Knowledge Utilization

Abstract

Knowledge utilization—research, scholarly and programmatic intervention activities aimed at increasing the use of knowledge to solve human problems—is presently in its third wave of actavcty in the United States. Definitions of the field, a historical analysis of each of the three waves (1920-1960, 1960-1980, and the present), and an overview of the knowledge base on knowledge utilization are presented in a brief state-of-the-art review for this field as of 1990. Seven larger societal trends that will affect knowledge utilization in the 1990s are explored, along with four significant challenges that the field will face internally, and some suggested mechanisms for creative response.