Leading Evidence-Informed Practice

The Leading Evidence-Informed Practice Change Project has been an important part of the research in practice Change Project programme since 2003. The project began with a literature review on both leadership and leading evidence-informed practice and a short study of managers’ views on the appropriate skills, knowledge, behaviour and personal qualities required of those charged with the responsibility of leading an evidence-informed initiative. You will find the two literature reviews below:

A Review of Literature on Leadership: PDF (new window)

A Review of Literature on Leading Evidence Informed Practice (EIP): PDF (new window)

A group of senior managers then met over a period of a year, sharing and reflecting on their learning as they led work to promote evidence-informed practice within their team or agency. Elizabeth Cooke and Rhiannon Hodson facilitated this group. The Action Pack is the result of a combination of collaborative enquiry and action learning that took place during this group.

Leading Evidence-Informed Practice Action Pack

We have now moved to the next stage of the Change Project which is the piloting of the Action Pack within our agency network.

Piloting the Action Pack:  Background

The Action Pack about leading a drive for evidence-informed practice (EIP) will be published at the end of September 2005. The materials consist of a hard-copy handbook, audio CD and web-based resources. In line with other research in practice Change Projects, it is planned to pilot the materials with partner agencies in order to collect feedback about how they can be improved before final publication in late 2006.

The Action Pack will therefore be made available to all 100 agencies in the research in practice network (which includes the 22 local authorities in Wales) with an invitation to use them freely during the pilot period. The materials will be personally introduced to Link Officers at their annual meeting in October 2005.

However, a more focused ‘road-testing’ process needs to happen in parallel with this to make sure the Action Pack is thoroughly examined by staff representative of the target audience. A group of staff who have responsibility for leading a drive for more evidence-informed practice in their team, service or agency will therefore be brought together as a pilot group.

Aims of the pilot group

The specific objectives of the pilot group are to :

1. Introduce the Action Pack to the group and help participants to decide how they can best use the materials to be more effective in their leadership role.
   
   
2. Support participants to apply the theory and try-out the tools in the context of their evidence-informed initiative and to share their progress and learning with the group.
   
   
3. Collect practical examples of how participants have used the materials, and copies of any products generated as a result (eg. vision statements, action plans, analyses).
   
   
4. Collate feedback about the relevance and value of the materials, and ideas about how to improve their format, structure or lay-out.
   
   
5. Use participants’ leadership experiences to identify what is missing from the Action Pack and support the group to generate new materials to address these deficiencies.

Who

Participants from each of the following categories have been selected because these staff have not been well represented to-date in the development of the materials :

1. leaders with a policy or strategic role that includes promoting the dissemination, use and generation of evidence within their agency (eg. Link Officers, EIP steering group chairs, EIP Co-ordinators)
   
   
2. leaders with a practice development role that includes encouraging reflection, learning and professional knowledge at a team or individual level (eg. senior practitioners)
   
   
3. front-line operational leaders who are engaged in an improvement initiative involving the use or generation of evidence at a service or team level.

We have also sought to recruit staff working in a generic role (across children and adult services) or exclusively in adult services in order to test the relevance of the materials to EIP in community care.

How

This group of 12 EIP leaders will meet together 4 times over a period of 8 months (October, December, March 2006 and May 2006). The group will be facilitated through the following sort of process :

• clarify the purpose of the pilot and introduce group members, their roles and reason for inclusion in the pilot

• individual review of Action Pack materials

• complete a 360-degree feedback exercise on current leadership behaviours

• identify specific EIP objectives to work on during the pilot period and diagnose the particular leadership priorities for the participant

• try-out of some of the Action Pack theory, tools, exercises and advice (as suggested by diagnostic work)

• provide structured feedback on the materials and how they can best be used

• share personal reflections and learning about leadership and practical examples of new materials generated

• debate and agree any key leadership challenges, critical success factors or difficulties covered inadequately in the Action Pack

• support group members to do some development work to plug gaps or deficiencies

• agree the overall revisions needed to the Action Pack’s content or format.

In addition to the pilot group, an evaluation seminar will be held in May 2006 to which any other people within the research in practice network who have used the materials will be invited. A questionnaire in advance of the seminar will secure additional feedback.

What then ?

The results of the evaluation will be analysed and proposals for revision of materials agreed by the end of July 2006. Following the piloting and evaluation, the finalised materials will be produced. From previous experience these are likely to build on the pilot materials but be significantly different from them – reflecting the value of careful piloting and evaluation. They are likely to include use of print, video, CD and web-based products.

The materials will be launched at a seminar which we would hope to run in partnership with SCIE in December 2006. Do contact Elizabeth Cooke if you want to know any more information about the Action Pack and the pilot process Elizabeth@rip.org.uk