Getting-started sequence: build authentic partnerships, assess intervention-context fit, then budget for continuous revision¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 1 claim (1 for) · 1 study (1 review), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description¶

The article's concrete recommendation for researchers and practitioners beginning an implementation project. It prescribes a sequence: "education researchers and practitioners should first cultivate authentic partnerships with local stakeholders—including students, teachers, administrators, and families—to clearly understand and articulate local needs"; then collaboratively explore multiple intervention options and rigorously assess compatibility with the unique cultural, structural, and systemic characteristics of the context; and plan so as to explicitly budget time, resources, and personnel for continuous revision based on ongoing feedback.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Partnerships must be authentic and formed before intervention selection; compatibility assessment must cover cultural, structural, and systemic characteristics

Constraints¶

• The article cautions that even with simplified protocols, bridging the gap remains a significant undertaking requiring dedicated time, resources, and continuous attention

Target Learners¶

• Students in the local school communities whose needs anchor the intervention selection

Target Learning Goals¶

• Selecting interventions that fit local needs and sustaining them through adaptive revision

Affordances¶

• Epis Four Phase Education Implementation Framework

Claims¶

• Implementation projects most commonly fail due to simplistic planning, lack of adaptation, and poor teamwork [+W]

Related Strategies¶

• Five getting-started steps for building an integrated, school-based system of care
• Implementation-phase supports: staff engagement, communication and action plans, thought partnership, and self-assessment rubrics
• Pilot guidance documents with a small set of schools and iterate before wide dissemination
• Use university–district research partnerships to build district evaluation capacity and train practitioner-scholars
• Assess organisational readiness at the start of an adaptive learning implementation project by selecting context-relevant determinants from the framework
• Conduct stakeholder analysis before implementing a national competency framework

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Allen, S. E., Bardach, L., Jirout, J., Mackey, A., McCoy, D., Pesando, L. M., & Kizilcec, R. F. (2026). A practical implementation science framework for education. npj Science of Learning. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-026-00430-w