Implementation, Spread, and Scale

Optimizing your impact with implementation planning.

🗓️ Enrollment open year-round

⏱️ Self-paced

💻 100% Online

About this course

You’ve designed your change initiative by defining your WHY and identifying WHO is being asked to do things differently. You’ve assessed barriers and facilitators, and then selected strategies to address them. What’s next?

Implementation, Spread, and Scale builds on the foundational concepts covered in StrategEase: The HOW of Creating Sustainable Change, providing you with a vital roadmap for planning and executing your implementation, spread, and scale efforts.

Informed by theory and our experience supporting hundreds of implementation initiatives, Implementation, Spread, and Scale equips you with frameworks and tools to:

  • Understand characteristics of the environment, organization, or leadership that can influence your initiative’s success

  • Systematically prepare to tailor, adapt, or modify your initiative

  • Design your initiative for keeping long-term success top of mind

Through this comprehensive course, you’ll gain innovative skills and knowledge for achieving your implementation outcomes.

We’ll help you take your initiative to the next level!

Implementation, Spread, and Scale gives you a practical process to follow as you prepare to implement and expand your initiative. 

Using our Implementation, Spread, and Scale Pathway, we unpack the key considerations of implementing, spreading, and scaling initiatives: how to assess context, plan and track adaptations, and plan for sustainability.

This pathway is based on the scientific literature as well as our experience supporting 100+ implementation initiatives, many of which involved multiple sites.

This course will show you how to use theory and evidence to ultimately implement an initiative that is optimized for impact.

This course is for you if…

You want to set up your implementation team and supports  to be effective and successful

You want to better understand how to assess readiness and context, and select strategies to address organizational barriers

You're looking for guidance on how (and when!) to effectively plan for adaptations and sustainability

You want to understand implementation quality and different types of evaluation at various stages of the implementation process

Who might benefit from this course?

Laptop displaying a Zoom meeting with four people on screen, engaged in a conversation

  • Changemakers

  • Researchers

  • Students

  • Program developers

  • Consultants

  • Evaluators

Context Compass:
A tool to help you assess context

GIF showing the Context Compass interactive tool, featuring sections like 'Where are you at in your implementation journey?', 'Initial Implementation Readiness,' 'Adaptable Factors,' and 'What is your biggest problem?'

We’re currently developing Context Compass, an interactive online tool that provides you with science-backed approaches to help you navigate contextual factors influencing your change efforts.

Implementation, Spread, and Scale gives you access to the beta version — initially tested by our Implementing Change Community members. (Not a member? Join here!)

This tool is the first of its kind to blend evidence-based strategies from the scientific literature with a practice-based perspective to help you move your change efforts forward when it feels like your implementation setting is hindering your progress.

By taking this course you will…

Computer monitor, laptop, and tablet displaying course interfaces from The Center for Implementation, including ‘Implementation Spread and Scale,' 'Defining Spread and Scale,' and the 'Bonus Tool — Mapping Your Implementation System.'

  • Refresh your understanding of foundational concepts on sustainably creating change using approaches grounded in equity

  • Be able to be strategic about your efforts by considering implementation supports, engaging implementation teams, and identifying roles in your implementation system

  • Strengthen how you assess readiness and context as well as how to consider and address contextual barriers (including access to an online tool we’re developing specifically for this!)

  • Learn how to make implementation fit and stick by effectively planning for adaptations and sustainability

  • Develop a plan to monitor and evaluate your initiative that considers implementation quality, fidelity, and outcomes

  • Understand how to incorporate additional theories, models, frameworks and approaches into your implementation planning and execution efforts — plus preview other factors that contribute to the success of your change efforts

What is included in this course?

🎥 20+ short-form instructional videos led by your instructors, Dr. Julia Moore, Executive Director, and Dr. Sobia Khan, Director of Implementation

🎧 6 short-form audio recordings where we share the hidden curriculum — tips & suggestions from our experiences supporting various initiatives for implementation, spread, and scale

📝 Interactive activities to help test your knowledge (a favorite feature of many of our past participants)

⚙️ A collection of 4 step-by-step tools developed by our expert team to help you put course concepts into practice, including access to the beta version of Context Compass — our tool for navigating contextual factors

⚙️+ 2 bonus tools with hands-on templates to use directly with you team

📖 6 assignments that enable you to apply the instructional content to your own work and initiatives

💻 6 conversational videos where we walk you through 2 context-specific examples to illustrate how the assignments can be applied to projects

📎 A comprehensive PDF workbook for each module that gives an overview of course concepts as well as all activities, readings, and assignments for easy reference — plus space to take notes!

