Date and time: Thursday 1 May, 2025 12.30pm-1.30pm AEST
Topic: Fidelity to context: A realist perspective on implementation science
Location: online via Zoom, details will be shared just prior to the event
Presenter: Andrew McLachlan | NSW Department of Education
Register online by: 4pm, 30 April 2025

Event description:

Andrew will present his aes24 conference paper and invite further discussion and questions on the relationship between implementation science and realist evaluation.

At first glance, realist methodology seems ideally suited to investigating implementation problems (Dalkin et al., 2021). It is versatile in that it draws on theories from diverse fields of social inquiry. It is pragmatic in that the theories it adopts are deemed useful only in so far as they offer explanatory insight. And it is transferable; realist methodology is less concerned with generalising findings than in understanding how programs work under different conditions and circumstances.

As for implementation science, its founding aim is purpose built for realist work; it seeks to improve the uptake of evidence-based practices by investigating the barriers and facilitators to implementation. Yet despite the affinity between realist methodology and implementation science, so far there have been few attempts to formalise the relationship (Sarkies et al., 2022).

This paper offers insights into how evaluators can harness realist methodology to better understand challenges of program implementation. It demonstrates how implementation concepts like fidelity (the degree to which a program is delivered as intended), adaptation (the process of modifying a program to achieve better fit), and translation (the ability to transfer knowledge across organisational borders) can be combined with realist concepts to develop a more active understanding of context.

In showing how to construct program theories that are responsive to changing conditions, the paper promises to equip evaluators with tools that can help them navigate the complexities of program implementation in their own work.

Presenter details:

Andrew McLachlan is an Evaluation Lead for the NSW Department of Education. Before becoming an evaluator, Andrew had over 10 years of experience as a teacher, working in settings as diverse as far North Queensland and Bangladesh. Since 2021, Andrew has worked as an embedded evaluator in Quality Teaching Practice (QTP) – a unit that aims to incubate, pilot and scale innovative approaches to improving teaching practice across NSW public schools. His main areas of interest are evaluation theory, educational policy, and knowledge translation.

This seminar will be recorded and available on the AES YouTube channel approximately four weeks after the date. We suggest you subscribe to the AES YouTube channel to be notified when new recordings are added.

This free event has been organised by the QLD Regional Network of the AES. Our seminar series provides an opportunity for you to meet with AES members and others in the evaluation community and to share and learn from the experiences of fellow evaluators. Please ensure you have access to your email address to receive the zoom details. Please also check your email address is correct on your registration form before submitting. 

Session start times:

VIC, NSW, ACT, TAS, QLD: 12.30pm

SA, NT: 12.00pm

WA: 10.30am

New Zealand: 2.30pm

For other time zones please go to https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html