Development of implementation policy

We enhance implementation together with others. This could include research funding bodies (such as the Dutch Research Council, Health~Holland, Health Funds) and researchers and experts knowledgeable in implementation and impact. We are co-founder of the Netherlands Implementation Collective and participate in the Impact Alliance. We also share expertise internationally through Ensuring Value in Research (EViR) and the European Implementation Collaborative (EIC), for instance.

ZonMw helps to strengthen networks and other infrastructures that enhance implementation. This will allow stakeholders to meet each other to share questions, knowledge and perspectives. We also investigate the functioning of various types of infrastructure. Read the research report ‘Op weg naar effectieve kennissamenwerking’ (Towards effective knowledge collaboration). Also see the accompanying infographic on effective collaboration. Which type to use for which purpose?

Some of the types of implementation infrastructures that ZonMw is involved in:

• Knowledge portals: A digital channel where knowledge, products and experiences are shared on a national level. Visit the page on knowledge portals.
• Academic workplaces: Academic workplaces ensure better cooperation between practice, science, policy and education. A university or university of applied sciences can, for example, team up with professional institutions to translate questions from the field into research and vice versa. Visit the youth transformation academic workplaces page or the learning disabilities academic workplaces page for examples.
• Consortiums: The long-term exchange of knowledge can be encouraged in consortiums. In addition, all the parties can enter into a mutual obligation to collaborate on resolving an issue. See the page of the Consortium for an Integrated Approach to Obesity.
• Innovation network: https://www.zorgvoorinnoveren.nl/ is a network that includes a knowledge base on implementation, a helpdesk and an innovation cafe.

The Netherlands Implementation Collective (NIC) is the main network for sharing knowledge about effective implementation in health and healthcare. The Trimbos Institute, ZonMw, ZINL (National Healthcare Institute) and Amsterdam UMC are examples of organisations that collaborate in this network. Together they ensure that existing networks and research groups are linked with regard to implementation.

We sometimes commission others to group and connect relevant, new knowledge in a knowledge synthesis. Researchers, practitioners and policymakers are involved to gain an understanding of the context in which knowledge is used. We have designed a manual for this purpose (download). An example is the spiritual care knowledge synthesis.