Collaborative for Implementation Practice
Leading Advancements in Implementation Practice
CORE TEAM
Allison Metz, Todd Jensen, Amanda Farley, Jenny Afkinich, Mackensie Disbennett, Jeannette Laboy, Audrey Loper, Nakenge Robertson
As the science of applying evidence to real-world service settings, implementation is the bridge between research and practice, or between what we know and what we do. Determining whether a program will succeed or fail may depend on several different factors and conditions, including the policies and resources in place to support it. Implementation science strives to understand why and how a program or intervention works to ensure successful outcomes for those being served.
Through the Collaborative for Implementation Practice (CIP) at UNC, a multidisciplinary team led by Director Allison Metz, Ph.D., professor of the practice in the SSW, is working to advance the science of implementation practice to understand how to effectively use and adapt different strategies in different contexts, service settings, and populations so that scientific discoveries are realized.
With approximately $1.25 million in annual grant support, the CIP is focused on building a global workforce that can translate and apply research findings to real-world problems to improve individual, family and community well-being. Advancing equity is at the heart of this work. Implementation science learns from a community’s diverse experiences — including their cultures, histories, values, needs and assets — to achieve equitable outcomes for the people who live there.
A key initiative in this work is CIP’s Institute on Implementation Practice. For the past five years, the institute, which is supported by the School’s Jordan Institute for Families, has brought together practitioners, researchers, nonprofit and government leaders, and direct service staff to share and learn about methods and tools for implementing evidence-informed interventions.
I have been attending conferences for 15 plus years, and this is the best learning event I have had the privilege to attend.
ATTENDEE, CIP INSTITUTE ON IMPLEMENTATION PRACTICE
By connecting the people who design and fund interventions with the people who put them into practice, the Institute on Implementation Practice has strengthened the capacity for these groups to collaborate on future initiatives. Moreover, the institute is becoming a leader in training these groups in different ways to use scientific evidence to create change. Nearly 6,000 people have registered for these in person and virtual training events since 2018, with recorded sessions attracting at least 3,500 views.
“The Institute has produced an enthusiastic and growing community of professionals working hard to enhance service delivery for children and families using the best available evidence and principles of equity,” said Todd Jensen, Ph.D., CIP’s associate director for research. “We anticipate it will be a longstanding, vibrant hub for discussing these issues and sharing best practices.”
To ensure equitable implementation remains at the center of its programming, in 2021, CIP published “Bringing Equity to Implementation,” a compilation of 10 articles with case examples and practice evidence of equitable implementation. In 2023, the collaborative will release a second publication, “Equitable Implementation Guide,” which is designed to show providers how to incorporate six essential principles for advancing equity in their work with communities, organizations, and funders.
“CIP highlights implementation science’s role in advancing equity by centering the perspectives of the community members we work with in our research and implementation strategies,” Metz said. “In this work, building trusting relationships is critical to achieving equitable implementation and desired change.”
As CIP continues to grow into a premier research center on implementation practice, its impact on the values and practices of funders and professionals is in turn impacting the lives of the diverse people and communities they serve, including youth in child welfare and juvenile justice settings. CIP’s efforts at policy, practice, and program levels are sparking change across public health professions, pointing the way to new solutions to longstanding inequities in care and support.
by Jordan Wingate
The Big Picture
- $1.25 million in annual grant support
- Over 6,000 registrants for Institute on Implementation Practice since 2018
- Over 3,500 views of recordings of past institute events
Advancing equity. Transforming systems. Improving lives.
UNC School of Social Work
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3550