Abstract
The modified Research, Development, and Diffusion (RD&D) model, as exemplified by change agents in federal organizations, was examined as a viable strategy for disseminating social program innovations. This study of seven nationally disseminated education and criminal justice projects was designed to refine the methodology for measuring innovation implementation. We measured program fidelity, reinvention, and effectiveness in a diverse set of program settings. Results of the research suggested that high-fidelity adopters tended to produce more effective implementations than low-fidelity adopters. Local modifications to the model were unrelated to effectiveness, whereas local additions to the model tended to enhance effectiveness. Findings supported the utility of the modified RD&D model of innovation dissemination with public sector social programs.
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
References
Berman, P. (1980). Thinking about programmed and adaptive implementation: Matching strategies to situations. In H. M. Ingram & D. E. Mann (Eds.), Why policies succeed or fail (pp. 205–227). Beverly Hills: Sage.
Berman, P. (1981). Educational change: An implementation paradigm. In R. Lehming & M. Kane (Eds.), Improving schools: Using what we know (pp. 253–286). Beverly Hills: Sage.
Berman, P. & McLaughlin, M. W. (1977). Federal programs supporting educational change: Vol. 7. Factors affecting implementation and continuation (Contract No. R-1589/7). Washington, DC: U.S. Office of Education.
Berman, P. & McLaughlin, M. W. (1978). Federal programs supporting educational change: Vol. 8. Implementation and sustaining innovations (Contract No. R-1589/8). Washington, DC: U.S. Office of Education.
Boruch, R. R. & Gomez, H. (1977). Sensitivity, bias, and theory in impact evaluation. Professional Psychology, 8(4), 411–433.
Calsyn, R., Tornatzky, L. G., & Dittmar, S. (1977). Incomplete adoption of an innovation: The case of goal attainment scaling. Evaluation, 4, 128–130.
Cowen, E. L., Gardner, E. A., & Zax, M. (1967). Emergent approaches to mental health problems. New York: Appleton Century Crofts.
Datta, L. E. (1981). Damn the experts and full speed ahead: An examination of the study of federal programs supporting educational change, as evidence against directed development for local problem-solving. Evaluation Review, 5(1), 5–32.
Eveland, J. D., Rogers, E., & Klepper, C. (1977). The innovation process in public organizations: Some elements of a preliminary model. Springfield, VA: NTIS.
Fairweather, G. W. (1967). Methods for experimental social innovation. New York: Wiley.
Fairweather, G. W & Tornatzky, L. G. (1977). Experimental methods for social policy research. New York: Pergamon.
Fairweather, G. W., Tornatzky, L. G., Fergus, E., & Avellar, J. (1982). Innovation and social process. New York: Pergamon.
Farrar, E., deSanctis, J. E., & Cohen, D. K. (1979). Views from below: Implementation research in education. Cambridge, MA: Huron Institute.
Fullan, M. & Pomfret, A. (1977). Research on curriculum and instruction implementation. Review of Educational Research, 47(2), 335–397.
Hall, G. E. & Loucks, S. F (1978, March). Innovation configurations: Analyzing the adaptation of innovations. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Havelock, R. G. (1969). Planning for innovation through dissemination and utilization of knowledge. Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research.
Heck, S., Steigelbauer, S., Hall, G. E., & Loucks, S. F. (1981). Measuring innovation configurations: Procedures and applications. Austin: Research and Development Center for Teacher Education, University of Texas.
Heller, K., Price, R., Reinharz, S., Riger, S., & Wandersman, A. (1984). Psychology and community change (2nd ed.). New York: Dorsey Press.
Hollisfield, J. H. & Slavin, R. E. (1983). Disseminating student team learning through federally funded programs. Knowledge: Creation, Diffusion, Utilization, 4, 576–589.
House, E. R. (1981). Three perspectives on innovation:Technological, political, and cultural. In R. Lehming & M. Kane (Eds.), Improving schools: Using what we know (pp. 17–41). Beverly Hills: Sage.
House, E. R. (1975). The politics of educational innovation. Berkeley, CA: McCutchan.
Rappaport, J. (1977). Community psychology: Values, issues & action. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Rappaport, J., Seidman, E., & Davidson, W. S. II. (1979). Demonstration research and manifest versus true adoption: The natural history of a research project to divert adolescents from the legal system. In R. S. Muñoz, L. R. Snowden, J. G. Kelly, and Associates. Social and psychological research in community settings. San Francisco: Jossey Bass, Inc. (pp. 101–144).
Rice, R. E. & Rogers, E. M. (1979). Reinvention in the innovation process. Knowledge: Creation, Diffusion, Utilization, 1, 499–514.
Rogers, E. M. (1978). Reinvention during the innovation process. In M. Radnor et al. (Eds.), The diffusion of innovations: An assessment (Contract No. PRA-7680388). Washington, DC: National Science Foundation.
Tornatzky, L. G., Fergus, E. O., Avellar, J. W, Fairweather, G. W, & Fleischer, M. (1981). Innovation and social process: A national experiment in implementing social technology. New York: Pergamon.
Tornatzky, L. G. & Klein, K. J. (1982). Innovation characteristics and innovation adoptionimplementation: A meta-analysis of findings. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 29, 28–45.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2002 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Blakely, C.H. et al. (2002). The Fidelity-Adaptation Debate: Implications for the Implementation of Public Sector Social Programs. In: Revenson, T.A., et al. A Quarter Century of Community Psychology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8646-7_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8646-7_10
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-306-46730-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-8646-7
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive