Will It Work Here

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Will It Work Here?

• Cindy Brach
• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
• Center for Delivery, Organization, and Markets
• September 9. 2008

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Innovation ? Adoption ? Implementation

• Innovation A new way of doing things
• Adoption The decision to take up an innovation
  that has been developed elsewhere
• Implementation Putting an innovation into
  practice

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Will It Work Here?

• Decisionmakers Guide to Adopting Innovations
• Web-based Hyperlinks to Web-based Tools
• Case Studies Illustrate lessons learned
• Modular Allows users to focus on most pertinent
  sections

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Four Modules

• Module I Does this innovation fit?
• Module II Should we do it here?
• Module III Can we do it here?
• Module IV How can we do it here?

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What Is the Innovation?
Why This Matters Assessing the feasibility of
adopting a particular innovation begins with an
understanding of how the innovation works and the
scope of the innovation. Decisionmakers should
also examine other organizations experiences
with the innovation. What may work effectively in
one setting may not work as well in another, so
it is important to consider factors such as
context, setting, and circumstances, along with
evidence of success.
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Question 4. What is the evidence that the
innovation worked?

• Before you decide to adopt an innovation,
  consider the evidence that the innovation is
  likely to achieve its goals. To embark on
  evidence-based decisionmaking, you will need to
• Find the evidence. Searches of the Web, databases
  of research articles and syntheses, and
  networking with professional colleagues are
  common methods for unearthing evidence.
• Evaluate the evidence. Consider how credible the
  evidence is in terms of rigor of the analysis,
  trustworthiness of the source, and applicability
  to your situation. For example, consider for how
  long and in how many places the innovation had
  been implemented when judging the relevance of
  evaluation data.
• Judge whether there is sufficient evidence. Is
  the information complete? Are there important
  perspectives that are not represented?
• Assess the alternatives. Is there more than one
  viable option? What tradeoffs are associated with
  each alternative?

For a series of tools designed to support
informed managerial decisionmaking, visit the
Informed Decisions Toolbox. It includes modules
on how to assess the accuracy, applicability, and
actionability of the available evidence
http//toolbox.berkeley.edu/tools/
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• You can find Will It Work Here? A Decisionmakers
  Guide to Adopting Innovations at
• www.innovations.ahrq.gov/resources/resources.aspx
• Hard copies can be ordered from AHRQ Publications
  Clearinghouse 800-358-9295