Table 1 Categories of issues likely to contribute to successful implementation

Attributes of innovation

Room to modify the innovation to suit local needs

Ability of end users to see results of intervention

Attributes of the resource team

Effective leaders that command authority and respect

Have understanding of the socio-economic environment of implementation.

Training capacity

Close physical proximity to the resource team

Attribute of the user organization

Have appropriate technical capacity to implement it.

Stable and Effective leadership

Perceives need for the innovation

Linkages and networks both inside and outside the organization are more likely to ensure innovations become part of the user system

Scaling up strategy

Strategies that allow learning and managing local context

External Context

Taking advantage of policy windows such as drug policy changes with adequate communication

Adapting to implementation environments (bureaucracy, socio- economic and cultural contexts).