📚 Recommended readings and additional resources

💬 Direct communication with our course facilitators to answer your questions as you move through the content

👥 Networking opportunities with other course participants

🎓 Certificate of completion after successfully completing the course and assignments

➡️ Once enrolled, you can access the entire course for 1 year. This means you can move through the content at your own pace and revisit what you’ve learned whenever you’d like to!

Meet your instructors

“What I love about this course is that it covers some of the most challenging and interesting aspects of implementation: readiness, context, adaptations, and sustainability. These are topics that often trip people up — they can cause a lot of confusion and disruption to implementation initiatives. It’s amazing to watch people transform how they approach context and readiness assessments by taking this course. To see them shift from avoiding adaptations to proactively planning for them, and to see them embrace sustainability planning right from the beginning, is really inspiring. This course is a true game changer.”

- Dr. Julia E. Moore

“We have spent several years reflecting on our own experiences and reviewing the science of implementation to develop and package the content of this course into something we wish we had when we had started our implementation careers.  The implementation journey has a lot of stops and starts, many exit and entry points, and tons of considerations that can not only impact implementation processes but also outcomes. It’s amazing to see people take this journey with us and end up in a place with so much more clarity than they had before.”

- Dr. Sobia Khan

Module Overview

    • The relationship between dissemination and implementation, and the difference between their science and practice

    • The social nature of implementation and how to understand the different levels of relationships in implementation

    • The activities involved in planning for implementation as well as implementing, spreading, and scaling an initiative

    • A framework you can use to think about how to embody equity in implementation

    • How to define your role and the role of others in the implementation system

    • The different components of planning for sustainability

    • Common challenges when trying to figure out next steps in the implementation process and how to situate yourself on an implementation pathway

    • How you can conceptualize your implementation system

    • The roles and responsibilities of implementation teams, and important considerations for the relationships between implementation team members

    • Common challenges for implementation teams and guidance on how to think about inclusivity and balancing power

    • The function and different aspects of implementation support

    • A framework to help you understand the different levels of relationships that can exist between organizations

    • The distinction between spread and scale, and the role of implementation in each

    • How to identify and map roles in your implementation system

    • The implementation equation, which outlines how to achieve significant outcomes

    • The important role of context, at the system level and within your implementation setting, in successful implementation

    • Our Context Compass Framework, which outlines the many contextual factors you can consider when embarking on the implementation process

    • How readiness and context are interrelated and helpful tips and tricks on building readiness and assessing and addressing context

    • How to use our Context Compass tool

    • The nature of adaptations and the importance of planning for them

    • Map2Adapt, an adaptations process model that walks you through the steps of planning for and addressing adaptations

    • The different components of sustainability and different approaches and tools you can use in the sustainability planning process

    • Considerations for spread and scale, including, common challenges and components necessary for success, as well as tips for implementation support specialists to excel in their roles when supporting spread and scale

    • A tool to guide you through the process of making adaptations to your own change efforts

    • Different types of evaluation relevant to the different stages of the implementation process

    • The different components of implementation quality and how they relate to WHATs and HOWs

    • A framework to help you develop evaluation metrics for your implementation efforts

    • Helpful tips and perspectives on evaluating and researching implementation practice

    • A tool to keep track of adaptations to your change efforts

    • The difference between theories, models, frameworks, and approaches (TMFAs) and the different purposes they serve.

    • Guidance on how to select and use TMFAs

    • More about TCI’s work and our Implementation Support Specialist certificate program

We believe in
competency-based learning.

This table shows which implementation support core competencies and functions are relevant in this course.

Learn more about TCI's Implementation Support Core Competencies and Functions.

Hover over each item to view its definition.

