Funding Source
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), 1P20GM156710-01-8297
Project Period
8/08/25 – 5/31/30
Principal Investigator
Sarah Lord, PhD, Implementation Research Core Director and Contact PI (Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth)
Other Project Staff
Kelly Aschbrenner, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, Co-Director, Co-Investigator
Elizabeth Carpenter-Song, PhD, Department of Anthropology, Co-Investigator
Solomon Diamond, PhD, Thayer School of Engineering, Co-Investigator
Project Summary
The goal of the Dartmouth Center for Implementation Science is to establish a multidisciplinary research program in implementation science at Dartmouth College and to provide training, expert mentorship and new scientific infrastructure to train and support a critical mass of junior faculty as they transition into independent investigators dedicated to advancing the field of implementation science. The Implementation Research Core (IRC) will use innovative approaches to persistent implementation challenges related to adaptation, maintenance, evidence-based interventions (EBIs) and strategies. The IRC has been designed to address three key challenges that the field of implementation science has yet to address: 1) limited practical guidance on investigating the impact of adaptations to EBIs and implementation strategies; 2) limited ability to design high impact implementation research projects; and 3) limited focus on designing for and rigorously evaluating adoption of adaptations to EBIs and strategies to promote maintenance.
The IRC has three specific aims to meet the overall COBRE objective to build research capacity for systematic application of implementation science in biomedical research among institution investigators and the broader IDeAs network. For Specific Aim 1 the IRC will provide training, mentoring and consultation services to promote knowledge and actionable skills for conducting implementation research for COBRE investigators. Training services will be recorded and housed on the Center website. For Specific Aim 2, the IRC will provide services to promote systematic application of state-of-the-science implementation science frameworks, including the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to identify implementation determinants and inform strategies for overcoming barriers, the Framework for Reporting Adaptations and Modifications-Expanded (FRAME) to document modifications to interventions and implementation strategies to improve fit and uptake of interventions in delivery settings, and the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) and Outcomes for Implementation (OIR) frameworks to evaluate implementation outcomes. Common methods and harmonized data collection across studies will seed the foundation for an implementation research data repository to investigate contextual factors, adaptations, and individual and implementation outcomes across studies. The harmonization of frameworks and associated methods and measurement across projects will also foster cross-disciplinary dialogues, promote insights into reproducibility, generalizability and scalability of project interventions, and guide directions to improve population health. For Specific Aim 3, the IRC will work with the Administrative Core to track project milestones and provide additional support for projects as needed.
Public Health Relevance
The mission of the Dartmouth Center of Excellence in Implementation Science is to build capacity for implementation science and implementation research for investigators in the Dartmouth College community and to serve as a resource for promoting implementation science within the national Institutional Development Award (IDeA) network. The Implementation Research Core will provide training and consultation and build new scientific infrastructure to support this mission. If successful, this initiative will propel implementation science and implementation research with the Dartmouth community, leading to more rapid translation of evidence-based interventions to real-world practice across disciplines.