Accelerating the implementation of innovations in NHS organisations by learning from other sites

This research project focused on organisational learning, change management and knowledge sharing between and within inter-organisational virtual Communities of Practice engaged in implementing and spreading primary healthcare open-source innovation. It focused on how these inter-organisational communities shared experiential knowledge and generated learning about the same or similar innovation that was being implemented across healthcare system levels.

Key findings indicate a nuanced understanding of the implementation process by (1) clarifying conceptual and practical aspects of the implementation process to propose an integrated framework of implementation outcomes and (2) demonstrating efforts towards implementing innovations at scale is not simply a matter of transferring evidence-based practices or providing resources. Rather, it requires attentiveness to the interplay between attentional management strategies, relational work, and supportive mechanisms for knowledge-sharing (such as virtual Communities of Practice).

This doctoral research project's practical implications offer guidance to innovation facilitators, policymakers, and researchers. Firstly, conceptual clarity regarding implementation process indicators—presented in an integrated framework—can facilitate learning from both successful and unsuccessful implementation efforts in process evaluations. Secondly, identifying attentional management strategies provides facilitative strategies to enhance stakeholder engagement during the early phase of implementation. Finally, a proposed typology of knowledge-sharing can guide innovation promoters and implementors to replicate and disseminate.

Centre for Healthcare Innovation Research, City, University of London

UCL

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine