ABSTRACT
How do we build evidence about effective policies and programs? The process is commonly depicted as a pipeline: from developing a new intervention to testing it on a small scale, to conducting impact studies in new locations, to expanding effective interventions. But an updated depiction of evidence building could better reflect realities of decision-making and practice in the field. Under a cyclical evidence-building, implementation, and adaptation paradigm, researchers and funders create more information that is attuned to the real-world needs of users of evidence (the implementers of the programs they are studying).
Implementation research has always been a key part of impact studies and evidence building. It takes on a central role in an updated cyclical model of evidence building as program operators systematically consider how, for whom, and where they operate programs; decide what adaptations they should make; and build new evidence about the effectiveness of those adaptations.
