Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

For years, policy makers have been introduced in replication of good ideas in other contexts. The whole field of implementation science has developed detailed models to try to assure replication with fidelity to little results. We argue that this oversight comes from a fundamental misconception about the implementation process, one that sees the problem technically as merely instrumental adoption of fully formed model. Existing research points to a host of antecedents that can spur or slow uptake of new ideas, including features of the innovation (Rogers 2003), environmental factors (e.g. Sørensen and Torfing 2011), and individual factors (e.g. Shea and Belden 2016).

In this research, we are focusing on the role of organizational readiness in the diffusion of a new idea. Scholars and practitioners distinguish between types of innovations, such as administrative versus technological innovations (De Vries et al. 2016; Lamm, 2019; Moulton et al. 2018). Here we examine attempts to introduce two separate technical innovations into public and nonprofit human service organizations: an app for TANF recipients; an integrated services assessment tool. We conceptualize organizational readiness as having two main components: (1) motivation among staff and leadership, and (2) capacity of the organization to devote monetary, staff, and physical resources to the innovation (Walker 2014; Weiner at al. 2008). Yet our data collection of structured observation, interviews, staff focus groups, and surveys, is uncovering the processes necessary to make these tools ‘stick’ in their adoption. By exploring how the technical ideas and organizational condition interact, we are building better understandings of how to legitimate and support the take-up of new ideas.