So You Think You Can Write an Implementation Research Proposal

Part II

This post continues our discussion of Dr. Enola Proctor and team’s ten key ingredients for writing implementation research grant proposals. Part 1 addressed: the care gap, evidence-based solutions, theoretical frameworks, stakeholder priorities, and a setting’s readiness for adoption. If you have answers for these first five ingredients, you’re ready to consider numbers six through ten.

6. The Implementation Strategy

Are the strategies for implementing the evidence-based solution (ingredient #2) defined and justified conceptually? This ingredient is critical to demonstrating the research team’s understanding of the intervention and it’s place within implementation science. Published guidelines for reporting intervention content can also help guide planning.

7. Team Experience with Setting, Solution and Implementation Processes

Reviewers are looking to be convinced that the research team can complete the project. Few people have all the necessary expertise––so a strong, multidisciplinary team is essential. You know the saying “it takes a village to raise a child”? Well the same is true for an implementation study.

8. Feasibility of Proposed Design and Methods

As with all research proposals, the more detail in planning the methods, the better. Preliminary statistics related to recruitment feasibility etc. are a strength. Importantly, Proctor et al. remind us that explaining why alternative methodologies were NOT chosen for the study (such as randomizing vs. not) is as important as explaining the proposed methods.

9. Measurement and Analysis

Again, as with all research proposals, the outcome measures to be used need to be clearly articulated and should link back to the conceptual framework for the study (ingredient #3). The nature of implementation research is such that standardized outcome measures may never be possible, so some customization of outcomes is understood.

10. Policy Context

Last but not least (and in many ways this could be brought in much earlier in the rationale section), strong implementation research proposals demonstrate understanding of the policy and funding context of the implementation effort at hand. Proctor et al. make the great point that even if the policy context is less likely to be favourable for implementation, it shows that the research team is not naïve to the situation at hand.

And there you have 10 key ingredients to writing implementation research proposals. I have had good success following this guide, but I am curious to know what others think. Leave a response below or Tweet @KnowledgeNudge to let me know about your experience!

About the Author

Dr. Kathryn Sibley is the Director of Knowledge Translation at CHI, Canada Research Chair in Integrated Knowledge Translation in Rehabilitation Sciences, and Assistant Professor in Community Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba.