39. Implementation Science: Dr Robyn Mildon on bridging the 17-year gap between research discovery and impact

Knowledge mobilisationPolicyUptake enablersStakeholder/audience mappingImplementation scienceImpact planning
Written By Chris Pahlow

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Episode show notes

Imagine discovering a breakthrough that could transform lives, only to watch it sit unused for nearly two decades. Sadly, this is the stark reality that faces researchers in many fields today — for example, $200+ billion is spent annually on healthcare research, but 85% of it never results in changes to practice, and the interventions that do make it to practice often take between 15 and 17 years to do so! Dr Robyn Mildon, CEO of the Centre for Evidence and Implementation, has dedicated her career to collapsing this devastating timeline through the systematic study of what gets in the way — and what helps — when moving research from lab to field.

Robyn is a global leader in implementation science who has seen firsthand both the devastating failures and remarkable successes that can occur when working to translate research into practice.

A pivotal moment came early in her career when, despite training 800 practitioners in evidence-based programs for parents with intellectual disabilities, only 9% actually implemented them as intended. This experience deepened her commitment to implementation science and understanding not just what works, but how to make it work in real-world settings.

"There are things that are well evidenced that aren't getting implemented. Then there's things that are well evidenced, getting implemented poorly, and then there's things that are well evidenced being ignored.”

Implementation science transforms the traditional "spray and pray" method of research dissemination into a strategic, evidence-based process that ensures breakthrough research actually reaches the people who need it most. The Centre for Evidence and Implementation, which Robyn leads, operates across 18 countries and focuses on closing what implementation scientists call the "know-do gap."

They're also gearing up for their 2025 Evidence and Implementation Summit in Melbourne this October, bringing together researchers, policy makers, and practitioners with the shared goal of bridging the research-practice divide.

Our conversation covers:

  • Why the traditional "spray and pray" approach to research dissemination fails

  • The systematic barriers that prevent evidence from reaching practice

  • How to use stakeholder engagement and implementation planning to dramatically improve success rates

  • Real-world case studies from healthcare, education, and social services

  • Practical steps researchers can take today to increase their impact

Practical tips:

  • Start with the evidence base - understand your "what" before focusing on "how":

    • "If you're gonna put so much effort into the how you really need to understand your what... You want to really assure yourself that the thing you are wanting to implement has some evidence behind it that it will be effective or at least has a chance of being effective."

  • Document your implementation process during research:

    • "We like to encourage researchers to describe how the thing was implemented in the trials, what implementation strategies were used to kind of make sure the implementation was at enough of a quality to see if it was effective."

  • Understand your context before implementing:

    • "Understanding the context in which you're implementing is important if you want to try and keep the effectiveness of the innovation... you've gotta understand the context that you're working in."

  • Build genuine stakeholder engagement throughout the entire process:

    • "You need to be working with the people who have an interest in the outcomes of the work you're doing... the whole way through from the selection of what is the evidence-based approach you're going to choose... they need to be involved in the planning... they need to be involved in how's early implementation going?"

  • Invest in proper planning - "pay now or pay later":

    • "Doing poor implementation planning, going from selection straight into what people think implementation is, which is often training... will often lead to very poor implementation."

  • Use multiple implementation strategies, not just training:

    • "Good training is important, but you need a training plus strategy. So you still need it, but you need a couple of other strategies."

  • Keep it sustainable - "how low can you go":

    • "We talk about how low can you go, what's the least amount of implementation strategies you can put in place to get the effect and only add if it's not working, just to make sure it's sustainable and doable.”

Credits:

  • Host & Producer: Chris Pahlow

  • Edited by: Laura Carolina Corrigan

  • Music by: La Boucle and Blue Steel, courtesy of Epidemic Sound

Chris Pahlow
Chris Pahlow is an independent writer/director currently in post-production on his debut feature film PLAY IT SAFE. Chris has been fascinated with storytelling since he first earned his pen license and he’s spent the last ten years bringing stories to life through music videos, documentaries, and short films.
http://www.chrispahlow.com
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