Adopting and scaling interventions

10 Jan

By timcooper
Cause in

Two learning opportunities:

Using Implementation Science to Advance the Adoption of Evidence-Based Programs | Tuesday, September 30, 3:00 p.m.–4:30 p.m. (ET)

A Mathematica Issue Forum and Webinar Presented by the Center for Improving Research Evidence (CIRE)

Researchers, policymakers, and practitioners have a growing interest in programs backed by rigorous evidence of effectiveness. However, reproducing the positive effects of these programs, as found in the research, requires more than simply adopting evidence-based programs into practice. There is growing recognition across disciplines of the importance of implementation research to guide the adoption, replication, and scale-up of evidence-based programs. Mathematica will host a public policy forum to discuss this emerging field of implementation science, including:

An overview of implementation science and the research questions it can answer
Gaps in implementation knowledge and current research needs
The ways in which federal agencies, foundations, and program leaders can use the evidence generated by implementation science to improve program implementation and quality

Please join Mathematica's CIRE for a policy forum on Tuesday, September 30, 3:00–4:30 p.m. (ET) at our Washington, DC, office or via webinar. Refreshments will be served at a networking reception for all attendees and panelists immediately following the forum.

Ann Person, CIRE's director, will open the forum, and Mathematica's Diane Paulsell will moderate the expert panel discussion. Our panelists include:

Debra Joy Pérez, The Annie E. Casey Foundation
Lauren Supplee, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Allison Metz, The National Implementation Research Network

For more information, please contact cire@mathematica-mpr.com. Register here.

Scaling an Effective Intervention: How to Build Implementation Capacity, Replicate with Fidelity, and Produce Consistent Outcomes Tuesday, October 14, 2014, 3:00 – 4:30 pm (ET)

Speaker: Dr. Dean Fixsen, Founder of National Implementation Research Network (NIRN); Co-Director of State Implementation and Scaling Up of Evidence-Based Practices Center (SISEP)

Moderator: Ingvild Bjornvold, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Social Solutions

When Dean Fixsen and his colleagues at the National Implementation Research Network (NIRN) present, they tell their audiences something shocking: Despite billions of public dollars invested to figure out what works to solve social problems, programs have – on a national scale – produced poor outcomes.

How can that be? The simple answer is that evidence-based programs and practices are often researched under ideal conditions. When practitioners attempt to replicate them in real life, they are not able to implement the interventions with fidelity to the original model. Hence, they do not get the same outcomes. Our collective focus on innovation has come at the expense of paying attention to what it takes to replicate effective programs and practices under real-world conditions.

Join us in a conversation with Dr. Fixsen to hear what it takes to improve social outcomes on a large scale by making effective use of existing interventions:

What must be in place in order for an evidence-based program or practice to be replicable?
What does effective implementation look like? How can we build the necessary implementation capacity to replicate with fidelity?
What conditions are required to enable successful implementation? How can we put in place those conditions?
Attendees will learn about active implementation frameworks, and hear how they have been put to successful use in various contexts. Dr. Fixsen will answer questions from the audience.

This webinar is appropriate for those in the public and nonprofit sectors who want to understand how to produce positive outcomes for a larger population by scaling up existing interventions. Register here.