How do we make systems “ready” to implement?

By Sobia Khan - Director of Implementation, The Center for Implementation

Readiness has been on many people’s minds lately. In some cases, we find that this changing?context has?enabled willingness and capability?to adopt programs, policies,?innovations,?and values. In other cases, systems may even be less ready than they previously were, but?often?we must?still?move forward with implementation. What can we do in the latter situation, where we find ourselves having to implement in a less-than-ready?setting?but change can’t wait??

What is system readiness???

Here we turn to a type of initiative that we will call a “system readiness” initiative.?System readiness is not a widely used?term, but?taps into a key aspect of the system that we tend not to assess – whether or not the system is both psychologically and structurally prepared for change. By “psychologically” prepared, we mean that system actors at multiple levels have the motivation to change. By “structurally” prepared, we mean the capacities are in?place to change.? We opt to use system readiness as a term instead of other more widely used terms such as “system strengthening” because we believe that motivation factors are key to implementation. System strengthening focuses solely on capacity, which we have tried in the past and know?doesn’t?target change as effectively.??

In a previous Implementation in Action bulletin, Jonathan Scaccia?wrote about the R=MC2?heuristic, which summarizes?the concept of readiness?nicely. R=MC2 says that?readiness is a product of having motivation to change, while also having two kinds of capacity: general capacity to change as well as capacities specific to the initiative that are required to make specific changes. The equation is a product of these component because if any of these are zero, readiness cannot be achieved.

When we talk about a “system”?having motivation, what we mean is that there is willingness to adopt a specific?initiative because the characteristics of that initiative are optimal. If?you’re?familiar with Rogers’ diffusion of innovations model or the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, these characteristics of the initiative might resonate with you (e.g., compatibility, observability, trialability, complexity, etc.).? There is also the motivation of individuals working with the system to consider, and this can be their motivation to use a specific initiative or their motivation to innovate in general. Initiative-specific capacity relates to things like the knowledge and skills people have for that initiative, or what resources or champions are in place. General capacity refers to general characteristics of the setting — what kind of culture and climate are in place, what the type of leadership the setting has, etc.??

What is a system readiness initiative??

A system readiness initiative is one that aims to assess and address readiness and aims to target both general and initiative-specific factors?in order to?build that readiness throughout implementation.?We find that when a program aims to target the uptake of a specific initiative while simultaneously building general capacity and motivation for change, this starts to establish readiness in the implementation setting. If you have a program that is only being implemented once (for example, for a research study), you can determine which areas readiness might need to be built using a readiness assessment tool (like the R=MC2), prioritize the areas that you are capable of impacting or changing in your period of implementation, and implement what we call “readiness strategies” alongside your regular implementation strategies. For example, if leadership is an issue, you would implement strategies targeting leadership engagement and buy-in in addition to implementing the initiative you intend to implement.??

If you are lucky enough to be able to repeat cycles of implementation within the same setting, using this approach means that the first implementation might be an uphill battle, but in future cycles implementation starts becoming easier. Another benefit of this approach is that because general capacity and motivation are being targeted, it also becomes easier to implement?other?initiatives (not just the first one you selected).?In essence, you?are setting the system up to succeed in the future by targeting readiness at the present moment.?We were recently asked?whether it is worth it to build “system readiness” when the initiative was not yet ready – our response is a definitive yes. When you?are able to?build system readiness first, you are establishing a strong foundation on which initiatives can be implemented.??

Interested in learning more about systems change? Join us for our online special training series, Embracing Complexity: Fostering Change Using Systems Thinking. Registration is open until June 7!

Note: An earlier version of this article originally appeared in the June 2020 issue of our?Implementation in Action?bulletin.?Subscribe here to receive our next issue.