Course schedule

This part is up to you! After you enroll, you’ll be given access to a new module each week to help spread out the material, but we can provide you with access to all modules if you’d like.

This course does not include any live components. It’s 100% online and asynchronous. This means that you can learn whenever and wherever you want to!

We’ve synthesized complex concepts into video and audio recordings that are short and easy to digest so you can take action in the real world right away.

➡️ You’ll have access to all course content for 1 year.

See what past course participants are saying

  • “I would like to thank you for this outstanding introduction to D&I research. I have been doing dissemination and implementation of EBTs for anxiety and mood disorders in community settings for several years now without having a strong theoretical and technical background for doing this. I now feel I have the tools for improving the reach and impact of my outcome research studies. I know I will revisit in depth the material provided in this course and the recommended readings and tools.”

    - Martin D. Provencher

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Ready to join us?

By enrolling, you're providing your consent to be added to TCI’s mailing list. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Benefits of taking this course

We designed this course to answer questions we’ve received from 1000+ implementers across 6 continents. We’ll show how to assess your context, intentionally and strategically plan for adaptations, and understand the different components of sustainability (and when to start planning for it).

Implementation, Spread, and Scale is open to all individuals in any sector. No previous training is required, but if you haven’t yet taken StrategEase: The HOW of Creating Sustainable Change, we recommend starting with that course first.

Everyone can benefit from joining!

  • In this course, we assume that you’ve started designing your initiative and teach you about important components necessary for implementing and expanding your initiative with greater ease and for greater impact.

  • If you haven’t started designing your initiative, this course provides you with foundational knowledge and skills to support your implementation planning process.

  • Implementation, Spread, and Scale participants will also get access to the beta version of our brand new context tool. Since organizational barriers are some of the biggest challenges to implementation, this interactive tool will help you unpack and understand your local barriers, and then identify strategies and actions you can take for your specific context.

We make applying implementation science easy to understand so that you can immediately benefit from using theories, models, frameworks, and approaches in your change efforts. This course will better prepare you for the challenges involved in spreading and scaling!

Implementation Support Specialist Certificate

Teal, Blue, and white shield badge graphic with the text Certified Level 1, Implementation Support Specialist

If you’re interested in becoming a Certified Level 1 Implementation Support Specialist, this course counts towards the requirements.

This certification, the first one ever able for implementation support specialists, focuses on the foundational elements of applying implementation science to design, implement, spread, and scale change.

Advance your career by acquiring this coveted certification for an in-demand role!

Benefits for organizations

Organizations that send their staff to attend this course experience many benefits.

We’ve seen how staff:

  • Invigorate the way they plan and implement initiatives by incorporating the key aspects of Implementation, Spread, and Scale

  • Increase the overall capacity of the organization by harnessing new ways of thinking and strategies to address challenges

  • Strengthen their ability to work together by developing a shared understanding of concepts and common terminology

  • Increase their value-add by being guided by implementation science

  • Become more cohesive, communicative, and focused by defining a clear vision and working towards a shared goal

Phone screen showing a group of hands fist-bumping, symbolizing teamwork and collaboration

Plus, this course also benefits the teams that are directly implementing these initiatives, and those who are actually asked to change.

We’ve heard from previous participants that engaging in shared sensemaking of course concepts as a team and collectively determining how to move forward using what they’ve learned in this course strengthens how their implementation unfolds.

Discounts are available for past participants of TCI’s paid courses, Implementing Change Community members (join anytime!), full-time students, groups of 3+, participants in LMICs, and Society for Implementation Research Collaboration (SIRC) members.

Have a discount code?

Free spots for participants in LMICs

In an effort to support capacity building in applying implementation science in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), we offer 40 free spots for eligible professionals to enroll in one of our courses twice per year.

We'll open up applications for these spots again in May. Please check back then or join our mailing list to be notified.

Frequently asked questions

  • The course starts as soon as you enroll!

    You'll have access to all course modules and materials for 1 year, so you can move through the content on your own schedule.

    If you’re interested in receiving a certificate of completion, you’ll have until the end of your 1-year course access period to submit your completed assignments.

    Our course facilitators will be regularly answering any questions you have throughout your 1-year access period as well.

