledge to move, and helping ensure that evidence ultimately contributes to better decisions and outcomes.
“The challenge today isn’t access to information. It’s building the trusted relationships and supporting infrastructure that help people understand and use it, making the work of knowledge brokers more important than ever,” said Katie Philp, EKBN Director. “The 2027 Forum is a place to address these challenges together, learn from one another, and strengthen the relationships and practices that can create meaningful action for learners.”
Unlike a traditional conference, the EKBN Forum is designed as an interactive, community-building experience. Across three days, participants will engage with practical strategies and emerging ideas, explore real-world examples of knowledge brokering in action, and connect with others doing similar work across the education landscape.
The Forum welcomes educators, researchers, intermediaries, organizational leaders, policy partners, and others working to strengthen the connections among research, practice, and policy. Participants do not need to hold the title “knowledge broker” to belong in the conversation. The event is designed for both experienced practitioners and those beginning to explore how knowledge brokering can strengthen their work.
EKBN is currently accepting proposals for the 2027 Forum. Prospective presenters are invited to contribute ideas, experiences, research, and approaches that advance the conversation within the Forum’s three content strands. Additional information about programming and featured speakers will be announced in the coming months.
For more information about the 2027 EKBN Forum, to submit a proposal, or to register for the event, visit ekbn.org/ekbn-forum.
The Education Knowledge Broker Network (EKBN) is a national network dedicated to connecting, supporting, and advancing the field of education knowledge brokering. EKBN builds community among knowledge brokers, develops and shares practical tools, and elevates the people and practices that promote meaningful, equitable use of evidence in education. Through professional learning opportunities, events, and collaborative spaces, EKBN strengthens the capacity of individuals and organizations across the knowledge-to-practice landscape. Learn more at ekbn.org.
