Technique Is Not Enough (TINE) - British Psychological Society

operate at different levels. Some are to do with programmes themselves, some are to dowith the host site and some are to do with local service systems.Poor model fidelity caused by inappropriate changes to or the removal of corecomponents can lead to new implementations of model programmes being much lesseffective than in research trials. Cultural incongruence between programme values andlocal mores can generate dissatisfaction amongst participants. There may be a lack of fitbetween programme developer’s enthusiasms and those of the professionals charged withimplementing them, especially where they are expected to simply deliver from a manualwithout any opportunity to ask questions or make adaptations and programmes may nothave been designed to meet the needs of practitioners or have been marketed to helpsystems meet obligatory objectives at the same time as improving child well-being.Often grant funding will be available to initiate programmes but only on the assumptionthat the grant receiving body will work out how to sustain them. Many fizzle out beyondtheir seed funding. There may be lack of support for widespread implementation.Programmes may not provide the necessary support and information to enable their localimplementation teams to work effectively within regular service systems. Programmes maynot be easy to use, and if so they are destined to remain ‘boutiques’ on the margins ofservice systems. Local health, welfare, educational and/or social care systems are not alwaysready for programmes. For example, staff may lack the requisite skills, or there may be alack of common purpose in an organisation, or there might not be anyone available andsuitably qualified to offer technical support.Given how rare it is for untested or ineffective provision to be decommissioned, there maybe a lack of space or capacity for delivering a new programme. It is easier to let go of newand standalone programmes than it is to thin out well-established and inter-connectedservices that are not evidence-based.7.3. How to make programmes sustainableThese themes recur throughout this report, particularly those relating to ownership andcultural adaptation. Addressing them is essential to ensure parenting programmes get offthe ground successfully, make an early positive impact on their participants and arewelcomed by practitioners and the communities in which they work. This section, however,focuses more on practices that will specifically help sustain programmes beyond their seedfunding and enable them to be successfully integrated into ‘services as usual’.Our understanding of how to do this is hampered by the limited empirical research aboutwhat works. But the following have been identified as potential factors (Bumbarger &Perkins, 2008). First is the development of a sustainability plan early in the developmentprocess. Second is building an organisation’s infrastructure capacity, including policies,procedures and resources to ease implementation and the ultimate integration of theprogrammes activities into routine operations. Third is staff buy-in to the programme’stheory of change and values base. Sustainability is more likely if the programme has localchampions and if its purpose fits with the goals and mission of the implementingorganisational culture and the values of its leaders (Bates & Davis, 2010).Much of this speaks to the need to tap into services ‘systems’, including health, education,58 Professional Practice Board