Program implementation examines how a program is put into practice. The focus of any program is to bring change to whoever the stakeholders of the program are. Therefore, how the program is put into practice or implemented plays a critical role in whether the program is successful.
Components of Implementation
Joseph Durlak describes eight components of program implementation as shown below.
- Fidelity
- Dosage
- Quality
- Participant engagement
- Program differentiation
- Monitoring of controlled conditions
- Program reach
Most of these components are self-explanatory. Fidelity is the level of faithfulness implementors of the program have to the procedures and or protocols of the program. Many programs have an experimental nature in which the participants of the program are compared either to themselves as a “before” group or to a control group that does not experience the program. To confirm that the program is the reason for any difference it must be confirmable that the procedures of the program are adhered to.
The same idea applies to dosage which is the amount of the program that is experienced. This value must be consistent to establish any differences between groups. Dosage can be measured in terms of the amount, length of time, number of occurrences, etc. the program requires.
Adaptions are the modifications that are made to the program for various reasons. Sometimes the original procedures of the program are not practical during implementation. For example, a program may expect participants to receive counseling twice a week for 30 minutes each time for a total of an hour. During implementation, it may be found that the participants were not able to come twice a week. Therefore, instead of meeting twice a week, the program is adapted to meet once a week for one hour. It is critical to keep track of adaptions as they can cause a program to lose its focus and original purpose.
Participant engagement is how involved and cooperative the participants in the program are. Low engagement is often a sign that a program is failing. If this does happen it may be necessary to make adaptations to the program.
Program differentiation is the awareness of how the current program is different from other programs. Knowing what makes a program different is critical in showing how it is superior to other interventions that have been tried. Understanding differences also is an indication for determining what works and does not work in terms of helping participants.
Monitoring of controlled conditions is focused on the controlled variables that need to be monitored when using an experimental and controlled group with programs. Lastly, program reach is a measured of how much of the target population is involved with the program.
It is critical to be aware of these components of implementation as they help evaluators determine the level of success a program has had. It is also important to make sure that the individuals who are actually implementing the program are trained and supported throughout the entire implementation process. If the implementors do not know what to do are feel abandoned then implementation will also suffer.
Factors of Implementation
Components of implementation are aspects of the program that are within the program. Factors of implementation are variables outside of the program that influence it. According to Joseph Durlak, there are also several factors to be aware of when it comes to implementation. Some of the factors include the following
- Community level
- Traits of implementors
- Program traits
- organizational factor
- Processes
- Staffing
- Professional development
The community level factor relates to traits of the community surrounding the program and can include the policies, politics, and the level of funding for a program. A negative political environment can seriously hamper cooperation for example.
The implementers’ traits can include their skill level, confidence, sense of relevancy, and more. We have already discussed implementors earlier but if the implementors lack the skill even the best programs will fail.
Program traits include how well the program fits with the school and or the adaptability of the program. Sometimes a great program is a poor culture fit and or is too rigid for the local context. An example would be the example used earlier for dosage. Twice-a-week counseling may not be appropriate for the context.
Organizational factors include the climate, openness, integration, etc., of the local organization that is supporting the program. A closed-off organization will probably not support any program no matter the benefits.
Processes include decision-making, communication, planning, etc. Programs require local stakeholders to make decisions about cooperation and other factors related to planning and implementation. If there is a bottleneck or resistance to developing processes the program may never get off the ground.
Staffing is about leadership and how they support the program. Enthusiastic leaders may provide adequate support for a program while indifferent leaders may cause a program to fail. One reason for this is the control over resources and morale that leaders possess.
Professional development has already been alluded to and it is the amount of support and training that implementers of a program need. It is of critical importance that the individuals who bring a program to life through implementation receive the support and training they need in order to ensure success. If the implementors are confused over what to do the program has little hope for success.
Conclusion
Program implementation is often overlooked. People are so excited to begin a new program to help people that they often forget to assess the implementation of it. Doing this can lead to good programs being labeled as failures, leading to finger-pointing. Focusing on the implementation can help to alleviate this common occurrence.