StrategEase - A Free Tool for Changemakers
11-min read
Why we developed the StrategEase tool
Ever since we launched TCI in 2018, our mission is to accelerate the application of implementation science to improve outcomes. Driven by this mission, our goal is to see hundreds of thousands of people around the world actively applying implementation science to design, implement, spread, and scale their change initiatives. To achieve this goal, we are dedicated to providing accessible resources and tools that makes implementation easier for changemakers globally.
For years, changemakers have told us that the act of selecting change strategies was really challenging – it felt like “falling off a cliff” or the “place where science meets art”. This is because in implementation science, people knew bits and pieces about linking strategies to theory, but no one had comprehensively put these pieces of information together, especially in practical and user-friendly ways. Our goal has been to find ways to make the strategy selection step feel less daunting, while remaining true to the available evidence.
The evidence for selecting strategies
StrategEase integrates our experiences over the last 10+ years working on 100+ projects, training thousands of changemakers, and knowledge from well-established theories, models and frameworks in evidence-based implementation. We have built out a process that links specific change strategies to specific barriers and facilitators to change – the “missing piece” in implementation science and practice for many years. To do this, we have drawn heavily from the amazing work of others in the field, for example:
Theoretical developments from the University College London Centre for Behaviour Change, such as the TDF (Theoretical Domains Framework), and COM-B ('capability', 'opportunity', 'motivation' and 'behaviour') model
The Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change (ERIC) strategies
The Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC) Taxonomy
Behavior change techniques from the The Behaviour Change Wheel and Intervention Mapping.
Crowdsourcing activities with implementation professionals hosted by The Center for Implementation
The evolution of the StrategEase tool
The concept behind the StrategEase tool originated almost 10 years ago while working on change initiatives in Canada and in low- and middle-income countries. While supporting researchers and implementers through the process of selecting strategies, we envisioned a way to better facilitate this process.
So we slowly built components and refined them. Over the years, we have built multiple iterations of paper-based versions and some very early web-based iterations, refining the list of strategies and how to link them to barriers using theory based on emerging evidence in the field and our experience supporting implementation.
But we knew that the best way to make this process widely accessible was to build a well-functioning, user friendly online version, and to make it freely available to anyone around the world. Therefore, we developed the StrategEase tool as a way to fulfill this mission and help people select strategies more efficiently.
This month, our featured resource is the StrategEase tool. We hope this tool helps you in your change efforts as much as it has in ours!
How to use the StrategEase Tool
Now that you know a little bit about the story behind the StrategEase Tool, let’s dive deep into how this tool works and what do you need to consider before using it.
What StrategEase can do for you and what you need to use it?
StrategEase has been created to guide you through the process of mapping your barriers and facilitators to a list of change strategies. By helping you identify intervention functions (Types of HOWs) that address barriers (or leverage facilitators) depending on the domain of the Theoretical Domains Framework to which they map, this tool will ease your change efforts.
Let’s start from the beginning. Before using the StrategEase tool, it is important to have:
Defined your WHY
Defined the WHO(s)
Described the WHAT(s)
Collected and assessed barriers and facilitators
Mapped barriers and facilitators to the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF)
If any of these steps are new to you and you would like to learn more about them, join us for StrategEase: The HOW of Creating Sustainable Change. Our recently launched course goes through all steps of the StrategEase Pathway – a model that explains the process of selecting strategies - and sets the foundation of how to design for implementation.
Now, let’s move on to each step of the tool!
Download the StrategEase tool worksheets
To make the process of selecting strategies easier, we have developed fillable worksheets that will help you visualize and structure your initiative while making sure you don’t forget any steps along the way. You can download them here ↓
Step 1: Map your barriers and facilitators
Once you have collected and assessed your barriers and facilitators, you will map each one of them to the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) + Capability, Motivation, Opportunity – Behaviour (COM-B) visual. That’s when you are ready to start using the tool!
Click the box for any relevant domains of the theoretical domains framework that you identified. As of right now you can only map one barrier or facilitator at a time, but you are free to repeat the process multiple times to address as many barriers and facilitators as you wish.
💡 To learn more about the process of collecting, assessing, and mapping barriers and facilitators join us for StrategEase: The HOW of Creating Sustainable Change.
Step 2: Select a function (type of HOW)
By selecting a TDF domain you can see all the functions (Types of HOWs) that this domain is linked to. In the example below, “Beliefs About Consequences” is linked to three functions, “Educating”, “Modeling”, and “Persuading”.
It’s important to note that types of HOWs describe the underlying function a change strategy would serve – you can think of this as the “purpose” of the change strategy. They are broad categories in which change strategies can be grouped and should not be confused with change strategies themselves.
As you proceed to click in the intersection between the domain and function of your choice, a list of change strategies that are grouped within that function will pop-up.
Tip: If you want to see all the TDF domains that are linked to a specific function (e.g., Educating), you can click in the arrow on top of the function and the tool will re-direct you to a page where all domains linked to that function are highlighted.
Step 3: Select change strategies
Once you have identified an intervention function (type of HOW) tailored to your barrier/facilitator, you can start identifying and selecting change strategies that can a) fulfill the i function or type of HOW you have selected, and b) best address the barrier/facilitator you have mapped. Make sure you use our fillable StrategEase Tool Worksheets to reflect on your choices.
Tip: If you hover your cursor over any change strategy listed, you will be able to see its definition.
💡 If you need support on the theoretical and empirical basis of how to select strategies that will result in effective change, our comprehensive course StrategEase: The HOW of Creating Sustainable Change can help you!
Step 4: Enact change strategies
Now that you have selected your change strategies, it is time to enact them. An essential part of enacting strategies in being thoughtful about HOW you will do that. For each change strategy you select, make sure you clearly outline the function(s) it serves and list all of the barriers and facilitators this change strategy is addressing – our StrategEase tool worksheets can help you with that!
Tip: Thinking about sustainability and adaptations are also important steps of enacting strategies. By joining us for StrategEase: The HOW of Creating Sustainable Change you can learn about how to do that and leverage your change efforts.
We love to give and we love to help you give!
We believe that bridging the gap between implementation science and practice is possible, and that an important way to do this is by providing ways to collaborate and improve collectively. In line with this we wanted to highlight that:
We shared preliminary versions of StrategEase to fellow implementation practitioners (through the Implementing Change Community), and implementation scientists (at the “Society for Implementation Research Collaboration Conference 2022”). We kindly thank all of you for sharing useful feedback and advice on how to make StrategEase even more helpful and easy to use.
For each intervention function, we included a feature to allow you share examples of change strategies that have worked for you. We hope that this opens a space for collaboration and giving, and that, over time, helps implementation practitioners and implementation scientists having access to a collection of concrete examples of change strategies from a variety of implementation contexts.
If you have any feedback in how we can improve your user experience with the tool, please let us know via this form.
Good luck selecting your change strategies!
These articles were featured in our monthly Implementation in Action bulletin! Want to receive our next issue? Subscribe here.