Level 1 Implementation Support Specialist Certification

If you’ve taken one of the required courses, you have two routes you can take:

1) You can apply for 'The Head Start' - this entry point is for past course participants who have already completed either StrategEase: The HOW of Creating Sustainable Change (formerly Designing for Implementation) or Implementation, Spread, and Scale.

2) You can enroll in whichever course have not yet completed, and then upon completion apply for ‘The Final Lap’ - this entry point is for participants who have already completed both courses.

No, you do not need to retake the new version(s).

If you have completed one course, you can apply for The Head Start, and if you have completed both courses, you can apply for The Final Lap.

Absolutely! We offer a 50% discount for another year of course access for participants who'd like to re-enroll. More details are available within the application forms for The Head Start and The Final Lap.

• Phase 1: Courses & Assignments

• Each Level 1 course contains 6 modules and are accessible for 1 year. There are no live components, so they can be completed on your own schedule and at your own pace.

• We estimate each module takes 4-8 hours to complete, which includes time for completing the assignments which are about directly relating the content back to your own work, so the amount of time will vary depending on how much background work you do.

• Estimated total: 24-48 hours per course

• TCI review timeline: 2 weeks per round. Kindly note this may take longer depending on the volume of submissions.

• Your revision timeline: Up to you!

• Phase 2: Level 1 Assessment

• You will have 1 month from the date you receive these questions to submit your responses. We estimate this may take an average of 8-10 hours although some participants have noted it took them closer to 15 hours. A factor to consider is the time you may need to refer back to the courses as you complete the questions, if applicable. 

• Estimated total: 8-15 hours.

• TCI review timeline: 6 weeks per round. Kindly note this may take longer depending on the volume of submissions.

• Your revision timeline: Up to you!

• The Level 1 Implementation Support Specialist certification has been designed with the implementation support practitioner in mind. Each component of your submission is read in detail by an evaluator and assessed on various criteria like the use of appropriate language for the audience, practical support considerations, and the ability to support people to appropriately select and apply implementation science theories, models, frameworks, and approaches (TMFAs).

• Course assignments from Phase 1 (both Level 1 courses) are evaluated to determine if your responses meet the quality level of a Certified Level 1 Implementation Support Specialist.

• The Level 1 assessment (Phase 2) is evaluated to determine how course concepts would be applied and delivered in practical scenarios. Each response to the 10 assessment questions is evaluated and will receive one of three grades along with evaluator feedback: 1 = Strong response; 2 = Adequate response; or 3 = Needs improvement.

• If any of your course assignments don't meet the quality level or any of your assessment questions receive a grade of 3, you'll be asked to either revise and resubmit and/or answer a follow-up question. Please note it's common for participants to have more than one round of revisions/ follow-up questions.

• Note: To help ensure fairness in the evaluation process all assignments that do not meet the quality level and all assessment questions that receive a grade of 3 are reviewed by a second evaluator.

• All certificates are issued based on competence, not completion. This means you must receive a grade of 1 or 2 on all of the assessment questions and all course assignments must meet the quality level to earn your certificate and badge.

• You are welcome to move through the course content as a group; however, all course assignments, Level 1 assessment questions, and any requests for revisions must be completed individually so we can assess each person's specific knowledge and skills.

• In terms of payment and fees, if there are at least 3 members in your group, you can receive a 20% group discount on both Level 1 courses. Group members can register individually or we can combine fees into one payment. Each group member would receive their own individual login to access the courses in either case.

• To begin the process, we ask that each group member complete an application form.

Our course facilitators will respond regularly to your questions on our online discussion boards. This is where you can receive direct support.

Our courses and certificate program do not offer college credit or CEUs at this time, as they are topic agnostic (i.e., they are designed to be applicable across professions.)