Virginia's Evidence-Based Practice Initiative is seeking support for capacity development in best practices of implementation science. Multiple agencies within the state of Virginia are collaborating in their efforts to foster and facilitate the use of evidence within their local communities. The collaborating state agencies include the Office of Children Services (OCS), Department of Social Services (DSS), Department of Education (VDOE), Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Services (DBHDS), and Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS). A state leadership team comprised of representation from these various state agencies has been formed to design and lead the initiative.

The National Implementation Research Network (NIRN) and partners within the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute will be providing a blended model of training, coaching, and consultation supports to support the implementation of the Virginia Evidence-Based Practice Initiative through a Transformation Zone approach. A Transformation Zone is a purposeful approach of working with a small number of local community teams (n = 3-4) within one or two regions that represent the diversity of perspectives across the state. Transformation Zones use the sciences of implementation and improvement to establish simultaneously the use of selected evidence-based practices and develop an implementation infrastructure for sustainability and scalability.

The internship would include activities such as the following:

• Attending Virginia Evidence-Based Practices Initiative Team meeting
• Observing and supporting the collection of implementation data such as state or district capacity assessment
• Observing state and district implementation team meetings
• Collecting, organizing, and summarizing information on evidence-based programs
• Supporting the development of technical assistance and learning resources

The intern would support:

The identification and critical appraisal of evidence-based programs (EBP) related to identified priorities of VA state partners. Specifically, the intern would engage in the following activities:

• EBP identification (e.g., scanning relevant research literature and EBP compendiums)
• Development of comparable summaries of each EBP
• Assistance with the development of summary documents and presentations for use by the team. Specifically, support will be provided to collect and analyze information regarding the potential program including evidence, usability, and available supports as well as information regarding the statewide context including fit, capacity, and need
• Support the VA EBP Design Team and partners representing critical perspectives to prioritize a small number of potential EBPs that meet identified needs
• Assist the VA EBP Design Team and partners to conduct a fit and feasibility assessment. Tools will be provided to facilitate engagement in this selection process such as Hexagon Tool, Initiative Inventory, Critical Perspectives Engagement Process, and EBP Interview Guides
• Document team discussions decisions, working with project manager to ensure accessible and useful record keeping

The work is expected to lead to:

• Intern knowledge and skill development around critical appraisal of EBPs, including the use of standardized selection processes aligned with the needs and priorities of state and local partners
• Development of collaborative resources for EBP selection decision making
• A presentation to the FPG Implementation Division on the results of this work

Desired applicant experience and skills:

• Willingness to engage community experts in development, tool creation and/or review
• Commitment to developing accessible, equitable, and user-friendly products
• Exposure to implementation science concepts, theories, and frameworks
• Exposure to adult learning and communication frameworks helpful
• Excellent writing skills
• Ability to work well autonomously within a supportive mentoring environment
• Experience, coursework and/or current training in diversity, equity, and inclusion

The intern would need to be available for 25 hours per week for 8 weeks (more hours may be possible). The mentors for this opportunity are Caryn Ward and Sophia Farmer of the National Implementation Research Network (NIRN). The intern will work in collaboration with other NIRN team members and community collaborators.

The Impact Center at FPG's Implementation Capacity for Triple P (ICTP) projects are a collaborative effort to help communities in North Carolina and South Carolina successfully and sustainably implement the evidence-based Triple P - Positive Parenting Program system of interventions. The ICTP projects are a partnership between the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at UNC-Chapel Hill, The Duke Endowment, and the North Carolina Divisions of Social Services and Child and Family Wellbeing. ICTP also works in close collaboration with Triple P America, Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina, and Children's Trust of South Carolina.

The ICTP project in North Carolina provides resources and support to state, regional, and local Triple P coordinators; community Triple P lead agency and service agency leaders; statewide funders and policymakers; and other organizations providing implementation-focused training and technical assistance for Triple P in North Carolina. Our team develops learning and application resources to support local, regional, and state partners' efforts to implement and scale up the Triple P) across North and South Carolina. The Impact Center is committed to centering equitable implementation practice and resources.

Internship Description

This internship involves conducting an equity gap analysis of existing ICTP learning and application resources and an accompanying process protocol to inform how the ICTP project can identify, revise, and embed equity into all ICTP learning and application resources.

