July, 2016

Stage-based Planning

Putting together an implementation plan for the coming school year?  We recommend stage-based planning.

Implementation is not an event, but a process involving multiple decisions, actions, and corrections designed to make full and effective use of innovations. NIRN identifies four implementation stages: Exploration, Installation, Initial Implementation and Full Implementation.

When we pay attention to implementation stages we can match our activities to that stage, increase the likelihood of moving successfully through that stage, and prepare for the activities and challenges that we will face in the next stage.

A recent OPRE Brief entitled An Integrated Stage-Based Framework for Implementation of Early Childhood Programs and Systems (Metz et al., 2015) provides a definition, and examples, along with a stage-based planning tool in the appendix (see link below).

The OPRE brief recommends a stage-based framework that incorporates “three core implementation elements that are threaded through each stage of implementation.”

The three core elements are:

1. "building and using implementation teams to actively lead implementation efforts"
2. "using data and feedback loops to drive decision-making and promote continuous improvement"
3. "developing a sustainable implementation infrastructure that includes general capacity and innovation-specific capacity”

Get Started

• AI Hub Module 4: Implementation Stages

Get Better

• OPRE Brief: An Integrated Stage-Based Framework for Implementation of Early Childhood Programs and Systems
• AI Hub Lesson 7: Stages of Implementation Analysis
• Stages of Implementation Analysis: Where are We (planning tool)
• Implementation Stages Action Plan (planning tool)