Grant

Studying Implementation: Is It Time to Talk about Standards?

This grant will support the University of Chicago and Abt Associates’ efforts to increase knowledge of what constitutes high-quality implementation studies.

In the past 15 years, education and human services researchers have developed stronger consensus on what constitutes high-quality impact studies, which assess the effectiveness of programs. There is less consensus in the field regarding what constitutes high-quality implementation studies, and also less attention to improving the quality of those studies. This award will support a convening of leading researchers and senior federal agency staff to develop a framework for assessing what constitutes high-quality implementation study designs and measures. The grantees will produce a paper reporting on the consensus of the group. The paper and meeting are intended to seed future efforts to improve the quality of implementation studies in education and human services.