Knowledge Cycle

Humans have been thinking, talking, and writing about knowledge for thousands of years.  The knowledge cycle can be traced back to the foundations of the scientific method (hypothesis, experimentation, evaluation) in the 1600s.  In the 1980s–90s, W. Edwards Deming introduced the PDSA cycle: Plan, Do, Study, Act.  Academic researchers now recognize that knowledge mobilization—the dissemination of findings and understanding, also known as knowledge transfer or exchange—is essential to the academic research process. This led to the development of a detailed knowledge-to-action (KTA) cycle by Ian Graham, which has been adopted and promoted by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

The Knowledge Cycle image illustrates the key idea of the knowledge cycle—that it is a cycle or continuous loop. The cycle can begin with a research question, a set of data, or a learning, which then leads to a decision to change practice. 

For data to be turned into useful knowledge it needs to be analyzed and interpreted to generate meaningful insights. The insights from the data are used to form knowledge, which becomes the basis for further action. Knowledge is then applied in real-world practices, with the goal of making improvements or changes. The cycle continues as actions taken from the new knowledge generate new data, and the process repeats to ensure continuous learning and improvement.

While both the Knowledge Cycle depicted here and CIHR’s KTA cycle are iterative frameworks aimed at improving outcomes, the Knowledge Cycle is a concise, general-purpose tool for testing and learning from change, whereas the CIHR KTA cycle is a comprehensive, health research–focused model that encompasses the entire academic knowledge lifecycle; it pays explicit attention to activities like adapting knowledge to local contexts, assessing barriers to knowledge use, tailoring interventions, and sustaining the use of knowledge. The KTA cycle builds on the principles of PDSA but expands them to address the complexities of moving research evidence into real-world health practice.

The Knowledge Cycle illustrates a continuous flow between three main domains: Data, Knowledge, and Practice. This circular process can start with collecting and analyzing data, leading to the representation and application of knowledge, which culminates in taking action to change practice. Action leads back to new data collection and another turn of the cycle.

Deeper Dive

Related Frameworks