  • Yes, the entire course is online and asynchronous, so it can be completed at a pace that works best for you. There are no live learning components.

    We know people don't learn optimally when they have to be online for long periods of time, so we developed this course to help you better grasp the concepts through short video and audio recordings that you can view at your convenience to suit your learning style and needs.

    Each of the 6 modules will be released to you on a weekly basis starting from the date you enroll; however, if you'd like access to the full course right away, just let us know.

  • If you finish all modules and the 6 assignments prior to the end of your 1-year course access period, you’ll receive a certificate of completion.

    In addition, consider pursuing our Level 1 Implementation Support Specialist certification to add more tools to your implementation toolbox!

  • The time commitment varies, but we estimate each module takes 4-8 hours to complete, which includes time spent on assignments.

    The assignments are about directly relating the content back to your own work; therefore, how much time can be quite variable depending on how much background work you choose to do.

  • You’ll have access to all course content for 1 year starting from the date you enroll.

    Before your access ends, we encourage you to revisit the content and download the available course materials.

  • Our course facilitators respond regularly to questions posted in the comment sections of the course. This is where you can receive direct support.

  • StrategEase: The HOW of Creating Sustainable Change focuses on helping you unpack needs and gaps, define the WHAT, clarify WHO is being asked to do WHAT differently, assess barriers and facilitators, and select change strategies that directly address the identified barriers and facilitators. These are the steps you need to help you design the components of an initiative using theory and evidence.

    Implementation, Spread, and Scale is ideally taken after StrategEase. This course helps you understand all of the steps that come after initiative design to develop a plan for implementation, which includes building an implementation team and planning implementation supports, assessing readiness and context, planning for adaptations and sustainability, doing pulse checks, and considering evaluations.

    Essentially, StrategEase helps you design your change initiative, and Implementation, Spread, and Scale helps you plan how to implement the change initiative you’ve designed.

    Both foundational courses are independent of each other but are designed to be complementary.

  • We’ve streamlined the overall course structure and updated certain concepts to reflect the latest evidence and prominent topics, drawing from what we’ve seen in the implementation science field and implementation support practitioners, to make the content more digestible and to help you more easily put these concepts into practice.

    We’re excited to share that we’ve added 6 actionable tools — including the beta version of our exciting new online tool that helps you navigate contextual factors influencing your initiatives — 6 audio recordings, and 6 conversational videos that illustrate how the assignments can be applied to projects using context-specific examples. We’ve also revised assignments and made major updates to the workbooks to enhance usability.

  • Yes, we aim to make our courses accessible to everyone. We offer the following discounts (one per person):

    • 20% off for past participants of TCI’s paid courses

    • 20% off for members of the Implementing Change Community (Join anytime!)

    • 20% off for groups of 3+ (additional discounts are available for large groups)

    • 20% off for Society for Implementation Research Collaboration (SIRC) members

    • 30% off for full-time students

    • 70% off for individuals in low- and middle-income countries as defined by the World Bank

    Please see the “Have a discount code?” section above for how to get your code.

Still wondering if this course is right for you?

A stack of website pages with the top page featuring the title Overview of Implementation Context, Module 3: Assessing and Addressing Readiness and Context

We encourage you to enroll if any of these apply to you:

  • You want science-backed guidance to strategically plan and expand your initiative

  • You want actionable strategies to overcome organizational barriers

  • You want to create an evidence-based plan for high-quality implementation

  • You want a set of recommended tools and resources to take out the guesswork and make progress on your goals

  • You want to experience growth and have a greater impact

A document titled "Implementation, Spread, and Scale” describes an online course with learning objectives and an image of a mountain pass at the top

Looking for an easy way to share info about this course?

Download this handy PDF—it includes learning objectives, course highlights, and a module overview. Perfect for sharing with your team!

Have any questions?
Contact us.

Ready to join us?

By enrolling, you're providing your consent to be added to TCI’s mailing list. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Interested in getting a sense of our teaching style?

Enroll in Inspiring Change 2.0, our free mini-course on the foundations of implementation science, or watch the recording of our free virtual workshops on Practical Guidance for Embodying Equity in Implementation!