February 2012

The Science of Implementation

Similar to evidence-based interventions, the science and practice of implementation has a literature and experience base to support it.  This is reassuring in that both parts of the formula for success are supported by research and analyses of best practices.

The difference is that the science and best practices for effective implementation are very different from the science related to interventions in education and beyond.

The Serum and the Syringe

Like serum and a syringe, the science base for the serum is quite different from the science base for preparation of the medical staff, so they know when, where, how, and with whom to use (or not use) the syringe to deliver the serum to accomplish important health outcomes.

In education, there is a rich history of well-documented and well-researched approaches to curriculum, instruction practices, and behavior. The missing link has been implementation: the serum is available, but a system or “syringe” for the preparation of the educational staff so they know when, where, how, and with whom to deliver effective education approaches to students has been missing.
SISEP's scaling work is based on implementation support frameworks established by the National Implementation Research Network (NIRN).

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of the monograph

NIRN conducted an extensive review of the implementation evaluation literature resulting in a meta-analysis of nearly 800 articles related to effective implementation practices in fields such as aging, agriculture, business, child welfare, education, engineering, health, information technology, juvenile justice, manufacturing, medicine, mental health, nursing, public health, social services, and substance abuse prevention and treatment.

The frameworks were tested and elaborated in a series of meetings with evidence-based program developers who were successfully helping others make effective uses of those programs in typical practice settings; and with groups of evidence-based program users, cultural competence experts, and policy makers.