Achieving Implementation and Exchange: A Model for Integrating Research and Practice

Issues of research translation and implementation are on the agendas of research funders, researchers, practitioners, administrators, and policy-makers across many fields of policy and practice worldwide, including child welfare and child mental health. This book, written by a leading implementation specialist, addresses the frustrating gap between research conducted on effective practices and the lack of routine use of such practices. Lawrence Palinkas documents the barriers to implementation and explores how organizational and collaborative strategies can be used to facilitate it. Drawing on the principles and practice of implementation science, Palinkas introduces a framework for reducing the gap between research and practice that is grounded in the fundamental importance of social relationships to effective implementation. This framework highlights the role of social networks, use of research evidence, local models of practitioner/policymaker decision-making, research-practice-policy partnerships, and cultural exchanges between researchers and practitioners and policymakers.