Planning for policy implementation is as important as the implementation itself. A policy's intent can be subverted by the way the policy is implemented, or when unanticipated outcomes take precedence over the true intent. This article presents three cases of specific instances of unintended outcomes from policy implementation and presents a…

This is the second brief in a series, "Building a Post-Care Service System in Child Welfare: Lessons Learned from the Frontlines of Implementation Science in Catawba County." This brief describes how implementation science principles informed technical assistance strategies used in Catawba County to support the full and effective use of…

Given the current economic constraints facing the country, school districts in the U.S. have been pushed to develop annual budgets through a new lens and to accept the reality that budget adoption is a complex, political process. Whether a school district is rich or poor, growing or declining in enrollment, serving a specialized population or…

This book provides a valuable balance between what one must know and what one must do to turn around low-performing schools. The 3-E framework simplifies this complex process by focusing resources on the environment, the executive, and the execution of the turnaround plan. Central to each of these components is a spotlight on the values supporting…

The University of Chicago's Joseph Regenstein Library Bookstacks Department has used process mapping and continuous improvement to successfully improve its overall operations. The most recent efforts focus on Lean manufacturing, an initiative centered on eliminating waste in manufacturing processes. The conversion of the Bookstacks Department from…

Planning approaches are in a dynamic relationship with organizational culture. This article uses a case study of academic planning at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona to draw a correspondence between types of organizational culture and planning approaches. The case study shows the differing conceptions of organizational culture held…

This guide, one of four, is a product of the Project on Social Architecture in Education, initiated to find out what it takes to develop a program and a working social system for a new school. The project began with interviews with school planners and consultants, then moved to the study of six new innovative public schools for a two-and-a-half…