Exploring Implementation Teams As a Driver for Organizational Change

Child welfare agencies, like most human service agencies, are expected to be well-versed and able to use implementation science frameworks when developing, installing and evaluating evidence-informed practices. Virtually every implementation framework (e.g., National Implementation Research Network, Permanency Innovation Initiatives, Change Management Process, Getting to Outcomes) relies on the use of implementation teams as a tool for change. In this context, teams are charged with designing and leading the implementation of a strategy or evidence-informed strategy. Teams are critical for ensuring communication of initiatives fostering buy-in from all levels of staff, and actually getting the work done. To date, most of the literature on teaming focuses on the use of teams for strategic decision-making and practice, not as groups who convene to identify and address systemic challenges through implementation of evidence-informed strategies. Thus, little is known about the efficacy of teams in implementing change and achieving outcomes, or guidance for agencies in how to convene, facilitate, support and evaluate teams. The presenters in this workshop are implementation experts with the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute (NCWWI) work with multiple child welfare agencies across jurisdictions implementing change initiatives to improve their workforce. In this workshop, presenters will examine the role of teams in the context of using implementation science frameworks in child welfare agencies. The following topics will be explored: 1) How human service agencies can use implementation teams to drive organizational change and also serve as a model for distributive leadership within a typically bureaucratic system; 2) Considerations in forming diverse teams that represent differing views, staff demographics and job position; 3) Managing mobility of group members in agencies with high staff turnover in order to ensure stability of teams over time; 4) Framework or structure for ensuring team success that includes team functioning, communication strategies, and facilitation; 5) The necessity of positive agency learning culture that supports distributive leadership through empowerment of implementation teams; and 6) Strategies for evaluating the efficacy of implementation teams in driving systems change. In this ninety-minute workshop, presenters will spend 45 minutes presenting on the topics above through the lens of the NCWWI work, and the second half of the workshop facilitating discussion with the participants to share strategies, approaches, challenges and solutions.