Jamming with implementation research

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article offers a methodological exercise to enrich implementation research. Accordingly, one question was repeatedly asked: If implementation were to be perceived as a specific music genre (classical, blues, rock and roll, jazz), what would implementation research be? The result of this exercise is twofold. First, it enables us to revisit the field of implementation research, offering a narrative based on an interpretation of assumptions researchers hold regarding implementation as a concept and the impact these assumptions have on the research questions and findings. Second, it reveals a gap in the literature concerning the research goal, the implementation actors involved in the implementation process, their interactions throughout the process, the implementation research outcomes and their impact on public values. Specifically, the metaphor exercise revealed a gap in the literature that ties implementation to discourse and professional identity, offers the possibility of celebrating policy evolution, and raises different types of implementation.