Advancing the Science of Implementation: A Workshop Summary

While much has been written about reducing the gap between science and practice, relatively little progress has been made to develop a sound knowledge base underlying implementation of effective interventions. To respond to these challenges, the National Institute of Mental Health organized a workshop entitled, “Advancing the Science of Implementation: Improving the Fit between Mental Health Intervention Development and Service Systems.” Over the 2-day workshop, a multi-disciplinary group of intervention and services researchers, implementers, methodologists, organizational theorists, and clinicians was brought together in an “engaged scholarship” * format composed of small and large-group settings to discuss the development of a sound knowledge base on the implementation of evidence-based practices. Using three specific intervention categories, participants identified constructs seen to be important to the implementation of the model in real-world systems. Following each breakout session, attendees reconvened for a full group discussion and brief presentations were conducted to highlight interventions in the areas of organizational measures, social network analysis and field opportunities. This summary describes some of the constructs relevant to implementation research and presents research questions that, if studied, will lay a solid foundation for implementation research.