Tuesday 16 May | 15:00-16:00

Format: Presentation
Stream: Improvement methods
Content filters: Features discussion of improvement methodology

Basic QI methods and tools often suffice for producing impressive local results and instructive learning for spread and scale-up. But more ambitious projects and programs require rigorous design and evaluation, starting with a strong causal/program theory and clear predictions of how planned interventions will lead to improved processes and outcomes. Improvement and implementation sciences offer complementary approaches to more effective design and evaluation. Collaboration among designers, implementers and evaluators is critical, including adaptive process ev​​aluation and embedded time-ordered data and qualitative inquiry. This approach will lead to fewer “bright spots” that fail when scaled and are examined more critically.  

After this session, participants will be able to: 

• Understand how implementation science methods and rigorous evaluation frameworks complement improvement science methods


• Understand and apply rigorous approaches to designing QI programs that have a higher likelihood of yielding credible results


• Understand how designers, implementers, and evaluators can work together to maximize success and learning

Don Goldmann, Institute for Healthcare Improvement, USA

Pierre Barker, Institute for Healthcare Improvement, USA