The intern would support:

The intern will make key contributions to embedding equity into ICTP learning and application resources by:

• Working with the Impact Center team to complete an equity gap analysis and accompanying process protocol that can be used to inform the revision and development of other ICTP learning and application resources
  • This involves embedding information from the three resources listed:
    • ICTP Equity Impact Assessment
    • Equity-focused feedback and lessons from the ICTP project team's partnership with the Educational Equity Institute
    • A review of recent literature on equity in implementation practice
  • Conducting a focus group with NC Triple P coordinators to address equity gaps in creating more equitable ICTP learning and application resources

The work is expected to lead to:

• The inclusion of equity into ICTP learning and applications resources.
• The development of a process protocol for incorporating equity into learning and application resources.
• A presentation to the FPG Implementation Division on their contributions to ICTP Learning and Application Resources.
• Should an opportunity present, mentors will support the intern in producing a scholarly product to be submitted to a conference in the future.

Other learning and networking opportunities:

• Attend a Triple P North Carolina Learning Collaborative Meeting (2-hour meeting)
• Attend the Implementation Capacity for Triple P (ICTP) meetings (monthly for one hour) and
• Impact Center Meetings (monthly for 1 hour).
• There will also be meetings with the mentor every other week and additional project-specific meetings.

Desired applicant experience and skills:

• Strong working knowledge of implementation practice approaches
• Experience, coursework, and/or current training in diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Ability to review and synthesize literature
• Presentation skills
• Ability to translate scientific concepts to a practice audience
• Commitment to developing accessible, equitable, and user-friendly products
• Exposure to implementation & dissemination of science concepts, theories, and frameworks
• Excellent writing skills
• Ability to work well autonomously within a supportive mentoring environment
• Experience in excel, Qualtrics, and quantitative/qualitative data analysis
• Experience convening and facilitating interviews and/or focus groups
• Experience and/or current training in developing new measures or process protocols

This project is fully remote. The intern would need to be available for approximately 30-35 hours per week for 8 weeks (270 hours). The mentors for this opportunity are Capri McDonald, Alana Gilbert, and Ariel Everett from The Impact Center at FPG.

The National Implementation Research Network (NIRN) is a multidisciplinary team with the mission to contribute to the best practices and science of implementation, organization change, and system reinvention to improve outcomes across the spectrum of human services. The State Implementation and Scaling-up of Evidence-based Practices (SISEP) Center is a national technical assistance center funded by the US Department of Special Education Programs. The Effective Implementation Cohort (EIC) is a project designed to help school districts implement an instructional system that supports using a high-quality middle school math curriculum.

Internship Description

NIRN is in the process of finalizing the strategic plan and the research agenda for the next 3-5 years. As such, a detailed analysis of the organization's dissemination and communication efforts needs to occur.

The intern would:

• review current dissemination efforts and marketing plans
• develop a written dissemination process and communication plan
• explore additional dissemination platforms
• Review Implementation Core Competency Interactive Lessons for learning and scan for updates needed

The work is expected to lead to:

• A detailed communication plan
• A review and audit process for current dissemination efforts
• In collaboration with others, the creation of a written process for dissemination and marketing efforts for NIRN and correlating projects (SISEP & EIC)
• An understanding of the connection between implementation and dissemination sciences
• A presentation to the FPG Implementation Division on their contributions to NIRN communications.

Other learning and networking opportunities to complement main work:

• NIRN Staff Meetings (monthly for six hours)
• SISEP Staff Meetings (monthly for three hours)
• EIC Staff Meetings (monthly for two hours)

There will also be additional meetings with the mentor weekly, as well as additional project-specific meetings.

Desired applicant experience and skills:

• Excellent technology skills and the ability to learn new platforms quickly
• Ability to engage with various social media platforms
• Willingness to engage community experts in development, process creation, and/or review
• Commitment to developing accessible, equitable, and user-friendly products
• Exposure to implementation & dissemination science concepts, theories, and frameworks
• Exposure to adult learning and communication frameworks helpful
• Excellent writing skills
• Ability to work well autonomously within a supportive mentoring environment
• Experience, coursework, and/or current training in diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Ability to work well autonomously within a supportive mentoring environment

This project is fully remote. The intern would need to be available for 35 hours per week for 8 weeks. The mentor for this opportunity is Rebekah Hornak of the National Implementation Research Network (NIRN). The intern will work in collaboration with other NIRN team members and community collaborators.