Table 1.

The Four Components of a “Useable Innovation”

Reproduced from Fixsen et al. (2013) by permission of the authors.
1. Clear description of the program
a. Clear Philosophy, Values, and Principles
i. The philosophy, values, and principles that underlie the program provide guidance for all treatment decisions, program decisions, and evaluations; and are used to promote consistency, integrity, and sustainable effort across all provider organization units.
b. Clear inclusion and exclusion criteria that define the population for which the program is intended
i. The criteria define who is most likely to benefit when the program is used as intended.
2. Clear description of the essential functions that define the program
a. Clear description of the features that must be present to say that a program exists in a given location (essential functions sometimes are called core intervention components, active ingredients, or practice elements)
3. Operational definitions of the essential functions
a. Practice profiles describe the core activities that allow a program to be teachable, learnable, and doable in practice; and promote consistency across practitioners at the level of actual service delivery (Hall & Hord, 2011)
4. A practical assessment of fidelity: the performance of practitioners who are using the program
a. The performance assessment relates to the program philosophy, values, and principles; essential functions; and core activities specified in the practice profiles; and is practical and can be done repeatedly in the context of typical human service systems.
b. Evidence that the program is effective when used as intended.
i. The performance assessment (referred to as “fidelity”) is highly correlated with intended outcomes for children and families.