The Colebrooke Centre
for evidence and implementation
The implementation gap
The Implementation Gap
We have had decades of research dedicated to illuminating ‘what works’ to improve outcomes for children and families. Yet we are still not exploiting this knowledge fully. Often, good services - even those that have been proven to be effective elsewhere - lose their effectiveness when transplanted to different locations and systems.
There are many reasons why this might happen, but implementation scientists believe that frequently, part of the cause is an ‘implementation gap’: when the context or manner in which an otherwise effective service is delivered undermines its effectiveness.
For this reason, attention to how services are delivered is just as important as what is delivered. Experts in service improvement identify a need to move from simply disseminating information about ‘what works’ to active strategies to embed that learning in policy and in daily practice: in other words, to move from ‘letting it happen’ via ‘helping it happen’ to ‘making it happen’. This is the focus of The Colebrooke Centre: not just finding out ‘what works’; but helping service providers and policy planners to make what works, work better.
The focus of The Colebrooke Centre is: not just finding out ‘what works’; but helping service providers and policy planners to make what works, work better.